Text, first scholarly version, translated from the 1570 Latin (ABC) and the 1571 Latin edition only:
145.1 145.18. {1570L(ABC)SCLAVONIA.
145.2. Once there were between the Hadriatic sea and the kingdom of Hungary two important lands, called Illyricum and Dalmatia; before our time, they split up into many parts, namely Carinthia, Croatia, Carnia, & Slavonica, (commonly called Windischmark). Some also count Bosnia among them. The ancients distinguished between the Illyrians, Dalmatians, & Liburnians : but nowadays the borders between these lands and regions have become unclear. This region these days is partly under the rule of the kingdom of Hungary and partly under that of the Venetians. Its inhabitants mostly live in wooden houses with thatched roofs, except for some cities along the coast, in which they can live more humanly.
145.3. They till the earth excellently. The entire region is watered by two main rivers, the Save & the Drau, which empty into the Danube. So far for Münster. Illyricum extended far more widely than is the case now, says Georg Rithaymerus, and he thinks that it now comprises Dalmatia, Liburnia (which they [also] call Croatia) Istria & Carnia, as also Carinthia, Stiria, & Istria; thus we are pleased to have added this map here, which contains all those regions. The people from Istria come from that part of Illyria where you find Colchis, according to popular belief; in the West, it is bound by Carinthia, it has the Alps on the North, and the Hadriatic Gulf in the South. Cities in this area are Scardona, Iadera, Parentum, Aquileia, Triest, &c.
145.4. CROATIA, once called Liburnia, in our language Crabaten, lies between the rivers Cuspa & Save, and is located in upper Msia. STIRIA [Steiermark] is a region everywhere surrounded by mountains, by some called Iapigia, by some Norica. Its iron mines are the best of all of Europe.
There is no king here for the benefit of these inhabitants. This place yields wine, corn, cattle and plenty of salt. That is pleasant, but it worked out differently for Stiria as compared to Westphalia; for as the last mentioned Westphalia produces wicked rather than foolish people, similarly the first mentioned Stiria produces gluttons and fools, rather than wicked or sly people.
145.5. The duchy of Cilia also belongs to this region. CARNITHIA is commonly called Carinthia, & its inhabitants are called Carni, in our language Craner, part of which is Carniola, has the following cities: St. Veit, Villach, & Klagenfurt. The citizens of these cities hate thieves so much that whenever someone is suspected of being a thief, he is brought to the gallows without first hearing him or bringing him to justice. Three days later they will have a session with the judge, and if he is found not guilty, he will be honourably buried, but if his theft is confirmed, he will be left hanging.
145.6. More about these regions by those mentioned & in Martinus Cromerus, Dominicus Nigrus, Volaterranus, & others. There is also a booklet, or Chronicle (as he himself calls it) about Carinthia, written in German, by Aurelius Theophilus Paracelsus.
145.7. The Slavonic language (that we may say something about it), by some called Windisch, and thought to be called Illyrican by the Romans, is nowadays spoken widely. For it seems to extend itself from the Hadriatic Sea to the Northern Ocean. This language is used in Istria, Dalmatia, Bosnia, Moravia, Bohemia, Lusatia, Silesia, Poland, Lithuania, Prussia, by the inhabitants of Scandinavia & wide and far throughout Russia, and in Bulgaria, and other surrounding regions, almost as far as Constantinople, to such an extent that it is even spoken frequently among the Turcs}1570L(ABC) & 1571L end here}.
Second scholarly version, translated from the 1580/1589 German, 1601 Latin & 1606 English editions:
145.8. {1601L & 1606E instead{ILLYRICUM}1601L & 1606E instead}.
145.9. Illyricum or (which pleases others better) Illyris is a country on the coast of the Hadriatic sea opposite to Italy. The bounds of this province vary according to various authors. For Plinius assigns only a small area [to it] between the rivers Arsia and Titius. And Ptolemæus gives its confines a further extension, namely from Histria, up as high as Macedonia, along the entire coast, and inland towards its more central parts he makes it reach out as far as the borders of Pannonia and Moesia the higher.
