Publikowane mapy Śląska do połowy XVIII wieku na tle innych regionów oraz ich adaptacje przez kartografów europejskich

Artukuł przedstawia dwa mało znane zagadnienia związane z dawną kartografią Śląska. Pierwsze dotyczy porównania dorobku w zakresie map drukowanych w XVI, XVII i XVIII stuleciu z Saksonią, Brandenburgią, Pomorzem Zachodnim i Prusami Książęcymi. Drugie odnosi się do poziomu adaptacji map Śląska przez europejski oficyny wydawnicze.

The article discusses two less known aspects of the history of Silesian cartography. The first is the output of the region in comparison to other region of comparable area: Saxony, Brandenburg, West Pomerania and Prussia. The compared maps were published between the 16th century and 1750. Cartographic presentations were divided in three groups: general maps, detailed maps and thematic (special) maps. The chart showed the advantage of Silesia, which had 25 maps published until the half of the 18th century. Financial support received from the local nobility created favorable conditions for Silesian cartographers. Maps by M. Helwig, J. Scuteltus, F. Khun were published thanks to such support. Silesia's advantage is particularly evident in the case of detailed maps. Most of them were authored by Jonas Scultetus of Szprotawa. His activity in the field of Silesian cartography as well as works of F. Khun, D. Sinapius and L.D. Hermann, J. Nigrinus and T. Mayer brought on spectacular results: before the publication of famous "Atlas Silesiae" in 1752 maps of 10 out of 16 duchies and the Country of Kłodzko had been drawn - they covered 62% of the area of the province. None of the four other regions had comparable output. The second less known issue is the question of adaptation of the maps of Silesia by European publishing houses. Most maps elaborated in Silesia found numerous publishers, mainly in Antwerp, Amsterdam, Augsburg and Nurnberg. Maps of Silesia were often printed in large atlases, particularly in the 17th and 18th century. In the largest of them, J. Blaeu's eleven volume "Atlas Maior" from 1662 there were 11 such maps. In this respect Silesia was one of the leading Central European regions. Maps printed by Western European publishers usually did not conform to the original, because the original itself had often been altered. The extent of adaptation depended on its purpose and the quality - on the skill and diligence of a cartographer or engraver. Additionally, in the 16th century there started a tendency to use stencils to present relief and forests, which to a large extent eliminated individual features of the originals. Comparative research involved four Silesian map authors: Helwig, Scultetus, Khun and Nigrinus. The most common weakness of the adaptations is the over-simplification or even alteration of relief. Helwig's map of Silesia from 1561 adapted by A. Ortelius and Khun's maps of the Duchies of Świdnica and Jawor from the second half of the 17th century, adapted by J. Blaeu and P. Schenk serve as examples. It should be noted that the original authors in most cases managed to present relief, and Khun was the first Silesian cartographer to show forests in mountain areas, with a lot of skill and precision. Almost all advantages of those maps had been lost in adaptations. An interesting map of the Duchy of Cieszyn by J. Nigrinus from 1724 was relatively well adapted and published by M. Seuter in 1740 in Augsburg. In this case most changes concerned ornaments linked to the contents of the map. Nigrinus showed a shepherd's hut from Silesian Beskid, which caught the attention of many ethnographers. Seutter deleted that illustration, which significantly decreased the publication's value. Rich - in comparison to the other four regions - cartographic heritage of Silesia was often exploited by West European publishers. Maps of Silesia, which commonly appeared in atlases or separately were often of little value and presented a largely false image. On the other hand, because of them Silesian works had an opportunity to appear on a larger than local scene.