Module 5 of ‘Sagas and Space’ (Sagas & Space - Thinking Space in Viking and Medieval Scandinavia, University of Zurich) asks an extremely important question; “How did people in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period conceive the North as a system of space and how did they represent this spatial system in texts, images, signs?”
In the middle ages the map was not merely conceived of as representing geographical space, but were also cosmological in the sense that they provided explanations of the structure of the universe, including the earth. In the middle ages there were three main types of map: the T/O map illustrating a tertiary division of the world into Asia, Africa and Europe, the ‘zone’ map dividing the world into five climatic sections (hot, cold and temperate), and a third type of climatic map which represented seven zones. Perhaps the most significant creations in medieval cartography are the so called ‘mappae mundi’ or world maps. The most famous world map is of course the ‘Hereford Mappa Mundi’ dated to c. 1290. Following a traditional T/O geographical pattern this map also incorporates cosmological, religious, mythical and legendary themes – space is virtually envisaged not merely as a territorial concern but also one that expresses the imagination. Thus, on the Hereford Map we may find Jerusalem at the center of the world, contrasted with other parts occupied by unicorns, and the depiction of Greek myths such at the labyrinth of King Minos. A parallel map of Norse origin, MS GkS (Gamle kongelige Samling) 1812, 4to – also incorporated geography with cosmography with over 110 legends.
Perhaps one of the greatest manifestations of the cartographical tradition as it developed from the middle ages into the Renaissance was Olaus Magnus’ (1490 – 1557) Carta Marina, printed in Venice in 1539. The rarity of the map is confirmed by the fact that there are only two extant copies in existence; at Munich, and the other at Uppsala University Library in Sweden. The Carta Marina is composed of nine woodblock prints, which altogether make an image measuring approximately 125 by 170 centimeters. Whilst the iconography and symbolism contained within the map is a continuation of the medieval heritage, the orientation deviates in a modern and innovative manner in line with the Renaissance, that is, that north appears at the top – as distinct from the medieval map which portrayed east in the upper portions. Whilst Magnus attempted and certainly succeeded in inscribing an accurate geographical portrayal of Scandinavian northern Europe, his intent was also to emphasis the political and religious. For example, the map is littered with strange, mythical sea creatures, one of which is a ‘sea-pig’ near the island Tile (Thule). In his Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus (History of the Northern Peoples, 1555), Magnus is keen to point out that the ‘Sea-Pig’ was first spotted off the coast of Germany around the same time as the Protestant monk Martin Luther began his meteoric rise to fame. This latter volume is often quoted by scholars as a commentary on the Carta Marina – describing in detail the often complex symbolic imagery contained within the map.
In summary, we can say that Olaus Magnus’ map, being a continuation in part of the medieval heritage of cartography, representing both geographical and cosmological elements is also innovative. Apart from it’s accuracy with regard to orientation, Magnus has created a chronological order of space. In addition, the various legends and symbols produce a complex narrative on the swiftly changing political and religious period of time in which he lived. This is confirmed by his later ‘History’ published in 1555.
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