145.10. Pomponius Mela and Dionysius Alexandrinus make it even far larger, ascribing [as they do] to Illyricum all that part of the Hadriatic sea that there is between Triest and Montes Ceraunij, and say that the Illyrij dwell [even] beyond the river Danube. And Mela counts the river Danube among the rivers of Illyricum. Strabo also, in the seventh book of his Geography, says that the Illyrij border on Macedonia and Thracia.
145.11. But Appianus Alexandrinus makes it even larger than any of the writers mentioned, for he writes about the Illyrij like this: The Greeks, he says, call all those people Illyrij who dwell between Chaonia and Thesprotis (beyond Macedonia and Thracia) up as high as the river Ister. For this is the length of this province. The breadth of it is the distance between Macedonia and the mountains of Thracia all the way to Pæonia and the Ionian sea, and it also borders on the Alps, which is a distance of a five day journey. Its length is trice as much as its width &c.
145.12. And a little after the same author has these words: The Romans generally include under the Illyrij not only what has been mentioned before, but also the Pæones beyond these, together with the Rheti, Norici and Mysij who inhabit Europe and whatever other nations border on these which they have on the right hand side when sailing up the river Ister. And again, to distinguish the Hellenes from the Greek, they call them by various proper names.
145.13. Otherwise, generally they are with one name called Illyrij. For even from the head of the river Ister to the Pontick [Black] sea they commonly call them Illyrici. So far Appianus. Suetonius in the life of Tiberius Cæsar says in a similar way that the bounds of Illyricum are of this size {1606E only{on its left}1606E only}.
145.14. Sextus Rufus who lived at the time of Valentinianus the emperor, attributes seventeen provinces to Illyricum: Two of the Norici, the two Pannonies, Valeria, Savia, Dalmatia, Moesia, the two Dacias, Macedonia, Thessalia, Achaia, two Epirus, Prævalis and Creta.
145.15. Some think that these countries were named as they are after Illyrius, the son of Polyphemus. Others [say] after Illyrius, the son of Cadmus. Strabo writes that the whole sea coast of Illyricum, with the adjacent islands, is provided with very good harbours, whereas in contrast to this the whole opposite coast of Italy has none at all. It is a hot country, as Italy is, and very fertile for many sorts of grain, famous for olives and vines. except [for] certain places which are altogether rough and untilled. The high country above it is altogether mountainous, cold and snowy, especially the part towards the North.
145.16. The country people in old times were much given to robbery and thieving, but now they are somewhat more civil. They dwell mostly in houses of timber, thatched with straw, except for a few harbour cities in which their buildings are a bit more humane. {1601L & 1606E only{So far Strabo.}1601L & 1606E only} Among which [cities] the main one is Ragusi, anciently called Epidaurus, a city famous for its market as well as for its political government of the commonwealth. Not long ago it was a free city but now it is tributary to the Turks, and for that [reason] (as Nicolaus Nicolaius says in his Observations) it pays yearly to the great Turk 12,000 ducats of gold. {1601L & 1606E only{A description of this you may read in the tenth book of Martin Barletus' life of Scanderberg}1601L & 1606E only}.
145.17. So far in general about Illyricum. Now I do not think it amiss to say something about our map which does not cover all of Illyricum according to the judgment of the authors mentioned except for Plinius who restrains its borders to a smaller area, as we said. There are on this map Histria, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Bosnia, Carinthia, part of Carniola and part of Steiermark, almost all [of them] tributary to the kingdom of Hungary, except for a few provinces bordering on the sea, which belong to the Venetians. The Turk has subdued most of them to his obedience. Almost all of these regions are described on the various maps in this Theatre of ours, and therefore we will not speak about them at all here. Only, I do not think it amiss to add this single story about Steiermark.
