MAGNUS, Olaus.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Historia delle genti et della natura delle cose settentrionali. First edition in Italian. Magnus's great ethnographical and geographical survey of Scandinavia, Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus (History of the Northern Peoples), was first published in Latin in 1555. This Italian translation reuses the woodcuts, with a few variations, illustrating all aspects of life: local customs, warfare, trades and occupations, animals and monsters, and daily activities. Hunting and fishing, swimming, skiing, archery, and horse racing feature among popular sports. The full-page map of Scandinavia, a woodcut in the Latin edition, is engraved here.

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