Putting Waterford On The Map
In 1544 there was a book was published by German cartographer Sebastian Munster titled ‘Cosmographia’. Why are we writing about this, I hear you ask? Well Munster’s book was the earliest know description of the world that we know today. It had numerous editions in different languages including Latin, French (translated by François de Belleforest), Italian, English, and Czech. The last German edition was published in 1628, long after his death. The ‘Cosmographia’ was one of the most successful and popular books of the 16th century. It passed through 24 editions in 100 years.
What makes the first edition so special is that the map of Ireland, or Hibernia as it is called on the map, has just one city marked on it and guesses what City that is? You guessed it, Waterford.
The reason why the Map of Ireland showed Waterford was to illustrate how important Waterford was as a port internationally at that time.
An earlier map printed in 1538 called ‘Angliae Triquetra Descriptio’ again shows Waterford as the only city on the map of Ireland.
It goes to show how by ‘Putting Waterford On The Map’ how important Waterford was back in the time where sea trade was so important and why Waterford was defended so much from invaders. Over the centuries many have tried to invade the port but few were successful.