On July 29, 1507, Martin Beheim, German geographer, navigator and maker of the world's first globe, died.
Martin Beheim is a mysterious figure. Lisa Jardine, former chairman of the jury for the Booker Prize, wrote in "Secular Products: A New History of the Renaissance":"While making globes for the Germans, Beheim was actually involved in a commercial and industrial espionage incident because he incorporated geographical knowledge gained in Lisbon into the globes-the top secret and inaccessible map information of the time.¡»
Many publications describe Beheim as a navigator, mathematician and astronomer. The inscription on Beheim's globe states that he sailed to the coast of West Africa between 1485 and 1486. The Nuremberg Chronicles mentions Beheim as the deputy commander of the fleet. However, some historians believe that his role on the voyage was just a businessman, and he was not a student of the German astronomer and mathematician Regiomontanus. Their families were just next-door neighbors. There are many accounts of his role in Lisbon, but no concrete record can be found. Therefore, people think that Beheim's most likely identity should be an importer of astronomical and nautical instruments. After all, his hometown of Nuremberg was the informal capital of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages at that time. Trade, science, and art were at the peak, and it was the best in Europe. manufacturer. He naturally came into contact with nautical explorers and cartographers from all over the Mediterranean who gathered at the Lisbon court.
The Beheim Globe has a diameter of 51 centimeters and is luxuriously decorated. In the relevant records in 1494, making this ball was particularly time-consuming and laborious. In 1992, Nuremberg conducted a detailed study of the material of the ball, and its report also stated that the making process was indeed quite complicated.
The globe is marked with 2000 place names, more than 100 illustrations, 48 flags, 15 ships, more than 50 legends, as well as myths and legends, imaginary strange indigenous people on unknown continents, strange animals and plants, etc. Obviously, the main source of data is not Beheim's personal experience. East and Southeast Asia is based on Marco Polo's data, while the west coast of Africa is based on the latest information from Portugal.
It is not just a coincidence that Columbus "discovered" the New World and Beheim's globe occurred in the same year. In 1428, the Latin version of Ptolemy's Geography was published in Germany, and Greek classics returned to Europe, shocking intellectuals at that time. They re-learned the theory of the earth circle and cartography methods, contributing to a new wave of geographical discovery. The appearance of the Beheim Globe at this time was not another victory for the Greek rational spirit.
This globe, born in the same year as Columbus discovered the New World, although it has become a symbol of global vision like Columbus, it has never left its birthplace, Nuremberg, and has been preserved in the local Germain National Museum.