Guillem Soler ( fl. 1380s), sometimes given as Guillelmus Soleri, Guillermo Soler and Guglielmo Soleri, was a Majorcan cartographer of the 14th century. Little is known of Guillem Soler. Documents establish his existence in Majorca in 1368, and that he was dead before 1402. Historians once believed him to be an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

named "Guglielmo Soleri" who worked in Majorca, but has since been more confidently identified as probably of Catalan origin. Majorcan documents identify him as "Guillermi Solerii", citizen of Majorca, master instrument-maker and mapmaker (''bruixoler''). Guillem Soler was one of the few non-Jews of the Majorcan cartographic school. A letter of 1387 by King

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 ...

, written shortly after the death of the great Majorcan cartographer Abraham Cresques, seems to refer to Guillem Soler as a "Christian master" of "similar skill", capable of completing one of Cresques's unfinished maps (uncertain which). Guillem Soler is the author of two significant portolan charts. * c. 1380 portolan, undated but signed "Guillmus Soleri civis maioricaru me fecit". This is currently held (Res. Ge. B. 1131) by the Bibliothèque nationale de France in

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, France. * 1385 portolan, dated and signed "Gujllmo soleij ciujs Maoicaru me fecit Año A nt, dñj Mccclxx.v", held (CN.3) by the Archivio di Stato di Firenze, in

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, Italy. Both are "normal portolan" charts, covering usual range (Mediterranean, Black Sea, Atlantic coast), but contain some stylistic differences. The first (1380) is considered quite typical of the Majorcan school, geared to geographical depiction, with plenty of illustrations and inland details (e.g. rivers, heraldic shields, mountain ranges). The latter (1385) portolan seems more reminiscent of the Italian school - that is, more nautically oriented, nearly bereft of illustrations and with very few inland details. Guillem Soler's c. 1380 (Paris) chart gives probably the first depiction of the

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as quartered with the royal arms of France (representing the

English claims to the French throne From the 1340s to the 19th century, excluding two brief intervals in the 1360s and the 1420s, the kings and queens of England and Ireland (and, later, of Great Britain) also claimed the throne of France. The claim dates from Edward III, who cl ...

in the 14th century) Guillem Soler is also the possible author of a third piece, a recently discovered fragment (21x31 cm) of a Catalan chart, covering only a portion of the west Mediterranean. It is unsigned and undated, but believed to be prior to the other two known charts.Campbell
2011
. It is privately held. Guillem Soler is believed to be the father of Majorcan cartographer Joan Soler and through him ancestral to the later mapmakers Rafel Soler ( fl. 1430s) and Gabriel Soler (fl.1460s). He might also be the grandfather (through his daughter Margarita) of Rafel Lloret (fl. 1440s) Image:Western Europe detail of portolan chart of Guillem Soler (c.1380, Paris).jpg, Western Mediterranean detail from Soler's c. 1380 chart (BNF, Paris) chart. Image:Eastern Mediterranean detail of portolan chart of Guillem Soler (c.1380, Paris).jpg, Eastern Mediterranean portion in Soler's c. 1380 chart (BNF, Paris).

References

Sources

* Baig i Aleu, M. (2001) "Un nuevo documento sobre Guillem Soler y la cuestion de la cartografia mallorquina", ''Llull'', Vol. 24, p. 587-603
online
(pdf) * Beazley, C.R. (1906) ''The Dawn of Modern Geography''. London
vol. 3
* Campbell, T. (1987) "Portolan Charts from the Late Thirteenth Century to 1500". ''The History of Cartography''. Volume 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 371–463. (2011, "Additions, Corrections and Updates"

* Campbell, T. (2011) "Complete chronological listing of works assigned to the period pre-1501 (with a note of high quality reproductions and place-name lists)"

* Llopmart, F. (1975) "La cartografia mallorquina del siglo XV. Nuevos hitos y rutas", 'Boletín de la Sociedad Arqueológica Luliana'', vol. 34, p.438-65 * Pujades i Bataller, Ramon J. (2007) ''Les cartes portolanes: la representació medieval d'una mar solcada.'' Barcelona: Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya.
www.cresquesproject.net
��Translation in English of the works of Riera i Sans and Gabriel Llompart on the Jewish Majorcan Map-makers of the Late Middle Ages {{DEFAULTSORT:Soler, Guillem Majorcan cartographers 14th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon Medieval Spanish geographers 14th-century geographers 14th-century Latin writers