Lo Compasso Debanne

27 June 2014 www.maphistory.info/LoCompassoDebanne.doc

CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS TO THE INDEX BY ALESSANDRA DEBANNE

TO HER EDITION OF 'LO COMPASSO DE NAVEGARE' (pp. 293-342)

For the full, geographically arranged, list of the Debanne transcriptions see the Excel table:

www.maphistory.info/PortolanChartToponymyFullTable.xls

The following listing includes all the names along the continuous mainland coast between southern Portugal (Cape St Vincent) and west Morocco, including the Black Sea, where they could be located (even if not readily identified today). The categories involved are:

·  all names in the Excel database, i.e. already presented on another portolano or chart as if part of the mainland sequence, even if inland or off the coast

·  entries that have been merged in the Debanne index

·  entries omitted from that index

·  places noted as unidentified, most of which can be supplied with their Excel number (this applies particularly to the Black Sea). It is evident that Debanne did not have access to a geographically-ordered list of portolan chart toponyms

·  'sobborgo' (suburbs) of Istanbul which were described in the text as capes

Omitted are names of mountains (apart from those close to the sea that might perhaps have appeared on the charts) and buildings, e.g. churches and fortifications. secche (shallows) and scoglie (rocks and reefs - though there are many terms for such hazards described in Debanne's Glossary), if apparently found uniquely on 'Lo compasso', have also been omitted.

Some names proved to be islands or on islands (though not indicated as such in the Debanne index), and have not been considered unless already present in the Excel listing.

Modern identifications that appear to be incorrect or unconvincing have not been noted, since that task will fall within the remit of the 'Pelagios 3' project.

Debanne's orthography has been followed, e.g. turning Motzo's 'z' into 'ç'; however words starting thus are indexed by Excel under C rather than at the end of the alphabet (as a Z) as they are in Debanne's index.

So as to conform to the alphabetical order of Debanne's index, her word order of composite place-names has been respected, except where the first element is an integral part of the accepted toponym rather than just being descriptive.

NB. The entries in the Debanne index closely follow those in Gautier Dalché's version (1995, pp.239-53) but with some introduced errors

BLACK SEA

Note that the description for the Black Sea, added at the very end, is arranged in two sequences: (a) clockwise from the Bosphorus, (1067) fanario to (1128) elexe, then (b) anti-clockwise from (1317) giro to (1142) saline, including Crimea