A mappa mundi (Latin [ˈmappa ˈmʊndiː]; plural = mappae mundi; French: mappemonde; Middle English: mappemond) is any medieval Europeanmap of the world. Such maps range in size and complexity from simple schematic maps 25 millimetres (1 inch) or less across to elaborate wall maps, the largest of which to survive to modern times, the Ebstorf map, was around 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) in diameter. The term derives from the Medieval Latin words mappa (cloth or chart) and mundus (world).
Around 1,100 mappae mundi are known to have survived from the Middle Ages. Of these, some 900 are found illustrating manuscript books and the remainder exist as stand-alone documents.[1]
Medieval world maps which share some characteristics of traditional mappae mundi but contain elements from other sources, including Portolan charts and maps associated with Ptolemy's Geography are sometimes considered a fifth type, called "transitional mappae mundi".
Zonal maps
Zonal maps are pictures of the Eastern Hemisphere. Their purpose was to illustrate the concept that the world is a sphere with latitudinal climate zones, most often the five Aristotelianclimes:
The northern frigid zone
the northern temperate zone
the equatorial tropical zone
the southern temperate zone
the southern frigid zone
Of these, only the two temperate zones at middle latitudes were believed to be inhabitable, and the known world was contained entirely within the northern temperate zone's Eastern Hemisphere. As most surviving zonal maps are found illustrating Macrobius' Commentary on Cicero's Dream of Scipio (an excerpt of Cicero's De Re Publica), this type of map is sometimes called "Macrobian". In their simplest and most common form, Zonal mappae mundi are merely circles divided into five parallel zones, but several larger zonal maps with much more detail have survived.
T-O maps, unlike zonal maps, illustrate only the habitable portion of the world known to medieval Europeans, limiting their perspective to a relatively small portion of the Earth's Northern Hemisphere.[2] The landmass was illustrated as a circle (an "O") divided into three portions by a "T". These three divisions were the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. The popularity of the Macrobian maps and the combination of T-O style continents on some of the larger Macrobian spheres illustrate that Earth's sphericity continued to be understood among scholars during the Middle Ages.
Quadripartite maps represent a sort of amalgam of the zonal and T-O maps by illustrating the three known continents separated by an equatorial ocean from a fourth unknown land, often called Antipodes. Fourteen large quadripartite maps are found illustrating different manuscripts of Beatus of Liébana's popular Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John. These "Beatus maps" are believed to derive from a single (now lost) original which was used to illustrate the missions of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.[3]
Complex maps
The "complex" or "great" world maps are the most famous mappae mundi. Although most employ a modified T-O scheme, they are considerably more detailed than their smaller T-O cousins. These maps show coastal details, mountains, rivers, cities, towns and provinces. Some include figures and stories from history, the Bible and classical mythology. Also shown on some maps are exotic plants, beasts and races known to medieval scholars only through Roman and Greek texts. Prior to its destruction in World War II, the Ebstorf map at 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) across was the largest surviving mappa mundi. Today that honour is held by the surviving centre portion of the Hereford map which is 147 cm across and 175 cm top to bottom. Other important maps in this group are the Cotton or Anglo-Saxon map, the Psalter map and the Henry of Mainz map. The somewhat later mappae mundi that accompany the popular Polychronicon of Ranulf Higden should probably be viewed as degenerate forms of the earlier complex maps.
To modern eyes, mappae mundi can look superficially primitive and inaccurate. However, mappae mundi were never meant to be used as navigational charts and they make no pretence of showing the relative areas of land and water. Rather, mappae mundi were schematic and were meant to illustrate different principles. The simplest mappae mundi were diagrams meant to preserve and illustrate classical learning easily. The zonal maps should be viewed as a kind of teaching aid—easily reproduced and designed to reinforce the idea of the Earth's sphericity and climate zones. T-O maps were designed to schematically illustrate the three land masses of the world as it was known to the Romans and their medieval European heirs.
The larger mappae mundi have the space and detail to illustrate further concepts, such as the cardinal directions, distant lands, Bible stories, history, mythology, flora, fauna and exotic races. In their fullest form, such as the Ebstorf and Hereford maps, they become minor encyclopedias of medieval knowledge.
Recreation of the Ebstorf Map of about 1235; the original was destroyed by wartime bombing.
