The Hereford mappa mundi, a map of the world with Jerusalem at its centre
The Hereford Mappa Mundi (Latin: mappa mundi) is the largest medieval map still known to exist, depicting the known world. It is a religious rather than literal depiction, featuring heaven, hell and the path to salvation. The map is drawn in a form deriving from the T and O pattern, dating from c. 1300. It is displayed at Hereford Cathedral in Hereford, England.[1] The map was created with the intent of its being appreciated as an intricate work of art rather than as a navigational tool.[2] Sources for the information presented on the map include the Alexander tradition, medieval bestiaries and Monstrous races tradition, as well as the Bible.
Although the evidence is circumstantial, modern scholarship links the map with the promotion of the cult of Thomas de Cantilupe,[3] and with a justification of the expulsion of Jewry from England.[4] Potentially antisemitic images include a horned Moses and a depiction of Jews worshipping the Golden Calf in the form of a Saracen devil. The map also seems to reflect very patriarchical views of women as inherently sinful, including figures such as the wife of Lot being turned into a pillar of salt for gazing at the city of Sodom. Cantilupe was known for his dislike of Jews and was regarded as misogynistic even by the standards of his own time.[3]
The map would have functioned as an object to show people visiting Cantilupe's cult, and guides would have described and helped visitors to understand the content. The idea of looking, reading and hearing the stories is mentioned on the map itself. There would not have always been single, fixed ideas attached to the images, which would be interpreted symbolically, and through juxtaposition and proximity. Text in Latin and French would help guides and international visitors to understand something of its meaning.
A larger mappa mundi, the Ebstorf Map, was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1943, though photographs of it survive.
^Edson 1997
^Black 2010.
^ abStrickland 2022b, p. 32.
^Strickland 2018, p. 444.
and 24 Related for: Hereford Mappa Mundi information
The HerefordMappaMundi (Latin: mappamundi) is the largest medieval map still known to exist, depicting the known world. It is a religious rather than...
A mappamundi (Latin [ˈmappa ˈmʊndiː]; plural = mappae mundi; French: mappemonde; Middle English: mappemond) is any medieval European map of the world...
but some photographs and colour copies remain. The HerefordMappaMundi is a detailed mappamundi based on the T and O map style, dating to c. 1300. The...
library of chained books in the world, its most famous treasure being the MappaMundi, a medieval map of the world created around 1300 by Richard of Holdingham...
with north at the top: Medieval European T and O maps such as the HerefordMappaMundi were centered on Jerusalem with East at the top. Indeed, before the...
connotations, especially in the later medieval period, for example, on the HerefordMappaMundi. Associations between Jews and devils were established, and a belief...
The Psalter World Map or the Map Psalter is a small mappamundi from the 13th century, now in the British Library, found in a psalter. No other records...
people were also illustrated and described on medieval maps. The HerefordMappaMundi (ca. 1300) places the "Blemee" in Ethiopia (upper Nile system), deriving...
particulars of northern and eastern Europe. Medieval maps such as the HerefordMappaMundi still assumed that Scandinavia was an island. Progress was made in...
with Birmingham City and Wales national team. Hereford Cathedral dates from 1079 and contains the MappaMundi, a medieval map of the world dating from the...
antisemitic meaning is likely to have been intended, for example on the HerefordMappaMundi. With the prophet Elijah, he is a necessary figure in the Transfiguration...
as Malichu, an abbreviated form of Malai Insula, in the medieval HerefordMappaMundi as the name of Madagascar. Another hypothesis is that Madagascar...
the MappaMundi. A reliquary containing his skull has been held at Downside Abbey in Somerset since 1881. It is generally believed that the Hereford Mappa...
The St Cuthbert Gospel (£4.5M to the British Library, 2012) The HerefordMappaMundi The Mary Rose Flying Scotsman The last surviving World War II destroyer...
Roman Empire, believed to be based on 4th century source material) HerefordMappaMundi (c. 1285; the largest medieval map known still to exist) Map of Maximus...
Phillott (1873). Mediæval Geography: An Essay in Illustration of the HerefordMappaMundi. London: E. Stanford. pp. 30–31. Avalerion. "alerion". Oxford English...
temporary truce with Scotland. Approximate date – the HerefordMappaMundi is prepared in Hereford Cathedral. 1301 7 February – Edward of Caernarvon (later...
Cleestanton and Cleedownton. Clee Hill features prominently on the HerefordMappaMundi. The Clee Hills often cause confusion amongst people through their...
the top, in contrast to other maps of the same period such as the HerefordMappaMundi (ca. 1300), where East is on the top. Possible places of origin for...
Gold" found its way into European maps in the 14th century. In the HerefordMappaMundi (c. 1300), there is a river labelled "Nilus Fluvius" drawn parallel...
formerly known as the 'Henry of Mainz' map, is the earliest surviving mappamundi (world map) made in England. It was made between about 1180 and the early...
canonisation evidence submitted for Thomas de Cantilupe, and also on the HerefordMappaMundi. The permanent expulsion of Jews from England and tactics employed...
Global Information