Claudius Clavus
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Claudius Clavus (Suartho) also known as ''Nicholas Niger'', ( da, Claudius Claussøn Swart), (born 14 September 1388), was a
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
sometimes considered to be the first Nordic
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 ...
.Catholic Encyclopedia
/ref> It is believed that he was born in the village of
Salling Salling is a peninsula located in the north-west of the larger Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The largest city in Salling is Skive, and smaller towns and villages includes Jebjerg, Roslev and Glyngøre. The Sallingsund Bridge connects the penins ...
on the Danish island of
Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...
. He is commemorated by a plaque in the local ''Aagaarden''. In 141213 at the age of 25 he started to travel around Europe and appeared eleven years later (142324) in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. It is believed he travelled as far north as the 70°10' N. lat. In Rome he became friends with the cardinal Giordano Orsini and the pope's secretary
Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini (11 February 1380 – 30 October 1459), usually referred to simply as Poggio Bracciolini, was an Italian scholar and an early Renaissance humanist. He was responsible for rediscovering and recovering many classi ...
, who were among those working to update the old Roman cartography. Claudius contributed to a more realistic description of Nordic countries, in particular
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
, and was probably the first cartographer to put
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
on a map. He is also known for having named Greenlandic places by using lyrics from old folk songs. Most of his work (including two maps) is lost, but a copy has been preserved through the German cartographers
Donnus Nicholas Germanus Nicolaus Germanus () was a German cartographer who modernized Ptolemy's ''Geography'' by applying new projections, adding additional maps, and contributing other innovations that were influential in the development of Renaissance cartography. N ...
and
Henricus Martellus Germanus Henricus Martellus Germanus ( fl. 1480-1496) was a German cartographer active in Florence between 1480 and 1496. His surviving cartographic work includes manuscripts of Ptolemy's ''Geographia'', manuscripts of ''Insularium illustratum'' (a descri ...
, and in the nineteenth century more texts were rediscovered in the imperial library at
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. He drew 27 maps for a copy of the ''
Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
'' by
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
(see image).


References

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Further reading

* 1388 births 15th-century deaths Year of death unknown Danish geographers 15th-century geographers 15th-century Danish scientists {{Geographer-stub