Medieval maps did not share modern objectives with cartography: the _mappae mundi_ (“maps of the world”) were not designed to find one’s way with landmass shown to scale, but rather to convey a schematic idea of the major parts of creation. The map here (Bartholomeus Anglicus, _De propriatatibus rerum_, Ahun 1480 (BnF@gallicabnf, Francis 9140, fol 241v) is a very fancy version of a type of _mappae mundi_ known as a “T-O map,” which depicted lands in the northern hemisphere by circling them with an “O,” and dividing them with a “T.” Asia takes up two-thirds of the land and is towards the east – since the sun rises in the east, that direction was usually taken as the direction of heaven, and so Paradise appears at the top of the map. Separating Europe from Africa was the upright portion of the “T,” representing the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea, River Don, and Sea of Asov are marked by the left bar of the “T,” delineating Asia from Europe. The other side of the “T” stands for the Red Sea, setting apart Africa from Asia. Usually T-O maps have Jerusalem in the center of the world, because the story of the crucifixion was central to the mental world of most Europeans at the time.
Source(s): “Modern Medieval Map Myths: the Flat World, Ancient Sea-kings, and Dragons,” Michael Livingston, _Strange Horizons_, issue 10, June 2002. Evelyn Edson, _Mapping Time and Space: How Medieval Mapmakers Viewed Their World_, The British Library Studies in Mapmaking, Volume 1, (London, The British Library, 1997).
