[PDF] Local and Regional Cartography in Medieval Europe

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Europe

P.D.A.

SCOPEANDCHARACTERISTICS

Christendom

thatareneitherworldmapsnorportolan relativelyfewin numberbuthighlyvariedincharacter.

Theyrangefrommaps

ofthewholeofPalestine carefully constructed onameasuredgridtoapaintedpictureof ofFlor ence eithervertically orobliquely,viewedfromaposition fininga mapforourpurpose.Thesearetheproductsof medievalEurope thataretypologically,historically,or graphicmaps ofthesixteenthcenturyandlater.Avery fewaremaps ofentirecountries:themapsofPalestine, the mapscovering anarea,whetherasinglefieldorhalfa province, thatwouldliewithinthenormalexperience mostelaborate,likeRosselli's mapofFlorence,are pictures oflandscapeasseenfromabove,andindeed eyeviewsastothelarge-scalemaps oflatercenturies resentations of landscapeandcallingthemallmaps,we areacting withthehindsightoflatercartographicde velopment; nooneintheMiddleAgeswouldhaveseen themasasingleclass ofobjects,andnolanguageof veryunusual.

MedievalEuropewasinfactasociety

thatknewlittle ofmaps.Itwas notjustthattheregularuseofmaps particularareasandcrafts.Theideaofdraw ingacasualsketch maptoshowsometopographical layout suddenlybecameaware ofthevalueofmaps,canbe centurybetween

1350and1500aboutten,andfrom

thehalf-century

1500-1550abouttwohundred.

2 These figures pointtochangesintheactualproductionand astime tern. 3

Medievalmapsofsmallareasorregionswerein

their owntimequiteabnormalproductions,oftendis playinggreatoriginality andimaginativeingenuityon mapdrawnbyanyoneelse.IntheMiddleAges,the writtendescriptions:itineraries, urbansurveys,fieldter riers, andsoon.Thesemightbeofgreatcomplexity;a terriermightlisthundreds,eventhousands, ofindividual plots

482-84.

withmanyillustrations, isinP.D.A.Harvey,TheHistoryofTopo

Hudson,1980),esp.chaps.3-5

and9.IammostgratefultoMessrs.

Thames

duction

RecordsOffice,

1981),33-49,esp.35.

fromMedieval 464
century, shown period. deDainville putit. 5

Butthatthisshouldbepreferredto

away this inmindthatweshouldviewthoseregionaland inmapmaking,withgrowingawareness ofthevalueof somesmallpointerstothechange thatwastocomein thesixteenth.Butnomorethanthat;thegrowth of

Thenumhers

oflocalmapssurvivingfromEnglandare productionbetween

1350and1500.Butitissignificant

too than1350.Thefact isthatifwehavefewmapsofsmall earlier this thepattern ofproduction,reflectingsomesortofmodest andrestrictedspread oftheideaofdrawingmaps.But wecan dolittlemorethanguesshoworwhythishap pened.Here,asinotherquestions aboutmedievalmaps of suchasthosefromtheLowCountries andBritainor corded

FranceandGermany,havebeen

broughttolightmore someareas,suchasSpain andPortugal,nomedieval maps ofsmallareashavebeenreported,butthisneed has merestsketchmap, ofnocartographicimportancein laterperiods,maybe ofgreatsignificanceifitdatesfrom theMiddleAges.Because ourknowledgeissopatchy, it ping eriesmayradicallychangethepicture. West 5. phieHistoriqueOccidentale,"in

EcolePratiquedesHautesEtudes,

IV e

1969(Paris,1969),401-2.

466
theevidence nowavailable.Scale,theobservanceofa fixed proportionbetweendistancesonthemapanddis tances ontheground,playedpracticallynopartinme dievalmaps ofsmallareas;theywerescarcelyeverbased the averyfewroutes, orsomeothertopographicalrela tionships thatcanbesetoutdiagrammaticallywithout regionalmapswherethecity atthecenterisdrawnto afarlargerscale thantherestofthemap,toemphasize itsimportance.

Apartfrom,justpossibly,someItalian

cityplans,scalemaps ofsmallareaswereunknownfor most ofourperiod,perhapsmakingahesitantappear anceonly atitsstartintheninthcenturywiththeSaint

Gallplan,

anditsfinishinthefifteenth.Conceptually relatedtothelack ofscaleisthefactthatthesemaps areessentiallypicturemaps:anydetailabove ground oneextremeitmayconsist ofnomorethanaroughly sketchedoutline orperspectiveviewofasinglefeature, churchforavillage, orwallsforatown.Attheother bird's-eyeview, drawninstrictperspectivethroughout.

Thepicturemaps

oftheMiddleAgesweretheancestors areallprobablybest thoughtofasaparticularsortof artisticstyles andtechniques. 6

ORIGINSANDDEVELOPMENT

competent andcomplexscalemapsproducedbythe toclassical

Romanprecedentisverydifficulttodeter

on should notruleoutthepossibilityofadirectlineof likely thattheRomantraditionofscalemapsdiedout

GallAbbeylibrary.Both

oftheseareliketheRoman inshowingbuildingssimplyinoutline groundplanand possiblyalsoinbeingdrawntoafixedscale. 8

Theplans

account ofhispilgrimagetherein670,anaccountwrit ten

Arculf

issaidtohavestayedafterhisshiphadbeen carriedfaroffcourse whenreturningtoGaul.Theplans aredescribedashavingbeen drawnbyArculfonwax medievalmanuscripts ofthetext,andtheearliestin originalplanswere drawntoscale;wecanonlysay plans. 9 itsdedicatoryinscriptiontellsus, toGozbert,whowas abbottherefrom816to837.Therehasbeenmuch scholarlyresearch ontheplan,culminatingintherecent ings unit thegrid thatunderliestheentireplan. lo

Thesebuildings

6.Harvey,TopographicalMaps,48(note1).