145.18. That this country breeds those Strumosi, that is, a kind of people subject to tumours [struma, goitres], and that you often see some with such huge large tumours that these impede their speech. And a woman allowing her child to suck (as Aubanus writes {not in 1606E{after hearsay)}not in 1606E} casts it [the tumour] over her shoulder like a bag or pouch, lest it should prevent the child from reaching the breast. And indeed, {1601L & 1606E only{we journeyed in the year 1558 from}1601L & 1606E only} near Friesach {1601L & 1606E only{travelling from Vienna to Venice where}1601L & 1606E only} we saw in great wonder a man whose chin [contained a tumour which] began at his ears and was almost as broad as from shoulder to shoulder and hung all the way to his breast.
145.19. {1601L & 1606E only{I say, not without great admiration for the saying of Iuvenalis, Quis tumidum guttur miretur in Alpibus?, [that is:] {1606E only{It is no great wonder to see a tumour in the Alps.}1606E only} They commonly attribute the cause of the tumour to the water and air which the inhabitants here use. {1601L & 1606E only{Rithmayer, born in this country, in his treatise about the situation of the World has a specific description of Stiria.
145.20. About Bosnia read D. Chytræus' Chronicle of Saxony.}1601L & 1606E only} About the Illyrians read for greater detail Dominicus Niger, Volaterranus and Ludovicus Vergerius in the Cosmography by Sebastian Munster, as also the Liber Notitiarum and Laonicus Chalcondylas who in his tenth book has written something about this country worth reading. This entire area, except for those shires that border on Germany speak the Slavonic language which (to say something about this) is now called Windisch by some, considered to be the same as what the Romans called Lingua Illyrica, the Illyrian tongue, and at this day it is wide-spread, as it is generally spoken by all the nations inhabiting [the area] between the Hadriatic {1606E instead{Gulf of Venice}1606E instead} and the North sea.
145.21. For the inhabitants of Istria, Dalmatia, Bosnia, Moravia, Bohemia, Lusatia, Silesia, Polonia, Lithania, Pruthenia, Scandinavia, Bulgaria and Russia, that wide and large kingdom, and many other neighbouring countries, almost up as far as Constantinople, [all] speak that language, and it is also used much among the Turks}1601L & 1606E end here}.
Vernacular text version, long, translated from the 1572/1573 German, 1572/1574 French, 1581 French, 1598 French and 1598 Dutch editions:
145.22. {1572/1573G{Slavonia or Windischland.
145.23. It is difficult to describe this country, partly because the ancient writers are in serious disagreement about its borders and various parts of this country, often called by them Illyricum and Dalmatia, and also because nowadays not much is known about it, since it has few foreigners travelling through it or trading there. The reason for these few visitors is because it is divided among various kings who distrust each other. The emperor possesses part of it, and so do the Venetians and the Ragusi. The Turks also have part of it, feared by all the others.
145.24. Therefore, each lord guards his land carefully, and when some foreigner arrives, he will be distrusted by everyone, and considered to be a spy. This is the reason (as it seems to me) why as regards the region between the Venetian gulf and the river Save, Histria and Greece, nobody has been able to describe it thoroughly how it was, or has been able to unify the writing of the ancients with those of modern [geographers].
145.25. Nevertheless we shall briefly say something about the countries shown on this map (which are part of Illyria), according to what we {1572/1574F, 1581F & 1598F only{have seen and}1572/1574F, 1581F & 1598F only} found about it in modern writers. On this map you firstly see the Windisch Mark and Windisch land, Steiermark, Croatia, Kernten, Krain, Karst and Istria. All these belong almost entirely to the house of Austria. Next to Istria, the Venetians also possess a part of it {1572/1574F, 1581F, 1598F & 1598D instead{except for Istrie, which belongs partly to the Venetians}1572/1574F, 1581F, 1598F & 1598D instead}. These are mountainous and wild regions. Its cities and houses are mostly made of wood, and covered with straw, except on the sea [coast], which is more flourishing. The rivers Save and Drau, which empty into the Danube, bring some fertility.
