Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Hereford Mappa Mundi
Inscribed 2007
What is it
A medieval map of the world on one sheet of vellum and
featuring about 500 illustrations. Produced in England
at either Lincoln or Hereford, the map is thought to have
been made between c. 1290 and 1310.
Why was it inscribed
The Hereford Mappa Mundi is the only complete
example of a large medieval world map intended for
public display. The presentation of its information, in the
form of a visual map-based encyclopedia, gives a crucial
insight not only into medieval cartography but also into
contemporary spirituality and the medieval worldview.
Where is it
Hereford Cathedral Library, Hereford, UK
The Hereford Mappa Mundi is the largest and most
detailed surviving of the medieval genre of maps known
as ‘mappae mundi’ and the most famous of its kind still
in existence. ‘Mappa mundi’ was a term used in medieval
times for a map of the world, ‘mappa’ meaning ‘cloth’.
102 Hereford Mappa Mundi
Just as modern maps refl ect our worldview, so did
the cartography of medieval times. Unlike maps today,
mappae mundi did not attempt an accurate representation
of the physical landscape; rather, they showed the world
as it was perceived and understood. Like other aspects of
learning and education of the time, maps were intended
as a spiritual tool and displayed the faith and devotion
that were an integral part of the way contemporary people
interpreted the world and their place in it.
The deeply spiritual and religious worldview of the
medieval mind, expressed in the map interprets the world
and everything in it as subject to God and part of an eternal
order, with humans destined for death and judgement. The
map depicts the earth as a circle, with Jerusalem, the place
of Christ’s crucifi xion, death and resurrection, at its centre,
marked with the cross of Calvary. Outside the boundary
of the world Christ sits in judgement at the top with the
letters ‘m o r s’ (Latin for ‘death’) around the outside. Angels
welcome the saved and turn away the unrepentant.
Within the circle of the world, physical features,
places, scripture, mythology and imagination blend in a
compendium of knowledge. Facts on history, fl ora and
fauna, real and fi ctional races of people of unknown lands
and tales from classical times feature alongside religious
and Biblical content.