Twelve large sheets, assembled together in a 4′ X 7.5′ spread,
form the 1507 map that has been called “America’s birth
certificate.” Last night, I listened to Chet Van Duzer discuss
his latest book, Seeing the World Anew (Library of Congress/
Levenger Press). He spoke about both the 1507 and 1516 maps by
German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller – but it was the
earlier, dreamier map that caught my attention imagination.
Especially since it’s the first map to mention “America” by that
name. Or rather, by the name of the man who was the first
explorer to decide that the Americas were not the eastern tip of
Asia, but a whole different continent – or, put another way, he
saw the Pacific as a separate body of water. America was named
for him, but who was he named for? That story falls outside the
world of cartography and takes us back to saints. It seems this
Florentine was named for an obscure 11th-century Hungarian, St.
Emeric – which is to say, “Henry,” or in Hungarian, “Imre.” He
was the crown prince of Hungar