404

pigafetta’s voyage round the world.

“ Item.—In Iceland are found men eighty years old, who have never tailed bread.In this country no corn grows, and in lieu of bread dried filh is eaten. In Iceland it isthe ftock-filh is taken which is brought to our country.”

BESIDES this globe of Behaim there are moreover two other ancient globes in thelibrary of the city of Nuremberg . They are executed each of them with muchnicety, and the names of places are written on them. The moll ancient of the twowas made by John Schoener, the firft profelfor of mathematics in the univerfity of Nu-remberg : he conftrufted it in Bamberg, at the expence of John Seyler, his prote&or jby whom, when he came to inhabit this city, it was brought hither. This globe is threefeet in diameter, and bears an infcription in Latin verfe expreffive of the particularsrelated. (

The author of the other terreftrial globe is unknown.

The year after Martin Behaim conltru&ed his globe, Anthony Robuger caufed geo-graphical charts to be engraven on wood for the chronicle of Hartman Schedel .

In the library of Ebner there is a map of the world, defigned and engraven on vellumin 1529, by Diego Ribera, the geographer of the King of Spain , with an explanationin the Spanilh language. On it is marked in a very diltindt manner the limits of thenew world from the demarcation of Pope Alexander VI .

MARTIN II. Behaim was born at Nuremberg , probably in the year 1430. His father,Martini, was a councillor of that city, in which he died in 1474, and was buried in thechurch of the Dominicans. His mother was Agnes Shopper, of Shopperfhof. MartinBehaim had a filler and four brothers, the youngeft of whom, Wolf, or Wolfrath, car-ried off the prize, at a tournament held at Nuremberg in 1503, and afterwards wentto join his brother at Lilbon, where he died in 1507, and was buried in the church ofour Lady of the Conception. The uncle of Martin Behaim , called Leonard Behaim,with whom he maintained a literary correfpondence during four and twenty years, diedin i486. The fon of this Leonard, Michel Behaim, born in 1459, died a fenator ofNuremberg in 1511. At the houfe of this coufin Martin refided, when at Nuremberg in 1491 and 1492.

That certain writers * affume the family of Martin Behaim to have come fromKramlau, in Bohemia , may be attributed, either to his anceltors being really Bohemians,that is to fay of the circle of Pilfner ; or from Martin himfelf, in his youth, having palledfome time there for purpofes of trade.

Philip Beroald the elder, and Regiomontanus , are reputed to have been the mailersof Behaim f, but it would be difficult to prove that he was a difciple of Regiomontanus ,whofe real name was John Muller, who did not vifit Nuremberg before the year I 47 1 *and who, in 1475, went to Rome , where he died the next year.

* Chriftoph. Cellarius, Hift. medii sevi, p. 213 ; Geog . Nov. p. 460, 1698.

f Olfert Dapper Befchryving van Amerika, Arufterdam, 1673, in folio, where Behaim is faid to ha vCbeen a fcholar of Monteregius or Koninglberger. ,