In her study, Brigitte Englisch shows that the medieval world maps (the mappae mundi) both from their concept and in their concrete practice are founded on a systematically geometric projection of the known world. The basis of this projection, however, is not geographical surveying but the harmonious order of God’s creation.[citation needed] Using regular geometric forms like circles and triangles which are also regarded as religiously perfect, they created a coherent planispheric system. This quite basically presents the known world in its real geographic appearance which is visible in the so-called Vatican Map of Isidor (776), the world maps of Beatus of Liebana’s Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John (8th century), the Anglo-Saxon Map (ca. 1000), the Sawley map, the Psalter map, or the large mappae mundi of the 13th century (Hereford/Ebstorf).
End of the tradition
In the central Middle Ages a new type of map developed as an aid to navigating the Mediterranean Sea. Known as "Portolan charts", these maps are characterized by extremely accurate coastlines with criss-crossing rhumb lines. A particularly famous example is the Catalan Atlas attributed to Abraham Cresques in the Bibliothèque nationale de France. During the late Middle Ages and with the coming of the Renaissance, western Europeans became reacquainted with the work of many ancient Greek scholars. In the field of geography and map-making, the coordinate system which Claudius Ptolemy outlined in the Geography became extremely influential. Over time maps influenced by these new ideas displaced the older traditions of mappae mundi. The last examples of the tradition, including the massive map of Fra Mauro, may be seen as hybrids, incorporating Portolan-style coastlines into the frame of a traditional mappa mundi.
^Kedwards, Dale (18 September 2020). The Mappae Mundi of Medieval Iceland. Cambridge: Boydell & Brewer. p. 2. doi:10.2307/j.ctvxhrjnp. ISBN978-1-78744-791-2. S2CID 224902444.
Woodward, David (1987). "Medieval Mappaemundi" (PDF). In Harley, J. B. (ed.). The History of Cartography. Vol. One: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Further reading
Peter Barber (ed.) (2005) The Map Book, London
Anna-Dorothee von den Brincken (1992) Fines terrae: die Enden der Erde und der vierte Kontinent auf den mittelalterlichen Weltkarten (MGH Schriften; 36). Hannover
Crosby, Alfred W. (1996) The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Evelyn Edson (1997) Mapping Time and Space: how medieval mapmakers viewed their world, London
Brigitte Englisch (2002) Ordo orbis terrae: Die Weltsicht in den Mappae mundi des frühen und hohen Mittelalters, Berlin
Conrad Rudolph, "'In Its Extraordinary Arrangement': Hugh of Saint Victor, the History of Salvation, and the World Map of The Mystic Ark," Restoration Through Contemplation: New Approaches to the Victorines, ed. Torsten Edstam and Robert Porwoll (2016)
External links
Detailed Fra Mauro Mappa Mundi 1459/60 at bottom of article
Ancient World Maps
1452 Mappamundi by Giovanni Leardo held at the American Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee
Mappa Mundi Hereford Digital Mappa Mundi exploration
More information and Mappa mundi images can be found at the Cornell University: Persuasive Cartography: The PJ Mode Collection
Virtual Mappa: Digital Editions of Early Medieval Maps of the World, edit. Martin Foys, Heather Wacha, et al. (Philadelphia, PA: Schoenberg Institute of Manuscript Studies, 2018): https://sims2.digitalmappa.org/36. DOI: 10.21231/ef21-ev82.
