Territory of Poland and Lithuania in European cartography of the 16th century (an attempt to determine the filiation of printed maps)

W artykule omówiono wykorzystanie polskich map z XVI wieku przez kartografów i wydawców zachodnioeuropejskich. Dokonano oceny źródłoznawczej oraz ustalono filiacje omówionych dzieł kartograficznych.The aim of the article is to present the printed small scale maps of the territory of Poland and Lithuania in the 16th century against the background of the European cartography of that time. Such presentation should help revise and complete the historical image of Poland. For source analysis the following research methods were applied: linguistic analysis (synoptic charts), accuracy analysis (distortion charts) and con-tents analysis (comparison of errors - mainly in water network). Publication of the printed maps of Northern and Southern Sarmatia, covering Eastern Europe, and then the general map of Poland in 1526 were the milestones in the development of cartography of Poland and Lithuania. These maps, authored by Bernard Wapowski, were not distributed in Europe on a mass scale, however they had significant, though indirect influence on how the territory of Poland were presented. General picture of the terrains between Oder and Dnieper, the Baltic and the Carpathians, created by Bernard Wapowski, was later popularized in Western Europe by Gerard Mercator, the outstanding cartographer and publisher. The influence of Wapowski's maps can be seen on Mercator's globe of 1541, and later on his great map of Europe of 1554. The presentation of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was based on the following maps: Poland and Sarmatia by Wapowski (1526), Prussia by Heinrich Zell (1542), Pomerania by Sebastian Munster (1550), Northern Europe by Olaus Magnus (1539) and Anton Wied (1542). Especially the last one, and its adaptations, was used to prepare maps of Central-Eastern Europe until the middle 19th century. Book editions by Sebastian Munster (1540,1544) and Johannes Honter (1542) had significant impact on the credible presentation of the Polish territory in the first half of the 16th century. The map by Wacław Gródecki from 1562, which based on the works of Bernard Wapowski, and its almost identical version from the atlas of Abraham Ortelius (1570), were the most commonly used general 16th century maps of Poland. They were also used by Gerard de Jode in his atlas of 1578, which because of the small number of printed copies reached few readers. Northern territories of Poland were presented basing on separate maps of Prussia by Heinrich Zell (1542) and later Caspar Henneberger (1576). This is particularly evident on the map of Poland by Gerard de Jode, published after 1578 but before 1586. On this map de Jode updated the area of Prussia using the new Henneberger's map of 1576. The above maps were also the basis for correcting the picture of Prussia in many atlases and books. Gerard Mercator's map of Poland and Silesia from 1585 was the next stage in development of the presentation of the country. It was meticulously prepared and had rich topographic contents. It based on the map of Poland by Gerard de Jode from 1578. More details were added basing on the map of Poland by W. Gródecki from 1562 and 1570, the latter edited by A. Ortelius, and the map of European Sarmatia by A. Pograbka (Pograbius) from 1570. The surrounding territories were presented basing on several maps of particular regions: Silesia by M. Helwig (1561), Duchy of Oświęcim and Zator by S. Porębski (1563), Prussia by C. Henneberger (1576). Mercator's map covered the territory of Poland and Silesia, without the Gdańsk Pomerania, Prussia, Western Pomerania and the western part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It became the basie source for a number of maps of Poland from the 17th to the 18th centuries, until the more modern maps of the times of King Stanisław Poniatowski. From all the Polish territories which Mercator worked on the map of Lithuania prepared in 1595 is particularly interesting. It is the first map showing exclusively Lithuania, although in the borders from before the mainly the map of Europę from 1572, and also maps of Poland by W. Gródecki from 1562 or 1570, the map of European Sarmatia by A. Pograbka (1570), Poland and Lithuania (1585) and the map of Lithuanian-Mo-scow border by M. Strubicz (1589). Particular maps were the first to be noticed and used for updating the maps of some regions of Poland. In the case of maps of Europe and the World it was different. Amendments were rarely made and overdue. The great map of Europe by Mercator remained the major influence in the shaping of the maps of the continent