Nicolaus Germanus

Nicolaus Germanus (c. 1420 – c. 1490)[2] was a German cartographer who modernized Ptolemy's Geography by applying new projections, adding additional maps, and contributing other innovations that were influential in the development of Renaissance cartography.

The last contemporary record of his activity comes from a fellow German scholar, Conrad Celtes, who met him in Florence and wrote that Nicolaus complained bitterly about others getting the glory and profit for his work.

1460 to 1466) contains only the original twenty-seven Ptolemaic maps (tabulae antiquae) drawn using a trapezoid projection of which Germanus claimed to be the author.

His representation of the Scandinavian region, including Iceland and Greenland, reflected a more accurate depiction provided by Danish cartographer Claudius Clavus.

The world map in this recension was drawn using the homeotheric projection which Ptolemy called superior but more difficult to construct.

It was the first edition of Geographia to be printed north of the Alps and the first atlas to be colored in-house prior to sale.

It was printed using woodcuts prepared by Johannes de Armsheim who first introduced the practice of engravers signing their maps.

In 1466 while in Florence, he prepared an astrological table for the Duke Borso d'Este which demonstrated his ability to calculate the positions of the planets for several years in the future.