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In his Cronica universalis Galvaneus Flamma refers to two cartographic artifacts. The first is a diagram of the winds placed within a cosmological frame, which lists the names of the winds in accordance with both "scientific" tradition and seafaring experience; this diagram intertwines two sources of knowledge, as would be expected in a scholarly milieu receptive to the suggestion of geographical practice. The other is a mappa Ianuensis, i.e. a map drawn in Genoa or kept in Genoa at the time, which Galvaneus mentions three times in his work; according to Galvaneus's mentions, this map depicted the entire globe, and was much more extensive than a portolan chart. Both elements bring new light about the author's geographical interests and sources, and add some small tiles to the mosaic of fourteenth-century cartography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cronica universalis written by the Milanese friar Galvaneus Flamma (it. Galvano Fiamma, d. c. 1345) contains an astonishing reference to a terra que dicitur Marckalada, situated west from Greenland. This land is recognizable as the Markland mentioned by some Icelandic sources and identified by scholars as some part of the Atlantic coast of North America. Galvaneus's reference, probably derived by oral sources heard in Genoa, is the first mention of the American continent in the Mediterranean region, and gives evidence of the circulation (out of the Nordic area and 150 years before Columbus) of narratives about lands beyond Greenland. This article provides a transcription of the passage, explains its context in the Cronica universalis, compares it to the other (Nordic) references of Markland, and discusses the possible origin of Galvaneus's mention of Markland in light of Galvaneus's biography and working method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]