Saturday, February 7, 2015

Maps That Shaped The World

This fine example of Christian cartography below is the Mappa Mundi at Hereford Cathedral.

A treasure of the medieval world, it records how 13th Century scholars interpreted the world in spiritual as well as geographical terms.





The world depicted is centred on Jerusalem.

The single sheet of vellum features about 500 drawings - including cities and towns, events, plants and animals, plus strange mythical beasts.



 The next image shows the first time that the name 'America' was used on a map as a term for the New World.




 Named after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, the continent features on a section of modern day South America, from the 1507 Waldseemuller World Map, which originated from Germany.






















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