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''Mappa mundi'' , Englished (plural = ''mappae mundi'') is a general term used to describe Medieval European maps of the world. These maps ranged in size and complexity from simple schematic maps an inch or less across, to elaborate wall maps, the largest of which was 11 ft. (3.5 m.) in diameter. The term derives from the Medieval Latin words ''mappa'' (cloth or chart) and ''mundi'' (of the world). Approximately 1,100 mappaemundi are known to have survived from the Middle Ages. Of these, some 900 are found illustrating manuscripts and the remainder exist as stand-alone documents (Woodward, p. 286). TYPES OF MAPPAEMUNDI Extent mappaemundi come in several distinct varieties, including: (1) Zonal or Macrobian maps, (2) Tripartite or "T-O" maps, (3) Quadripartite maps (including the Beatus maps), and (4) complex maps. Medieval world maps which share some characteristics of traditional mappaemundi but contain elements from other sources, including Portolan Charts and Ptolemy's '' Geography '' are sometimes considered a fifth type, called "transitional mappaemundi". Zonal Maps Zonal maps are pictures of the ' ''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 mappaemundi are merely circles divided into five parallel zones, but several larger Zonal maps with much more detail have survived. Tripartite or T-O Maps T-O Maps (unlike Zonal maps) illustrate only the habitable portion of the world known in Roman and Medieval times. 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 vast majority of T-O maps place east at the top, hence the term "orienting" a map from the Latin word ''oriens'' for "east". The assertion that T-O maps depict a " Flat Earth ", while common, is unwarranted. The "circle of the lands" in a T-O can just as easily be fit onto the sphere of the Earth as onto a flat, disk-shaped Earth. 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 or Beatus Maps 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 (Woodward, p. 357). Complex Maps The Complex or "great" world maps are the most famous mappaemundi. Although most employ a modified T-O scheme, they are considerably more detailed than their smaller T-O cousins. These maps show costal 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 ) across was the largest surviving mappamundi. Today that honor is held by the famous Hereford Map which is 1.5 m. across. 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 mappaemundi that accompany the popular ''Polychronicon'' of Ranulf Higden should probably be viewed as degenerate form of the earlier complex maps. Complex mappaemundi include:
PURPOSE OF MAPPAEMUNDI To modern eyes, mappaemundi can look superficially primitive and inaccurate. However, mappaemundi were never meant to be used as navigational charts and they make no pretense of showing land and water proportionately. Rather, mappaemundi were schematic and were meant to illustrate different principles. The simplest mappaemundi 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 mappaemundi 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. 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 of Abraham Cresques . During the late Middle Ages and with the coming of the Renaissance, western Europeans became reaquainted 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 '' Geographia '' became extremely influential. Over time maps influenced by these new ideas displaced the older traditions of mappaemundi. 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 mappamundi. REFERENCES Harley, J.B. and David Woodward (eds.), ''The History of Cartography'', Volume I: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, (1987). |
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