July 13, 2023
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This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations February 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message A mappa mundi Latin ˈmappa ˈmʊndiː plural mappae mundi French mappemonde Middle English mappemond is any medieval European map of the world Such maps range in size and complexity from simple schematic maps 25 millimetres 1 inch or less across to elaborate wall maps the largest of which to survive to modern times the Ebstorf map was around 3 5 m 11 ft 6 in in diameter The term derives from the Medieval Latin words mappa cloth or chart and mundus world The Hereford Mappa Mundi about 1300 Hereford Cathedral England Around 1 100 mappae mundi are known to have survived from the Middle Ages Of these some 900 are found illustrating manuscript books and the remainder exist as stand alone documents 1 Contents 1 Types of mappae mundi 1 1 Zonal maps 1 2 Tripartite maps 1 3 Quadripartite or Beatus maps 1 4 Complex maps 2 Purpose of mappae mundi 3 End of the tradition 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksTypes of mappae mundi Edit Diagram illustrating the major categories of mappae mundi Extant mappae mundi come in several distinct varieties including Zonal maps sometimes called Macrobian maps Tripartite maps including T O and V in maps Quadripartite maps including the Beatus maps Complex mapsMedieval world maps which share some characteristics of traditional mappae mundi but contain elements from other sources including Portolan charts and maps associated with Ptolemy s Geography are sometimes considered a fifth type called transitional mappae mundi Zonal maps Edit Zonal maps are pictures of the Eastern Hemisphere Their purpose was to illustrate the concept that the world is a sphere with latitudinal climate zones most often the five Aristotelian climes The northern frigid zone the northern temperate zone the equatorial tropical zone the southern temperate zone the southern frigid zoneOf these only the two temperate zones at middle latitudes were believed to be inhabitable and the known world was contained entirely within the northern temperate zone s Eastern Hemisphere As most surviving zonal maps are found illustrating Macrobius Commentary on Cicero s Dream of Scipio an excerpt of Cicero s De Re Publica this type of map is sometimes called Macrobian In their simplest and most common form Zonal mappae mundi are merely circles divided into five parallel zones but several larger zonal maps with much more detail have survived Tripartite maps Edit Main articles T and O map and V in square map T O maps unlike zonal maps illustrate only the habitable portion of the world known to medieval Europeans limiting their perspective to a relatively small portion of the Earth s Northern Hemisphere 2 The landmass was illustrated as a circle an O divided into three portions by a T These three divisions were the continents of Asia Africa and Europe The popularity of the Macrobian maps and the combination of T O style continents on some of the larger Macrobian spheres illustrate that Earth s sphericity continued to be understood among scholars during the Middle Ages The V in square map depicts the Earth divided between the sons of Noah Quadripartite or Beatus maps Edit Quadripartite maps represent a sort of amalgam of the zonal and T O maps by illustrating the three known continents separated by an equatorial ocean from a fourth unknown land often called Antipodes Fourteen large quadripartite maps are found illustrating different manuscripts of Beatus of Liebana s popular Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John These Beatus maps are believed to derive from a single now lost original which was used to illustrate the missions of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ 3 Complex maps Edit The complex or great world maps are the most famous mappae mundi Although most employ a modified T O scheme they are considerably more detailed than their smaller T O cousins These maps show coastal details mountains rivers cities towns and provinces Some include figures and stories from history the Bible and classical mythology Also shown on some maps are exotic plants beasts and races known to medieval scholars only through Roman and Greek texts Prior to its destruction in World War II the Ebstorf map at 3 5 m 11 ft 6 in across was the largest surviving mappa mundi Today that honour is held by the surviving centre portion of the Hereford map which is 147 cm across and 175 cm top to bottom Other important maps in this group are the Cotton or Anglo Saxon map the Psalter map and the Henry of Mainz map The somewhat later mappae mundi that accompany the popular Polychronicon of Ranulf Higden should probably be viewed as degenerate forms of the earlier complex maps Complex mappae mundi include Name Date MS locations DimensionsThe Albi or Merovingian map c 730 Mediatheque Pierre Amalric Albi 4 29 cm 23 cm 11 4 in 9 1 in The so called Vatican map of Isidore of Seville 776 Vatican Library Vatican City Lat 6018 fol 64 v 65 r The Anglo Saxon or Cotton map c 1025 1050 British Library London Cotton Tiberius B v fol 56v 21 cm 17 cm 8 3 in 6 7 in The map of Theodulf of Orleans 11th century Vatican Library Vatican City Reg Lat 123 fol 143 v 144 r The Sawley map 1190 1210 Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS 66 pt 1 29 5 cm 20 5 cm 11 6 in 8 1 in The Vercelli Map c 1219 Archivio Capitolare Vercelli 84 cm 72 cm 2 76 ft 2 36 ft The Ebstorf map c 1235 Found in Ebstorf in 1843 destroyed by bombing in Hanover in 1943 3 56 m 3 58 m 11 7 ft 11 7 ft The Psalter map 13th