Essays & Articles
Nov 18, 2023
The Kangnido Map: A Non-Eurocentric Worldview
Many of the early maps we have been discussing were based on the Eurocentric perceptions of the world held by the...
Nov 5, 2023
The Sawley Map - A Fantastical Medieval Manuscript
A small but fantastical drawing, known today as the Sawley Map, was used by a 12th-century theologian to illustrat...
Oct 29, 2023
The Psalter World Map
One of the most remarkable and important survivors of medieval European maps is The Psalter World Map, the only know...
Oct 18, 2023
Cotton Mappa Mundi
Cotton Mappa Mundi
The fascinating Cotton Mappa Mundi, one of the earliest surviving maps of the world known to hav...
Oct 13, 2023
Fra Mauro Mappa Mundi
The Mappa Mundi by Fra Mauro was a major cartographical accomplishment of the mid-fifteenth century, a stunning ma...
Sep 12, 2023
The Book of Curiosities
World Map from The Book of Curiosities
The next early work we will discuss is a remarkable Arabic manuscript dating ...
Aug 21, 2023
The Piri Reis Map of 1513
Portion of the 1513 Piri Reis Map
The spectacular 1513 Piri Reis world map, next in our series of ancient maps, date...
Jun 30, 2023
The Dunhuang Star Chart
North Circumpolar Region from the Dunhuang Star Chart
This blog in our ancient map series deviates a bit from the re...
Jun 24, 2023
The Madaba Mosaic Map
Madaba Mosaic Map Fragment
The next map in our series of ancient maps is a remarkable map made with mosaic tessera...
Jun 18, 2023
The Catalan Atlas
Cosmographic Chart from the Catalan Atlas
Our next early map was created c. 1375 by Abraham Cresques, a member of...
Jun 11, 2023
Ptolemy’s World Map
The next maps in our series of ancient maps were based on the work of Claudius Ptolemy, who is often called the fathe...
Jun 2, 2023
World Map of Al-Sharif Al-Idrisi
Map of the World by Al-Sharif Al-Idrisi
Another fascinating map of the medieval era was produced by the brilliant Mu...