145.26. Steiermark is very rich in such excellent iron mines that no better mines can be found in all of Europe, as Ritheymer says in his Geography. There are also salt mines here. Here many inhabitants have large tumours under their chin or throat {1572/1574F, 1581F & 1598F only{of which we have seen some which had them as large and big as a mans head}1572/1574F, 1581F & 1598F only}. The capital is Graz. The county of Ciley also belongs to this nation.
145.27. Villach lies in Kernten and is a pleasant city, with mountains all around it, and with a stone bridge across the river Drau. In Klagenfurt as reported by Ritheymer, thieves are hated so much that whenever someone is suspected of being a thief, he is brought to the gallows without first hearing him or bringing him to justice. Three days later they will have a session with the judge, and if he is found not guilty, he will be honourably buried, but if his theft is confirmed, he will be left hanging.
145.28. The Windisch or Slavonian language extends far and wide, so that there is no language in Europe which extends further. For it starts near the gulf of Venice, and extends all the way to the Nordic sea, and on the other side almost to Mar Maggiore (once called Pontus Euxinus) [Black sea] so that Slavonic is spoken in Histria, Croatia, Bosnia, Moravia, Bohemen, Lausnitz, Silesia, Poland, Lithuania, Prussia, Russia, and Moscovia, as also further Northwards towards the kingdom of Sweden. It is also spoken in Bulgaria and around this country, all the way to Constantinople, where it is much used at the emperor's court}1572/1573G, 1572/1574F, 1581F, 1598F & 1598D end here}.
The short second scholarly version as occurring in the 1579 Latin(AB), 1580/1589 German, 1584 Latin, 1588 Spanish, 1592 Latin, 1595 Latin, 1602 German, 1602 Spanish, 1603 Latin, 1608/1612 Italian, 1609/1612 Latin & 1609/1612/1641 Spanish editions:
145.29. {1579L(A) only{[To the reader]}1579L(A) only} {1580/1589G & 1602G have instead{Slavonia, Croatia, Kernten, Steiermark, Bosnia and other areas surrounding them, in a new depiction by Augustinus Hirsvogel}1580/1589G instead}{1592L, 1595L, 1602S, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S instead{A second map of Illyricum}1592L, 1595L, 1602S, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S instead}{1580/1589G & 1602G only{to the benevolent reader}1580/1589G & 1602G only}.
145.30. I intended, as I promised in the preface of this book, to publish only one map for each country, and that as exact as it might be. Thus, when the famous man Iohannes Sambucus sent to me a more accurate map of this country to be inserted into this Theatre of ours [than I had], I decided to leave the other one out. But since it is often both delightful to acquaint oneself with different opinions about one and the same thing, I persuaded myself for this reason that it will not be altogether unprofitable sometimes to see the different descriptions by different authors of one and the same country.
145.31. Again, lest the studious reader should miss [anything] in this most recent edition {not in 1584L & 1603L{what was to be had in the first [edition],}not in 1584L & 1603L} we have thought it good to retain one as well as the other, and to put it here in this place}1580/1589G & 1602G end here} as an insert or appendix. I do not doubt that it will be a thing well pleasing all students of geography}1580/1589G, 1584L, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1602S, 1603L, 1608/1612I & 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S end here. {1579L(AB) only{I wish you well}1579L(AB) only which ends here}.
Finally, a short vernacular version as occurring in the text of 1587 French edition only:
145.32. (1587F only[No title].
145.33. After having received a most exquisite description of Slavonia} by the highly learned Ioan Sambucus which we have shown on the preceding page, I confess that we would not include another one in this Theatre of ours. But since we have sometimes thought about the different shapes and meanings of one and the same matter, we have concluded that it may satisfy the desires sometimes to see various depictions of the same region, we have found it expedient to present both of them to find on one what cannot be found on the other. And we have judged that this will be agreeable to the lovers of geography to include the present map as an ornament or appendix to this book}1587F ends here}.