Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

Five hundred drawings illustrate these themes, including
around 420 depictions of towns and cities, outlined by
walls and towers; fifteen illustrations of events from the
Bible; thirty-three pictures of plants, animals, birds and
fish; thirty-two illustrations of peoples of the earth; and
eight images from classical mythology. Seas and rivers are
coloured blue or green, with the exception of the Red Sea
which is red, while the writing is black with red and gold
embellishments. Hereford is depicted by a drawing of its
cathedral. The author’s name, ‘Richard of Haldingham or
Lafford’, is inscribed on the map.
According to another inscription on the map, it was
based on a description of the world from the works
of Orosius (c. AD 375), a student of St Augustine at Hippo.
In addition to his spiritual, Biblical and theological
knowledge, Orosius had studied the works of classic
Roman authors, including Caesar, Livy and Tacitus. The
Mappa Mundi is based on the synthesis of this learning.
The Mappa Mundi was not intended for use as a
geographical tool, but was probably displayed in a wooden
frame for educational reasons. The map was one of the
latest of its genre: later large-scale medieval maps, for
example the Catalan World Map of c.1375, differ from
mappae mundi in that they are based on the portolan
charts drawn up by sailors and consequently depict
coastlines more accurately.
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