12 Facts About Johannes Ruysch

In old documents, Johannes Ruysch was sometimes called a Fleming or German, but he was likely born in Utrecht in the current Netherlands.

Around 1505, Johannes Ruysch probably entered the Benedictine monastery of St Martin in Cologne as a secular priest.

Johannes Ruysch presumably made his world map there in 1507, appears on payrolls in 1508 and 1509 and seems to have specialized in decorative painting.

Not long after, Johannes Ruysch went to work at the Portuguese court as cartographer and astronomer, presumably by recommendation of Julius II who was friends with Manuel I of Portugal.

Johannes Ruysch is said to have died at considerable age in 1533 at the monastery, where he had a room adjacent to the library.

The Johannes Ruysch map uses Ptolemy's first projection, a coniform projection, as does the Contarini-Rosselli map.

Around the north pole, Johannes Ruysch drew islands, based on reports in the book Inventio Fortunata of the English friar Nicholas of Lynne.

Johannes Ruysch's map contains the discoveries the Portuguese had made along the African coast.

The horn of Africa on Johannes Ruysch's map is at approximately the correct latitude.

Johannes Ruysch's map has details about Asia based on data gathered by travelers like Marco Polo, as well as Greco-Roman authorities.

Johannes Ruysch accepted that Sipango [Japan] and Hispaniola [Haiti] were one and the same, a concept he expressed in the legend he inscribed on his world map:.

So, it was in place long before Johannes Ruysch made his map, and to be true, no one knows from what saint it was named.