7.GianfilippoCarettonietaI.,

LapiantamarmoreadiRomaantica:

FormaUrbis

the plansarediscussed andreproducedonpages207-10andpI.Q.Andre

1962).

8.Harvey,TopographicalMaps,

131-32(note1).

9.Titus

tana

1879),

xxx-xxxiii,149,160, 165,181;relatedplansareinmanu scripts

Add.MS.

87-92,esp.91

92.

10.Walter

ofCalifornia

Press,1979).Adifferentinterpretation

oftheunderlyinggridisgiven byEricFernie,

60(1978):

Reichenau:

ed. guidetorecentdiscussion,while

HansReinhardt,DerSt.GallerKlos

isausefulshortintroductiontotheplan. 467

FIG.20.2.PLANOFTHEHOLYSEPULCHER.Thisand

otherplans ofholyplacesweredrawnbyArculf,aFrankish bishop, themonasteryplanfromSaintGall,itbelongstothe Roman traditionofsurveyors'plans. livestock.

Ithasbeenmuchdebatedwhetherthiswas

anexistingmonastery,aplanforoneintended tobe built, orsimplyanidealschema.Norisitcertainthat theproportions ofthemapitself. ll

Itisinanycasean

olingianage,andone oftheoutstandingcartographic productions ofmedievalEurope.Butithadnodirect successor.

Itispossible,evenlikely,thatknowledgeof

cathedralanditspriory thatwasdrawninthemid twelfth suggestsa connection-butifsoitwasonlytheideaof showingthebuildingsinelevation, notanoutlineground plan past, inthetradition oftheRomansurveyors. fromancientRome tomedievalEurope,didanyother aspects ofcartographymeetwithbettersuccess?Did anytraditions ofmappingsurvivefromclassicaltimes?

Einhard,Charlemagne'scourtier

andbiographer,tells us thatwhenCharlemagnediedhehadamonghispos-

Archaeological

Journal

138(1981):259-65.

liamVrry,"Canterbury,Kent, circa1153x1161,"inSkeltonand

Harvey,

LocalMapsandPlans,43-58(note3).

468
plan dated ofRoman than ofmedievalcartography.Size

Stiftsbibliothek,SaintGall(Codex1092).

469

FIG.20.4.PLANOFCANTERBURYCATHEDRALANDITS

themap, isshowninplan. sessionstables ofgoldandsilverengravedwithrepre sentationsoftheworld andofRomeandConstanti nople. 13

Theremayhavebeenacontinuingtraditionof

plans theMiddleAgesgivenohint ofclassicalantecedents.It havevariousmaps oftheHolyLand,drawninwestern both possible todiscoverwhethertheyoweanythingtopre cedent. 14 itiesbetweenthesixth-century

Madabamosaicandthe

medievaltradition thatincludestheearlyfourteenth centurymapsbyPietroVesconteofVenice; buttheexact not century onward,maywellalsoowesomethingtoclas mine.There isadiagramofJerusalemwithArculf's seventh-centurytext, butotherwisetheonlyearlierplan dievalmaps ofPalestineandperhapsofotherareasde rivedfrom

Romanmodels.Butitisonlywhenwelook

anelement thatcanconvincinglybeshowntolieina istheway ofshowinga townbyastylizedpictureofcitywalls, seeninbird's-eyeview,usuallywithtowers andsome- andFellowsofTrinityCollege,Cambridge (MS.R.17.1,fols.

284v-285).

times withoneormorebuildingsinside.Itisavery cartographyaswellasEuropean. IS

Butitcanbetraced

inallsorts ofcontextsfromancientGreecedowntothe High

MiddleAges,andthereseemsnodoubtthatit

reachedmedievalmaps throughacontinuingartistictra dition ofgreatantiquity.16Lavedanhaswellnamedit thecityideogram("l'ideogramme urbain"),andweshall see plansofsomeofthetownsofmedievalEurope. weresimplyapplications ofthesamekindofdrawing turyEnglish planshowingthesourceofWalthamAb bey's watersupplyatWormley(Hertfordshire)(fig. (London:Moring,

1905),54;butseeF.N.Estey,"Charlemagne's

SilverCelestialTable,"

Speculum18(1943):112-17,whointerprets

theworldmapasbeingoftheheavens. ed., mischeDruck-undVerlagsanstalt,

1976);MichaelAvi-Yonah,The

MadabaMosaicMap

15. 16. Age

OrientalResearch,1938),341-51.

470
estineshowsJerusalemasaseries oflargeconcentric andthecoastline.

ISTheoldestknownmapfromthe

Netherlands,dated1307,consistssimply

ofplace-names andothernotes,written inanarrangementcorrespond ofgableendsrepresentingtwochurches (fig.20.6).19 clearlythetechniques ofthediagramappliedtopo graphy.

Oneexamplefrom1441showsanestateonboth

sides oftheRhineatWantzenau,northofStrasbourg: and farms. 2o

OneEnglishtopographicaldiagramisalistof

columnstocorrespondwiththetwosides ofeachstreet andwiththumbnailsketches ofprincipalbuildingsand otherlandmarksdrawnin attheappropriateplaces. 21
grambecomesdifficulttodraw, andwecanseehowthe use leadtothetopographicaldiagramandthemap. of plans onparchmentorpaperwasanormaltechnique of

Stephen's,Vienna,

butitincludesplansofotherbuild ings,evenasfarawayastheRhine, thatwereprobably broughttoViennabyitinerantmasons. 22

Earlier,inthe

thirteenthcentury,thenotebook ofVillarddeHonne courtconfirms thatarchitectswereaccustomedtothink intermsquotesdbs_dbs17.pdfusesText_23

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