Old Map of Wales by Joan Blaeu, c.1645

Wales in the Seventeenth Century – Joan Blaeu’s Historic Map

Joan Blaeu’s map of Wales is one of those works that rewards a second look. From across a room, it is the colouring and the elaborate decoration that first attract attention. Seen more closely, it becomes a remarkably detailed record of seventeenth-century Wales, filled with counties, towns, rivers, coastlines and old place names that remain familiar today.

The map bears the Latin title Wallia Principatus vulgo Wales, meaning “The Principality of Wales, commonly called Wales”. It was published in Amsterdam during the 1640s, at a time when the Blaeu family workshop was producing some of the finest and most ambitious atlases in Europe.

Wales is divided into its historic counties: Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, Merionethshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Montgomeryshire, Cardiganshire, Radnorshire, Breconshire, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Glamorgan. The use of colour makes these old boundaries easy to follow, while also giving the map much of its decorative character.

In the north, Anglesey is shown clearly apart from the mainland, with Caernarfon, Bangor and Conwy marked nearby. Further east appear Denbigh, Flint and Wrexham. The mountains are represented in the old pictorial style, by rows of small engraved hills rather than modern contour lines, but the effect still gives a strong impression of the rougher landscape of north Wales.

Following the coast southwards, Harlech and Dolgellau can be found before the shoreline opens into Cardigan Bay. Aberystwyth and Cardigan are both marked, together with many smaller settlements. Some names appear almost exactly as they do today, while others use spellings that take a little time to recognise.

That is part of the pleasure of an old map. It does not reveal everything at once. A familiar town may suddenly appear after several minutes of looking, or an old spelling may gradually become clear. For anyone with Welsh family connections, the map can feel less like a distant historical document and more like a record of places tied to personal memory.

Central Wales is more lightly settled on the page, though it is far from empty. Montgomery, Newtown and Llanidloes appear among the river valleys, with Rhayader further south. Brecon is clearly marked within Breconshire, surrounded by the upland country of the middle border region. The rivers are especially important here, helping to explain where settlements developed and how different parts of the country were connected.

The south-west contains some of the most recognisable names on the map. Carmarthen appears as an important centre, while St Davids, Haverfordwest, Pembroke and Tenby are all shown around the Pembrokeshire coast. The outline of the peninsula, with its bays, inlets and projecting headlands, is immediately familiar even in this seventeenth-century engraved form.

Along the southern coast, Blaeu records Swansea, Neath, Llandaff, Cardiff and Cowbridge. Further east lie Abergavenny and Monmouth, both close to the historic border between Wales and England. The neighbouring English counties are included too, placing Wales within the wider landscape of the Marches and showing the close relationship between rivers, roads, border towns and markets.

The decorative features are just as memorable as the geography. In the upper-right corner, the title is set within a richly ornamented cartouche surrounded by cherubs, scrollwork and colour. Beneath it are heraldic shields connected with the historic divisions and traditions of Wales. A royal coat of arms appears in the upper-left, while sailing ships occupy the Irish Sea and Bristol Channel.

At the lower-right is another elaborate cartouche carrying Blaeu’s dedication to Prince Charles. Such decoration was an important part of the great Dutch atlases. Maps were expected to inform, but they were also intended to impress. When an atlas was opened in a private library or study, the map had to work as both geography and art.

Joan Blaeu inherited one of Europe’s leading mapmaking businesses from his father, Willem Blaeu. Under Joan, the firm expanded its atlas publishing on a grand scale. The Blaeu atlases became admired for their engraved detail, careful composition and rich hand colouring, and this map of Wales is a fine example of that tradition.

What makes the map especially appealing today is the balance between beauty and detail. The coloured counties, ships, coats of arms and cartouches give it presence from a distance, while the dense network of names invites much closer inspection.

For anyone with an affection for Wales, the map offers more than decoration. It provides a link with the country as it was represented nearly four centuries ago, preserving familiar towns and landscapes within the visual language of the seventeenth century.