But what about the development of texts in the Theatrum? Since most editions contain texts in Latin, which is no longer the language of science, this aspect has been neglected. Even Meurer has confined his search of sources for each plate to the Catalogus Auctorum[2] and has not analysed the development of the text accompanying each plate in systematic detail. A text history, in some cases augmented by information on the paper watermark, is useful in dating maps. Texts and their development over various editions also provide insight into new information, new sources, and the nature of the feedback that Ortelius received from his customers and fellow cartographers.

Parergon maps

1P.	Divi Pauli	1579UI-1624P	5875
2P.	Romani Imperium	1579LII-1624P	5875
3P.	Hellas. Graeciae Sophiani	1579LII-1624P	5625	not in 1608I
4P.	Aegyptus (North)	1584LIII-1592L	975
5P.	Aegyptus (South)	1584LIII-1592L	975
6P.	Belgii Veteris Typus	1584LIII-1592L	975
7P.	Creta-Ins. aliquot	1584LIII-1624P	4275	not in 1598D
8P.	Insularum Aliquot-Cyprus	1584LIII-1624P	4275	not in 1598D
9P.	Italiae Veteris Specimen	1584LIII-1592L	975
10P.	Siciliae Veteris Typus	1584LIII-1624P	4275	not in 1598D
11P.	Tusciae Antiquae Typus	1584LIII-1592L	975
12P.	Abrahami Patriarchae	1590LIV-1595L	400	used side by side with 25P/I, 1592-1595
13P.	Aevi Veteris Typus	1590LIV-1624P	3800
14P.	Africae Propriae Tabula	1590LIV-1624P	3700	not in 1598D
15P.	Brittanicae Insularum (North)	1590LIV-1592L	400
16P.	Brittanicae Insularum (South)	1590LIV-1592L	400
17P.	Pontus Euxinus	1590LIV-1624P	3700	not in 1598D
18P.	Gallia Vetus	1590LIV-1602G	1150	not in 1598D
19P.	Germaniae Veteris Typus	1590LIV-1624P	3700	not in 1598D
20P.	Hispaniae Veteris Descriptio	1590LIV-1624P	3700	not in 1598D
21P.	Italia Gallica Cisalpina	1590LIV-1624P	3700	not in 1598D
22P.	Typus Chorographicus	1590LIV-1624P	3700	not in 1598D
23P.	Pannoniae et Illyrici	1590LIV-1624P	3700	not in 1598D
24P.	Tempe	1590LIV-1624P	3800
25P.	Thraciae Veteris Typus	1590LIV-1624P	3700	not in 1598D
25P/I.	Abrahami Patriarchae	1592L-1624P	3200	used side by side with 12P, 1592-1595
26P.	Europam sive Celticam	1595LV-1624P	3400	not in 1598D
27P.	Galliae Veteris Typus	1595LV-1624P	3400	not in 1598D
28P.	Latium	1595LV-1624P	3400	not in 1598D
29P.	Graecia Major	1595LV-1624P	3400	not in 1598D
30P.	Daciarum Moesiarumque	1595LV-1624P	3400	not in 1598D
31P.	Alexandri Magni	1595LV-1624P	3400	not in 1598D
32P.	Aeneas Troiani Navigatio	1595LV-1602G	1250	not in 1598D
33P.	Daphne	1595LV-1624P	3400	not in 1598D
33P/I.	Belgii Veteris Typus	1595L-1624P	3300	not in 1598D
33P/II.	Italiae Veteris Specimen	1595L-1624P	3300	not in 1598D
33P/III.	Tusciae Antiquae Typus	1595L-1624P	3300	not in 1598D
34P.	Brittanicarum Insularum	1595L-1624P	3300	not in 1598D
35P.	Aegyptus Antiqua	1595L-1624P	3300	not in 1598D
36P.	Geographia Sacra	1598F-1603L	950
37P.	Erythraeae sive Rubri Maris	1598F-1608I	1550
38P.	Argonautica	1598F-1624P	3150
39P.	Scenographia Escoriali	1601L-1624P	3050
39P/I.	Gallia Vetus	1603L-1624P	2550
39P/II.	Aeneas Troiani Navigatio	1603L-1624P	2550
39P/III.	Geographia Sacra	1606E-1624P	1950
39P/IV.	Erythraeae sive Rubri Maris	1609L-1624P	1350
40P.	Ordines Sacri I	1603L-1624P	2550
41P.	Ordines Sacri II	1603L-1624P	2550
42P.	Lumen Orientalis	1624P	300
43P.	Lumen Occidentalis	1624P	300
44P.	Peutingerorum (I, II)	1624P	300	separately issued 1598
45P.	Peutingerorum (III, IV)	1624P	300	separately issued 1598
46P.	Peutingerorum (V, VI)	1624P	300	separately issued 1598
47P.	Peutingerorum (VII, VIII)	1624P	300	separately issued 1598

All Parergon maps (55 plates)	about 143.000
Total of all maps (228 plates)	about 873.000

Descriptions of various atlas editions in cartobibliographical literature such as Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici[8] raises the expectation that all exemplars of that edition are identical in texts as well as plates. However, inspection of two copies of what Koeman calls edition 1(A) of the Theatrum in the University Libraries of Amsterdam and Leiden 1(B) does not confirm this. The maps of "Flandria" turn out to derive from two different parallel plates, as also pointed out by Gittenberger: the cartouches differ at the middle in top and bottom area (see illustration).[9] The Leiden exemplar shows a heart, whereas that of Amsterdam does not. Comparison of the texts between the Leiden exemplar and the Amsterdam exemplar yield considerable differences: in (A) the title of map 5 (Europe) is reset when compared with (B). In plate 8 (Portugalliae), 9 (Galliae), 34 (Pedemontanae), 35 (Como), 46 (Russiae), 47 (Tartariae) and 51 (Palestinae) the whole text is reset. Sometimes it is longer in (A), sometimes longer in (B).