In this Book
- The World Map, 1300–1492: The Persistence of Tradition and Transformation
- Book
- 2007
- Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press
- Series: Published in cooperation with the Center for American Places, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Staunton, Virginia
summary
In the two centuries before Columbus, mapmaking was transformed. The World Map, 1300–1492 investigates this important, transitional period of mapmaking. Beginning with a 1436 atlas of ten maps produced by Venetian Andrea Bianco, Evelyn Edson uses maps of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries to examine how the discoveries of missionaries and merchants affected the content and configuration of world maps. She finds that both the makers and users of maps struggled with changes brought about by technological innovation—the compass, quadrant, and astrolabe—rediscovery of classical mapmaking approaches, and increased travel. To reconcile the tensions between the conservative and progressive worldviews, mapmakers used a careful blend of the old and the new to depict a world that was changing—and growing—before their eyes. This engaging and informative study reveals how the ingenuity, creativity, and adaptability of these craftsmen helped pave the way for an age of discovery.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- 5 The Recovery of Ptolemy’s Geography
- pp. 127-153
- 6 Fra Mauro: The Debate on the Map
- pp. 154-177
- 8 The Transformation of the World Map
- pp. 218-239
- Conclusion: The World Map Transformed
- pp. 240-249
- Bibliography
- pp. 290-305
Additional Information
ISBN
9781421404301
Related ISBN(s)
9780801885891
MARC Record
OCLC
794701459
Pages
312
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No