century British Library London 14 2 cm 9 5 cm 5 6 in 3 7 in The Hereford map c 1300 Hereford Cathedral Hereford 1 5 m 4 9 ft The Borgia Map early 15th century Vatican Library Vatican CityThe Fra Mauro map 1459 60 Museo Correr VenicePurpose of mappae mundi Edit Mappa Mundi in La Fleur des Histoires 1459 1463 showing Noah s Ark on Mount Ararat To modern eyes mappae mundi can look superficially primitive and inaccurate However mappae mundi were never meant to be used as navigational charts and they make no pretence of showing the relative areas of land and water Rather mappae mundi were schematic and were meant to illustrate different principles The simplest mappae mundi were diagrams meant to preserve and illustrate classical learning easily The zonal maps should be viewed as a kind of teaching aid easily reproduced and designed to reinforce the idea of the Earth s sphericity and climate zones T O maps were designed to schematically illustrate the three land masses of the world as it was known to the Romans and their medieval European heirs The larger mappae mundi have the space and detail to illustrate further concepts such as the cardinal directions distant lands Bible stories history mythology flora fauna and exotic races In their fullest form such as the Ebstorf and Hereford maps they become minor encyclopedias of medieval knowledge Recreation of the Ebstorf Map of about 1235 the original was destroyed by wartime bombing In her study Brigitte Englisch shows that the medieval world maps the mappae mundi both from their concept and in their concrete practice are founded on a systematically geometric projection of the known world The basis of this projection however is not geographical surveying but the harmonious order of God s creation citation needed Using regular geometric forms like circles and triangles which are also regarded as religiously perfect they created a coherent planispheric system This quite basically presents the known world in its real geographic appearance which is visible in the so called Vatican Map of Isidor 776 the world maps of Beatus of Liebana s Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John 8th century the Anglo Saxon Map ca 1000 the Sawley map the Psalter map or the large mappae mundi of the 13th century Hereford Ebstorf End of the tradition EditIn the central Middle Ages a new type of map developed as an aid to navigating the Mediterranean Sea Known as Portolan charts these maps are characterized by extremely accurate coastlines with criss crossing rhumb lines A particularly famous example is the Catalan Atlas attributed to Abraham Cresques in the Bibliotheque nationale de France During the late Middle Ages and with the coming of the Renaissance western Europeans became reacquainted with the work of many ancient Greek scholars In the field of geography and map making the coordinate system which Claudius Ptolemy outlined in the Geography became extremely influential Over time maps influenced by these new ideas displaced the older traditions of mappae mundi The last examples of the tradition including the massive map of Fra Mauro may be seen as hybrids incorporating Portolan style coastlines into the frame of a traditional mappa mundi See also Edit Maps portal World portalEarly world maps Hereford Mappa Mundi Virtual Mappa Here be dragons Terra incognita Portolan chartNotes Edit J B Harley 1987 Volume I p 286 Kedwards Dale 18 September 2020 The Mappae Mundi of Medieval Iceland Cambridge Boydell amp Brewer p 2 doi 10 2307 j ctvxhrjnp ISBN 978 1 78744 791 2 S2CID 224902444 J B Harley 1987 Volume I p 357 Focus sur La Mappa mundi d Albi Site Mediatheques References EditEdson Evelyn 2007 The World Map 1300 1492 Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Woodward David 1987 Medieval Mappaemundi PDF In Harley J B ed The History of Cartography Vol One Cartography in Prehistoric Ancient and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean Chicago University of Chicago Press Further reading EditPeter Barber ed 2005 The Map Book London Anna Dorothee von den Brincken 1992 Fines terrae die Enden der Erde und der vierte Kontinent auf den mittelalterlichen Weltkarten MGH Schriften 36 Hannover Crosby Alfred W 1996 The Measure of Reality Quantification in Western Europe 1250 1600 Cambridge Cambridge University Press Evelyn Edson 1997 Mapping Time and Space how medieval mapmakers viewed their world London Brigitte Englisch 2002 Ordo orbis terrae Die Weltsicht in den Mappae mundi des fruhen und hohen Mittelalters Berlin Conrad Rudolph In Its Extraordinary Arrangement Hugh of Saint Victor the History of Salvation and the World Map of The Mystic Ark Restoration Through Contemplation New Approaches to the Victorines ed Torsten Edstam and Robert Porwoll 2016 External links EditModern Medieval Map Myths The Flat World Ancient Sea Kings and Dragons Detailed Fra Mauro Mappa Mundi 1459 60 at bottom of article Ancient World Maps 1452 Mappamundi by Giovanni Leardo held at the American Geographical Society Library UW Milwaukee Mappa Mundi Hereford Digital Mappa Mundi exploration More information and Mappa mundi images can be found at the Cornell University Persuasive Cartography The PJ Mode Collection Discussion by Janina Ramirez and Peter Frankopan Art Detective Podcast 22 Mar 2017 Virtual Mappa Digital Editions of Early Medieval Maps of the World edit Martin Foys Heather Wacha et al Philadelphia PA Schoenberg Institute of Manuscript Studies 2018 https sims2 digitalmappa org 36 DOI 10 21231 ef21 ev82 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mappa mundi amp oldid 1154204301, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
