Mapping Time and Space: How Medieval Mapmakers Viewed Their World (The British Library Studies in Map History, V. 1)

Medieval world maps have been viewed in the past as quaint, amusing and simply wrong. This text studies these maps differently, showing that the medieval world view, as expressed in maps, was not only a matter of measuring space, but of placing the Earth in a philosophical and religious setting. A major component of this setting was the passage of time, and many medieval maps show a narrative of human spiritual development: creation, the giving of the law, the coming of Christ, and the Last Judgement.