The northern world of the Anglo-Saxon Mappa Mundi

The Anglo-Saxon mappa mundi, sometimes known as the Cotton map or Cottoniana, is found on folio 56v of London, British Library, Cotton Tiberius B.v, which dates from the first half of the eleventh century. This unique survivor from the period presents a detailed image of the inhabited world, centred...

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Main Author: Appleton, H
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2020
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author Appleton, H
author_facet Appleton, H
author_sort Appleton, H
collection OXFORD
description The Anglo-Saxon mappa mundi, sometimes known as the Cotton map or Cottoniana, is found on folio 56v of London, British Library, Cotton Tiberius B.v, which dates from the first half of the eleventh century. This unique survivor from the period presents a detailed image of the inhabited world, centred on the Mediterranean. The map’s distinctive cartography, with its emphasis on islands, seas and urban spaces reflects a particularly Anglo-Saxon geographic imagination. As Evelyn Edson has observed, the mappa mundi appears to be copy of an earlier, larger map. This article argues that the mappa mundi’s focus on urban space, translatio imperii and Scandinavia is reminiscent of the Old English Orosius, and that it originates from a similar milieu. The mappa mundi’s northern perspective, together with its obvious dependence on and emulation of Carolingian cartography, suggest that its lost exemplar originated in the assertive England of the earlier tenth century.
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spelling oxford-uuid:397401b7-c7ee-4289-acd3-7adc0f60a1e72022-03-26T13:55:40ZThe northern world of the Anglo-Saxon Mappa MundiJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:397401b7-c7ee-4289-acd3-7adc0f60a1e7EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordCambridge University Press2020Appleton, HThe Anglo-Saxon mappa mundi, sometimes known as the Cotton map or Cottoniana, is found on folio 56v of London, British Library, Cotton Tiberius B.v, which dates from the first half of the eleventh century. This unique survivor from the period presents a detailed image of the inhabited world, centred on the Mediterranean. The map’s distinctive cartography, with its emphasis on islands, seas and urban spaces reflects a particularly Anglo-Saxon geographic imagination. As Evelyn Edson has observed, the mappa mundi appears to be copy of an earlier, larger map. This article argues that the mappa mundi’s focus on urban space, translatio imperii and Scandinavia is reminiscent of the Old English Orosius, and that it originates from a similar milieu. The mappa mundi’s northern perspective, together with its obvious dependence on and emulation of Carolingian cartography, suggest that its lost exemplar originated in the assertive England of the earlier tenth century.
spellingShingle Appleton, H
The northern world of the Anglo-Saxon Mappa Mundi
title The northern world of the Anglo-Saxon Mappa Mundi
title_full The northern world of the Anglo-Saxon Mappa Mundi
title_fullStr The northern world of the Anglo-Saxon Mappa Mundi
title_full_unstemmed The northern world of the Anglo-Saxon Mappa Mundi
title_short The northern world of the Anglo-Saxon Mappa Mundi
title_sort northern world of the anglo saxon mappa mundi
work_keys_str_mv AT appletonh thenorthernworldoftheanglosaxonmappamundi
AT appletonh northernworldoftheanglosaxonmappamundi