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Amappa mundi (Latin[ˈmappaˈmʊndiː]; plural =mappae mundi;French:mappemonde;Middle English:mappemond) is anymedieval 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, theEbstorf map, was around 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) in diameter. The term derives from theMedieval Latin wordsmappa (cloth or chart) andmundus (world).
Around 1,100mappae 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]
Extantmappae mundi come in several distinct varieties, including:
Medieval world maps which share some characteristics of traditionalmappae mundi but contain elements from other sources, includingPortolan charts and maps associated withPtolemy'sGeography are sometimes considered a fifth type, called "transitional mappae mundi".
Zonal maps are pictures of theEastern Hemisphere. Their purpose was to illustrate the concept that the world is a sphere with latitudinal climate zones, most often the fiveAristotelianclimes:
Of these, only the two temperate zones at middle latitudes were believed to be habitable, and the known world was contained entirely within the northern temperate zone's Eastern Hemisphere. As most surviving zonal maps are found illustratingMacrobius'Commentary onCicero'sDream of Scipio (an excerpt of Cicero'sDe Re Publica), this type of map is sometimes called "Macrobian". In their simplest and most common form, Zonalmappae 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 ofAsia,Africa andEurope. 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.
TheV-in-square map depicts the Earth divided between thesons of Noah.
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 calledAntipodes. Fourteen large quadripartite maps are found illustrating different manuscripts ofBeatus of Liébana's popularCommentary on theApocalypse ofSt 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]
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, theEbstorf 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 theHereford map which is 147 cm across and 175 cm top to bottom. Other important maps in this group are theCotton or Anglo-Saxon map, the Psalter map and the Henry of Mainz map. The somewhat later mappae mundi that accompany the popularPolychronicon ofRanulf Higden should probably be viewed as degenerate forms of the earlier complex maps.
Complex mappae mundi include:
| Name | Date | MS locations | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Albi or Merovingian map | c. 730 | Médiathèque Pierre-Amalric,Albi[4] | 29 cm × 23 cm (11.4 in × 9.1 in) |
| The so-called Vatican map ofIsidore 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 ofTheodulf of Orleans | 11th century | Vatican Library, Vatican City. Reg. Lat. 123, fol. 143 v.–144 r. | |
| TheSawley 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) |
| TheEbstorf map | c. 1235 | Found inEbstorf in 1843; destroyed by bombing inHanover in 1943 | 3.56 m × 3.58 m (11.7 ft × 11.7 ft) |
| ThePsalter map | 13th century | British Library, London | 14.2 cm × 9.5 cm (5.6 in × 3.7 in) |
| TheHereford map | c. 1300 | Hereford Cathedral, Hereford | 1.5 m (4.9 ft) |
| TheBorgia Map | early 15th century | Vatican Library, Vatican City | |
| TheFra Mauro map | 1459–60 | Museo Correr, Venice | 2.4 m × 2.4 m (7.9 ft × 7.9 ft) |
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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 theEbstorf andHereford maps, they become minor encyclopedias of medieval knowledge.
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’sCommentary 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).
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Beginning with theCarta Pisana in the late thirteenth century, a new style of map based on charts of the Mediterranean Sea began to emerge. Now known as "Portolan charts", these maps are characterized by extremely accurate coastlines with criss-crossingrhumb lines. A particularly famous example is theCatalan Atlas attributed toAbraham Cresques in theBibliothèque 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 whichClaudius Ptolemy outlined in theGeography 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 ofFra Mauro, may be seen as hybrids, incorporating Portolan-style coastlines into the frame of a traditional mappa mundi.
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