Slide #224
TITLE: Ebstorf Mappamundi
DATE: ca. 1234
AUTHOR: Gervase of Tilbury
DESCRIPTION: This map of the world, like its English counterpart, the
Hereford mappamundi produced later in the same century (Slide
#226 ), sums up a medieval European-Christian cartographic tradition
that began with the illustrations by Cosmas Indiopleutes in the 6th century
A.D. (Slide #202 ). Its name stems from the fact
that it was preserved in a Benedictine monastery in Ebstorf, near Illzen
on the Lüneburg Heath, until its discovery in 1830. Fifteen years later
it became a possession of the Historisches Verein für Niedersachsen
[Museum of the Historical Society of Lower Saxony] in Hanover, Germany where
it remained until 1888. It was then removed to Berlin for restoration, at
which point it was separated into thirty vellum sheets and photographed
in black and white (the only remaining full- sized photographic reproduction).
Originally, the map consisted of 30 sheets of vellum that had an overall
measurement of 3.58 X 3.56 meters (or a map area of about 12 feet in diameter),
the largest mappamundi to have been recorded. As can be seen, a few
sheets were already missing, therefore, in order to facilitate the map's
preservation, it was redivided into its separate sheets. Unfortunately,
this original Ebstorf map became a casualty of the bombing in 1943
over Hanover Germany during World War II, but not before facsimiles and
photographs had reproduced the essential features of this important historical
document.
From external contemporary sources it has been deduced that the author of
this map was probably Gervase of Tilbury, an English teacher of canon law
in Bologna, who was later (1223-1234) in the service of the Guelphs as a
provost in Ebstorf. He is also known as the author of a historical-geographical-mythological
work, the Otia Imperiala, written in 1211 and still extant; however,
the geographical map which this manuscript should have contained is now
absent. It is probable, though unconfirmed, that the map now known as the
Ebstorf map is the missing one from this earlier text. The date that
the Ebstorf map bears is not quite clear: 12-4, thus rendering
its time of production subject to much speculation, although most authorities
agree at placing the date before mid-13th century.
Although its main intended use was to demonstrate the historical events
in the Christian life - for example, the burial places of Mark, Bartholomew,
Philip, and Thomas are shown - the author also had some more directly practical
use in mind, as he himself made clear. In the upper right-hand corner of
the map, he writes: "it can be seen that [this work] is of no small
utility to its readers, giving directions for travellers, and the things
on the way that most pleasantly delight the eye". We also find an allusion
to the traditional cartographic proclamation of Julius Caesar: "How
Julius Caesar first constructed [a mappamundi], for the breadth of
the whole earth, legates having been sent, collecting the regions, provinces,
islands, cities, quicksands, marshes, plains, mountains, and rivers as if
to be seen on one page".
The sources drawn upon by the cartographer are varied and cover a considerable
span of time. Among the ancients Gervase relied more upon popular, highly-colored
source material such as the Alexander Romance and the writings of
Mela and the elder Pliny than on more dependable authorities such as Herodotus.
Also inherited from the classical writers were the division of the earth
into three parts, and the twelve circles traced in the cosmic ocean - the
homes of the twelve winds. Ancient Roman technique has influenced the structure
of the map. Like the Roman road-plans, it puts things and places in the
approximate order in which a traveller would come across them, regardless
of the exact measurements. The map also draws most lavishly of all upon
Christian sources. The Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the holy legends,
and all the other elements of this magnificent synopsis of early medieval
cosmography are made to fit into the Christian horizon.
In addition to the classical and religious sources, the author also shows
familiarity with some writings current in his time, such as Johannes of
Wurzburg (ca. 1165) for Palestine and Adam of Bremen (ca. 1072) in Northwest
Europe. Other near contemporary sources include the maps and legends from
the Imago Mundi of Honorius Augustodunensis (ca. 1129) and various
tales of the 11th and 12th centuries such as that of the island discovered
by St. Brendan of Ireland. These latter sources resulted in a certain degree
of accurate detail in the areas of Palestine and Europe; and the continent
of Africa could no longer be accommodated in the quadrant traditionally
allocated to it and extends eastward, displacing part of Asia. But these
contemporary influences are minimal and the dominate religious medieval
imagination wove its fantasies around facts. Therefore, as will be seen
in the following description of the map, we find places and names reflecting
the cartographer's attempt to interpret, pictorially, reports of far away
places and strangely misshapen peoples.
The major design feature upon which the Ebstorf map is based is the
classic T-O scheme, but with elaborate additions of both a fabulist and
religious nature. It may possibly have been used as an altar piece at one
time, "no doubt intended both for instruction and for pious meditation
upon the endless miracles wrought by God". The world-picture is superimposed
on a background of the figure of Christ crucified; with His head at the
top (East), His feet at the bottom (West) and His hands pointing North and
South, an orientation that dominated medieval European cartography.
