Abraham Cresques (, 1325–1387), whose real name was Cresques (son of) Abraham, was a 14th-century

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

from Palma,

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

(then part of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...

). In collaboration with his son,

Jehuda Cresques Jehudà Cresques (, 1360-1410), also known as Jafudà Cresques, Jaume Riba, and Cresques lo Juheu ("Cresques the Jew"), was a converso cartographer in the early 15th century. Son of Abraham Cresques, a famous Jewish cartographer, he was born in ...

, Cresques is credited with the authorship of the celebrated

Catalan Atlas The Catalan Atlas ( ca, Atles català, ) is a medieval world map, or mappamundi, created in 1375 that has been described as the most important map of the Middle Ages in the Catalan language, and as "the zenith of medieval map-work". It was pro ...

of 1375.

Personal life

A Majorcan Jew, Cresques was a master map-maker and builder of clocks,

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

es, and other nautical instruments. He was a leading member of the

Majorcan cartographic school "Majorcan cartographic school" is the term coined by historians to refer to the collection of predominantly Jewish cartographers, cosmographers and navigational instrument-makers and some Christian associates that flourished in Majorca in the 1 ...

. Abraham Cresques's real name was Eliça (a.k.a. Cresques) son of Rabbi Abraham, son of Rabbi Benaviste, son of Rabbi Eliça. Eliça being the name he would have received when he came of age but known as Cresques of Abraham (Cresques being his personal name, Eliça his religious name, Abraham his

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

), but the order is often flipped in most subsequent literature. His son,

, was also a notable cartographer.

The Catalan Atlas

In 1375, Cresques and his son Jehuda received an assignment from Prince John of Aragon (the future

John I of Aragon John I (27 December 1350 – 19 May 1396), called by posterity the Hunter or the Lover of Elegance, but the Abandoned in his lifetime, was the King of Aragon from 1387 until his death. Biography John was the eldest son of Peter IV and his third ...

) to make a set of

nautical charts A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land (topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the coa ...

which would go beyond the normal geographic range of contemporary

portolan charts Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian ''portulano'', meaning "related to ports or harbors", and whi ...

to cover the ''East and the West, and everything that, from the Strait f_Gibraltar.html"_;"title="Gibraltar.html"_;"title="f_Gibraltar">f_Gibraltar">Gibraltar.html"_;"title="f_Gibraltar">f_Gibraltarleads_to_the_West''._For_this_job,_Cresques_and_Jehuda_would_be_paid_150_ f_Gibraltar.html"_;"title="Gibraltar.html"_;"title="f_Gibraltar">f_Gibraltar">Gibraltar.html"_;"title="f_Gibraltar">f_Gibraltarleads_to_the_West''._For_this_job,_Cresques_and_Jehuda_would_be_paid_150_Aragonese_florin">Aragonese_golden_florins,_and_60_Lliura_mallorquina.html" ;"title="Aragonese_florin.html" ;"title="Gibraltar">f_Gibraltar.html" ;"title="Gibraltar.html" ;"title="f Gibraltar">f Gibraltar">Gibraltar.html" ;"title="f Gibraltar">f Gibraltarleads to the West''. For this job, Cresques and Jehuda would be paid 150 Aragonese florin">Aragonese golden florins, and 60 Lliura mallorquina">Mallorcan pounds, respectively, as it is stated in 14th-century documents from the Prince himself and his father Peter IV of Aragon. Prince John intended to present the chart to his cousin Charles (later to be Charles VI of France, Charles VI, King of France) as a gift. In that year 1375 Cresques and Jehuda drew the six charts that composed the

at their house in the Jewish quarter of Palma.

Works attributed to Cresques

The

of c. 1375 is the only map that has been confidently attributed to Cresques Abraham. But researchers have suggested that five other existing maps might also be attributed to Cresques, Jehuda or some other worker in the Cresques

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

. Like the Catalan Atlas itself, these five maps (four

, one fragment of a

mappa mundi A ''mappa mundi'' (Latin ; plural = ''mappae mundi''; french: mappemonde; enm, mappemond) is any medieval European map of the world. Such maps range in size and complexity from simple schematic maps or less across to elaborate wall maps, the ...

), are unsigned and undated, and their date of composition estimated sometime between 1375 and 1400. * ''

'', c. 1375, 6 panels, map from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, held at the

Bibliothèque Nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France * ''Venice chart'', c. 1375-1400, portolan chart (missing northern Europe), held (It.IV,1912) at the

Biblioteca Marciana The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark ( it, italic=no, Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositori ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy * ''Florence chart'', c. 1375-1400, portolan chart (west Mediterranean only) held (Port.22) at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale,

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, Italy * ''Naples chart'', c. 1375-1400, normal portolan chart held (ms.XII.D102) at the

Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III The Biblioteca nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III (''Victor Emmanuel III National Library'') is a national library of Italy. It occupies the eastern wing of the 18th-century Palazzo Reale in Naples, at 1 Piazza del Plebiscito, and has entrances from ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy * ''Istanbul map'' c. 1375-1400, fragment of

, held (1828) at the Topkapi Palace in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey * ''Paris chart'', c. 1400, portolan chart held (AA751) at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in

, France According to Campbell, of the four portolan charts attributed the Cresques atelier, the Naples and Paris charts are more ornate than the other two, with the Paris chart (c. 1400) in particular seeming closest to the features of the Catalan Atlas (c. 1375). However, attribution to the Cresques workshop is only tentative. As Campbell notes, "That this group of charts is closely related is clear. But it is hard to see, from the colour analysis alone, evidence to confirm that these four charts were the product of supervised work in a single atelier." Cresques also produced an illuminated Bible with an annexed Hebrew-Catalan dictionary, known as the

Farhi Bible Farhi or Ferhi may refer to: Surname * Anna Farhi, Israeli volleyballer * Daniel Farhi, French liberal rabbi * Eddy Ferhi, French retired professional ice hockey goaltender * Edward Farhi, American theoretical physicist * Emmanuel Farhi, French ...

. Image:Anonymous Catalan chart (Venice).jpg, "Venice chart" (It.IV,1912),

, Venice. Image:Anonymous Catalan chart (Naples).jpg, "Naples chart" (XII.D102),

, Naples. Image:Anonymous Catalan chart (Paris).jpg, "Paris chart" (AA751),
Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris. Image:Abraham and Jehuda Cresques Catalan Atlas. Eastern Europe view from the south.H.jpg, Abraham and Jehuda Cresques Catalan Atlas. Eastern Europe view from the south (detail) Image:Map of Jericho in 14c Farhi Bible by Elisha ben Avraham Crescas.jpg, Map of

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

in the Farhi Bible

References

External links

Images of the whole Catalan Atlas
in high resolution an

Bibliothèque nationale de France
www.cresquesproject.net
��Translation in English of the works of Riera i Sans and Gabriel Llompart on the Jewish Majorcan mapmakers of the Late Middle Ages. They include very complete biographies of Cresques Abraham and his son Jafudà Cresques.

Bibliography