Pierre Desceliers

Pierre Desceliers (~ 1500 ~ 1558) was a cartographer French of the Renaissance. He is regarded as the father of the French Hydrographie.

Few things are known life of Desceliers. It was probably born with Arch-the-Battles towards 1500. However other sources give sometimes the date of 1483, which seems not very probable within sight of the creation date of its charts. His/her father was archer with the castle of Arch and it is possible that the family is originating in the country of Trough where family name survives between Honfleur and Pont-l'Ev4eque cheese.

It is known that ordered priest, it resided at Arques. He was also inspector of the maritime pilots, authorized to decree the patents in the name of the king, as attests it the found seal carrying its initial. He also probably taught hydrography. He carried out for the duke of Own way a hydrographic chart of the coasts of France.

Near to Jean Ango and the world of the explorers Dieppois, whose Giovanni da Verrazano and the brothers Parmentier, it did not sail apparently itself. It was nevertheless able to collect number of information and portulans which it compiled in its charts. A fertile school of cartography was formed in Dieppe around him with in particular Nicolas Desliens.

It carried out several portulans big sizes which knew various fortunes.

That of 1543, mentioned in 1872 in the inventory of the wardrobe of the cardinal Louis d' Este under the heading the descriptione del Mondo in carta pecorina scritta has mano, miniata tutta per P. Descheliers. the fate of this chart is unknown.
That of 1546 (size: 2560mmx1260mm), carried out on order of François I {{er}}. It belonged then to certain Jomard then with a count of Crawford and is now preserved in England at the John Rylands Library, with Manchester.
That of 1550, carried out for Henri II and carrying his weapons like that of Anne de Montmorency and the admiral Claude d' Annebaut. Preserved in England, with the British Library.
That of 1553, disappeared with Dresden at the time of a fire in 1915. A copy is exposed by it to the castle of Dieppe.
Another gone back to 1558 and whose fate is currently unknown would have appeared in the International exhibition of geography of Paris in 1875.

These charts at are crossed Moyen-âge and modern era. Precise as much as knowledge could it on the layout of the coasts, they integrate fantastic representations inhabitants and animals in the interior of the grounds. A southern, precursory continent of the Australia 200 years before the “discovery” of James Cook, appears, undoubtedly based on explorations of the Portuguese and the Dutch. The Canada, space of predilection of the Dieppois sailors, is quite detailed, just as the major part of the America northern and southern, only fifty years after the discovery of Christophe Colomb.

In spite of their great value, as well artistic as cartographic, this kind of charts will fall quickly in disuse as of the end the 16th century with the arrival from rigorous work from Mercator and of its maps of the world.

It is thought that Desceliers died in Dieppe towards 1558. There exists today in Dieppe a statue of him as well as a street with its name.

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