Mapping Time and Space

Book excerpt: Until recently, medieval maps were often looked upon as quaint, amusing, and quite simply wrong. By comparison the best examples of modern cartography appear to offer a much more accurate record of the world. However, as Professor Edson makes clear in this stimulating book, when seeking the meaning and purpose of maps in the Middle Ages, one cannot assume that they were used for the same purposes or had the same meaning as they do today. In fact, the differences in structure and content give us an intriguing insight into how medieval mapmakers and readers saw their world. By a close study of the context in which the mapmakers produced their work, it can be shown that they were often striving to present -- and make sense of -- a world picture that naturally incorporated key 'events' from the past, at the same time showing a narrative of human spiritual development from the Creation to the Last Judgment. -- From publisher's description.