Cartography

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief overview of medieval European and Islamic maps of the Mediterranean, with the subsequent development of portolan charts. It is argued that all pre-modern maps of the Mediterranean Sea were part of what in Europe came to be called “the art of memory”—that is, they were a means of schematically structuring and remembering constellations of ideas. In classical and medieval European maps, that geographical scheme was overlaid with a theological or historical narrative that is not evident in the Islamic maps. The rise of portolan charts reflects increased travel, trade, and naval expeditions.

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