Portolan Map Possibilities

[Linda]

   

I have put the comparison diagrams through an image rotator to better compare. The first is rotated clockwise, the second counter clockwise. I have added -10 in both cases for declination, although I am not sure if it was correct, it was in 1590. It seems to be pretty close to correct in terms of the comparisons.

In both cases, the streams connecting things together are nonliteral, they just show that the two are connected in some way, rivers have run between them, or they enjoy the same fresh water supply, and likely they have been moved in order to fit them on the page, at least that seems to be the case here. If they are beside, they are moved to below, close to the edge of the page of the side they were on. Also, sizes even on the same pages aren't comparable, in both cases the small example has been enlarged in comparison to the larger example, in differing amounts, and the second example has much smaller examples than the smaller one on the first was.

In the top case, it does seem to put things better near the top, but the whole bottom bulbish end of what would be the Caspian Sea would need to turn further clockwise by 45 degrees again, while the rest stays in place, in order to match overall. In fact, now having the ability to compare better, the nymph floating there in that direction says this. Put her staight up like the others, but take the whole drawing to do that. And match the land, not the water line. I think it shows exactly where to draw the water line, though. You can then see that the top left item below the top part where the green should not have been painted (see that there is a solid diagonal line drawn where the shoreline actually is)(you may need to click on the highlighted folio number to see this better). The top left item under this top part of the Danube delta is analogous with mountains, and it rains from them into the river systems in the lowlands. The nymph on the bottom sits in a natural (possibly man maintained) protected bay. The east side of this is the current shore, and if you go to the other nymph above, she seems to show with her leg where the shoreline is on that side, which at the 45 degree turn is in fact a diagonal line, like her leg, but as it is already on an angle due to having to turn the nymph, the bottom section is actually drawn north up on the page. So the line would be vertical to the back end of the lower nymph, except for what looks like a kick in the shoreline where the upper nymph's foot would be. Makes for a realistic map if you can remember all that while drawing, which you would if you had quire 13 with you at the time. The stick, by the way, is a finial without a top, which indicates a volcano with no top, and in fact there are mud volcanoes in the vicinity of Baku, the point nearby.

They have already found settlements in dried out areas of the Aral Sea, so it has been dry before, as it is now, but is drawn filled here. Both are drawn green due to the salt nature of these seas.

The second case continues from the southeastern Caspian Shore, the Kura-Araxes delta, and follows it back to a point where it splits in the middle. A tributary flows downward between Lake Van on the left and Lake Urmia on the right (it is drawn full, or possibly empty, but is empty now after having been full only 30 years ago or so. This diagram doesn't show the full extent as the bump shown is actually an island when shown full. However now that it has emptied we can see that the intact island and the smaller islands are the same type of mound, which turns out to be dormant volcano. The finials in the blue section stand for these, along with the rays extending outwards from them. Notice the left one is drawn a little higher with a circular top, while the one corresponding to the broken up smaller one is drawn shorter with a three pronged or spike on a ball motif, either of which can be thought of as to describe the nature of these islands. 

The second drawing should be viewed as though what is shown is in the top half only, actually the line in the diagram just above Lake Van. But I believe that Lake Van is also discussed in the second drawing and the blue part does triple duty as Urmia, Urmia and Van, and Urmia and Sevan in terms of the mnemonics for drawing a true to life map. Notice that it is Urmia for a few reasons, one is that the finials match the islands, that Urmia means wavy or undulating, and it is at the same leftover angle after taking the 45 and 10 degrees into account. I can't imagine this being explained as anything other than sloppy drawing for a balnealogical or other theory (since the water stays put), but I think it is purposeful now that I see how well it matches with reality.

Lake Sevan is also correctly oriented but again, the stream is non literal, it has been moved from the left (in the 45 degree layout) enlarged, and moved to below left, just like the Aral Sea on the preceding page was moved to its mirror corner.

Note that where the Araxes rises, the Euphrates also rises nearby, and similar for the Tigris and the tributary between Lakes Urmia and Van. I mention this as the next page to properly follow this one is f79r, which shows these two rivers going into the Persian Gulf. 

But I will continue to describe them as they are now, with mentions of the ones that come before and after. The one that comes before You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. is f82r, although it is one of two non contiguous pages in the quire as it revisits a place previously seen, in order to show that from the Black Sea you can go north or east, and it is the east route to follow to get to the Volga River, then south to the Caspian Sea, which starts the Asia/Africa tour, after the north route took us back to where we started in southwest Europe. 

Note that Sevan is a freshwater lake, whereas both Urmia and Van are endorheic saltwater lakes. I think that is why the blue one is mostly Urmia but describes only the fresh water that replenishes it, as most is lost to evaporation, at least today, as it is now dry. 
In a way the blue denotes sky water which showers upon the earth and creates a saltwater Lake, but for both of them. In the end there are two bodies drawn so I think of it as Urmia and Van. 

So to draw all this you would memorize where the Araxes joins the Caspian Sea, draw it as per the vms Araxes, add a curved bend, then continue on straight to the left, about the same distance as the short part of the Araxes, then downward at an angle to the left for another two short distances. Half a short distance up and out from that would be the rise of the Ephrates. The tributary joins at the bend, again about the short length of the Araxes. Half short distance down and away starts the Tigris. Urmia is to the left of the tributary, In the angle shown. If you draw a line from the tributary end to the first short distance in the Araxes to the left of the join, you have the line on which Urmia and Van mirror each other in their longest orientations, Sevan is on this line at the top. Then just add a bit of bulk to Van on the lower right.

I wonder if these are the instructions written in the text, just all about drawing each page's mnemonics to create a realistic map.
I think the 45 degree angles are just obfuscations to keep from untrained eyes from recognizing the shapes too easily. Other obfuscations are the nymphs, which make the drawings look like smaller vessels or baths, and the additional 3d shading which further makes the drawings look like containers and not the large bodies of water that they seem to me to be meant to portray.