Jabuka Island in the notes of Adriatic Sea travelers from 14th to 17th century – name and shape

Abstract

Jabuka je po svojoj površini jedan od najmanjih jadranskih otoka. Prvi put je zabilježena na pomorskim kartama početkom 14. stoljeća, a zbog svoje prepoznatljivosti unosili su je gotovo svi kartografi i pisci portulana. Njezino prvotno mletačko ime bilo je Mellisella, a nakon toga Pomo. Kao doprinos ovim podacima, u radu su navedena trideset četiri opisa Jabuke koja su dali putnici tijekom plovidbe Jadranom od kraja 14. do kraja 17. stoljeća. Od atributa koje je otok dobivao najčešće se pisalo da je visok, šiljast i kamenit. No bilo je i maštovitijih, kao primjerice usporedbe s egipatskim piramidama. Putnici su opisali i lov na sokolove koji su se tamo gnijezdili, a sve te podatke dobivali su od članova posade broda. Analiziran je i, zasad, najstariji slikovni prikaz otoka koji je napravio Nizozemac de Bruyn 1684. i objavio ga 1698. godine.By surface area Jabuka is one of the smallest islands in the Adriatic Sea. It was noted for the first time in nautical charts at the beginning of the 14th century, and due to its recognizable shape mapped by almost all portolan and nautical chart makers. Its initial Venetian name was Mellisella, followed by Pomo. There are 34 different descriptions of Jabuka Island written by travelers during their voyages across the Adriatic Sea from 14th to 17th century analysed included in this paper. The most common of all the features attributed to the island were that it was high, peaked, and rocky. There were, however, more imaginative ones, like comparisons with Egyptian pyramids. The travelers also described the hunt for falcons that nested there, the accounts which they obtained from ship crew members. This paper also analyses the oldest known illustration of Jabuka Island made in 1684 by Dutchman de Bruyn, published in 1698