26 April 2021
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The Faroe Islands' contribution to this year's SEPAC theme is a one-stamp miniature sheet featuring a map of the islands by German scholar Sebastian Münster (1488-1552).
The German scholar Sebastian Münster (1488-1552) was most important geographer of the sixteenth century.
His Cosmographia, published in 1544, spread geographical knowledge wide over Europe. It was issued in nearly 40 editions and 6 languages. He published each known continent on a separate map. He died May 1552 in Basel of the Black Death.
The new stamp from the Faroes features the map 'Gemeine beschreibung aller Mittnächtigen' published in 1578. The map was printed without change in German reprints of the book and in Latin editions with a title in that language, Septentrionales regiones.
The Cosmographia by Sebastian Munster was published until 1628, long after his death. It passed through 24 editions in 100 years, becoming an important book of geography, astronomy, history, and natural sciences, it remained authoritative and in demand until the end of the century, reflecting the general eagerness of the times for learning, especially geography.
