mappa mundi

A mappa mundi (Latin, plural: mappae mundi ) is a medieval map of the world in the tradition of European cartography. Due to the earlier Ptolemaic tradition, there are some references to the Islamic cards this time. The temporal end point of this type of card is in the 15th century, when the maritime discoveries and cartography were making progress.

Mappa is originally a white spread- cloth.

General and source value

According to Harvey have been handed down from the Europe of the 7th to the 14th century over a thousand maps of the world, these are largely but simple diagrams in which one has any information arranged spatially. They appear about as illustrations of philosophical or scientific treatises.

Mappae mundi are treated as historical sources in the Historical Geography, a historical auxiliary science. They should not be solely measured by whether a geographical information based on current knowledge is correct. Although these cards are also used to determine the then geographical knowledge. Has Anna- Dorothee von den Brincken out that their current value is not so much science, but in the humanities style is not to geographical details, it 'll go, but about the ordo in the sense of the world picture. They are to be understood primarily as thematic maps, not as a means of specific geographical orientation.

Prehistory

Forerunner of the medieval world maps are Roman TO- cards on which the Tanais ( Don ), Nile, Black and Aegean Sea Asia Europe and Africa separate, which in turn were separated by the Mediterranean Sea. However, there are no surviving maps of the Roman period; therefore, the presumption is not untermauerbar, there was in ancient times an outstanding card tradition that was lost in the Middle Ages. The work of the Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy ( around 150 AD ) is delivered as text only, the well-known fact -based cards have modern. The Tabula Peutingeriana ( after 330 AD) is a road map. Furthermore, there should have been an ecumenism Card by Augustus ' son- Marcus Agrippa Vipsanius.

Issues

In the evaluation of the medieval world maps, some issues have become common; one distinguishes between pictura and scriptura by Gervase. The pictura, so the picture painted should be copied as closely as possible, in the scriptura, the Scripture or the map legend, it was free and could discuss insecure.

Of importance is the geographical orientation; while today's cards are normally North Up (North is "up" ), were medieval maps usually always faces east European (Christian), because salvation comes from the East. The focus of several cards is Jerusalem, the navel of the world. Sometimes even the body of Christ is associated with the map, so that you can see above his head, below your feet and the left and right hands. In general, one notices the outer boundary of such cards.

Political boundaries are not found usually because dominions were only understood territorially in the late Middle Ages, as of the Brincken.

Frequently two regions particularly large ( usually overproportioned ) are shown:

• The Holy Land (Palestine), due to its salvation-historical significance and the many biblical details that you want to show;
• The region of the map author who knows his own region (residential or area of ​​origin ) better than others.

Traditionally, different ( and knows ) the antiquity as well as the Middle Ages three continents: Europe, Asia, Africa. They are brought in connection with Noah's descendants Japheth, Shem and Ham. But after that, there was the question of a fourth continent ( terra australis incognita ), where the authors often settled Monster ( " antipodes ").

Finally, the development of the coastlines and the geographical knowledge of the author is an important issue. An accurate description is the one extreme, a very schematic representation of three areas ( continents ) and three separating seas, the other (TO- card). In the manner of presentation flow and geographical - a rather philosophical and speculative ideas - from today's perspective.

Sources of the authors

For the contents of the map, the authors based mainly on the literature they could find about foreign countries. Often it is the ever-popular and widely known works of the authorities. A distinction is made according to the origin and contents:

• The Bible story, also important in the context of the history of salvation;
• Classical antiquity, together with the mythology and fictional literature such as the legend of Alexander;
• The scientific works of antiquity and the Middle Ages, such as for exotic animals;
• The knowledge of how it was to be found in the chronicles called.

Development and well-known examples

Harvey and English shows that it is wrong to see a simple evolution from the primitive to the more elaborate. It is about the origin and context, but especially to the intended message of a mappa mundi.

Among the most famous mappae mundi include the

• Hereford card, which is often regarded as the typical Mappa Mundi; it is the largest surviving these cards;
• The tab of the Arab geographer Idrisi Rogeriana,
• The map of Piri Reis,
• The small London Psalter,
• Ebstorfer the world map, the original of which is burned in World War II, as well as
• 1448 resulting world map of Andreas Walsperger
• Mappa Mundi of the Fra Mauro of 1459/60

The Vinland Map is true for most professionals as fake.

Already in 1375, created the Jewish cartographer Jafudà Cresques Abraham de Aragón for the French king Charles VI. the so-called Catalan Atlas, the " mappae mundi ", one of the most famous maps of the Middle Ages, in which a wind rose is first drawn. Are, inter alia, in his Marco Polo's trip to Asia and south of the Mediterranean coast travelers illustrated with camels on the way to Mali. The working Mallorca Cresques Abraham de Aragón has access to both Christian and Islamic sources, which makes the Catalan Atlas so unique.

Along with such atlases show the way to the modern maps the portolan ( charts for practical use ).