ASIA: Prominently displayed at the very heart of the map is Jerusalem,
the place of man's redemption, showing Christ rising from the tomb; and
from that point there stretches in an upward direction - that is to say
eastward, towards the rising sun and the Savior's head - the continent of
Asia with all its marvels. Here, inaccessible behind a towering range of
mountains, lies the Garden of Eden with the Tree of Life,the four
rivers of Paradise, and the Tree of Knowledge. Below this
the Ganges, fed by eleven tributaries, flows through a tropical landscape.
To the left of Eden, and at a lower level, is the land of the Seres
[the Chinese], also hemmed in with mountains, though outside their circling
ring two Chinese are seen gathering silkworms for their most sought-after
article of trade. In the upper Ganges valley India displays one of its innumerable
curiosities: a member of the peaceable tribe of Apple Smellers who
subsist entirely by inhaling the fragrance of that fruit. To the right,
close beside the head of Christ, stand two Trees of Prophecy beneath
which Alexander the Great, explorer of India, is consulting the Oracle
of the Sun and Moon. Below him is to be seen a member of the Gymnosophists
[a sun-gazer], whose eyes are fixed, unblinking, on the radiant. Higher
up, to the right, is the land of the Prasii, whose number is as the poppies
of the field which serve as their emblem.
An extensive area of northern Asia is cut off by the sweeping curve of the
Caucasus. Its principal feature is a territory that projects as a rectangle
into the cosmic ocean. This is the home of the dreaded man-eaters Gog
and Magog, symbols of all the hordes of oppressors that might at
any time overwhelm peaceful humanity. The castellated lines indicate the
walls that Alexander the Great was reputed to have built here for extra
protection. Slightly lower down and to the west the map-maker has placed
the country of the Amazons, guarded by two doughtily armed queens;
and still further westwards, under Christ's right hand, stand the flaming
altars of Alexander which mark the northern extremity of the world as it
was known to the ancients. Looking due south - that is, to the right - from
the land of the Amazons, we come first to the city of Colchis on
the Black Sea; the golden fleece, which Jason sailed to seek, still hangs
from its tower. Above, and to the right, is Ararat, identified by
Noah's stranded ark; and this brings us back to the revered regions of the
Bible, with which the designer of the map appears to be well acquainted.
On the right is the mighty Tower of Babel, in Mesopotamia,
and below it, near Jerusalem, are a number of places mentioned in the Scriptures
and described by homecoming pilgrims and Crusaders. In fact the Ebstorf
cartographer had to enlarge Palestine a good deal, so as to fit in all of
the 'indispensable features': Bethlehem with the star, the ox and the ass;
above that the accursed cities Sodom and Gomorrah, with the waves of the
Dead Sea curving over them; higher still, on the Arabian Gulf, Mount Sinai
with the phoenix rising from the flames.
Wilma George describes, in what she labels the Oriental Region, the
array of zoological information to be found on this pictorial encyclopedia.
There are snakes, a parrot, an antelopes with long serrated horns, very
difficult to approach, probably the blackbuck Antilope ceruicapra, with
long corkscrew horns, noted for its speed and still occurring abundantly
in Asia, obvious to travellers and hunters because of its diurnal habits.
The ant-dog, saiga and chameleon also come into this region, marginally.
The saiga, Saiga tatarica, once swarmed over central Asia and its
horns were much prized by the Chinese for medicinal purposes. It has the
required proboscis-like upper lip: alce mulo similis superius habens
labrum tam prominens ut pasci nequeat si non post terga recedat as the
Ebstorf map states. An inscription also announces the presence of
snakes, tortoises, unicorns, Indian Bulls, ibexes and the manticora but
there are no pictures of them. Finally, there is an animal with one horn
pointing forward and one backward. This is the eale or yale.
The yale which, according to the Ebstorf map itself, comes from
India, has a body like that of a horse, the jaws of a goat, the tail of
an elephant, horns of a cubit in length, one of which can be reflected backwards
as the other is presented forwards in attack, and which can move equally
on water or on land. This description on the map follows closely the
original description of a yale by Pliny which was then copied by
Solinus, about 250 A.D., through to the near contemporaries of the Ebstorf
and Hereford mapmakers: for example, the author of Semeianca del
Mundo about 1223 and the authors of 12th and 13th century bestiaries.
AFRICA: This continent is depicted as little more than a segment
of a circle, its north and west coasts extending in an almost straight line
from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic, while its south and east coasts describe
a shallow curve. Its principal feature is the Nile River, bordered by famous
ancient cities, strange beasts and even stranger men. The Nile flows out
of a lake, in the vicinity of Morocco and near the spot where lies the Garden
of the Hesperides - included as a heathen anti-thesis to the Christian
Paradise - within the protecting coils of the feathered serpent, its
guardian. The river's course runs at first from west to east, through regions
inhabited by panthers, ostriches, giant reptiles and so forth; in all, the
artist has generously scattered about sixty different animals over his map.
Other animals identified by Ms. George include an elephant, leopard, hyena,
mirmicaleon, monkeys, camelopardalis, scarp, deer and tarandrius the reindeer
with many types of snake, crocodiles, lizard and flying lizard, ibis and
other birds which inhabit what she calls the Ethiopian Region for
zoological analysis.
Approaching the eastern tip of the continent, the Nile disappears into the
sand; but it emerges to flow in the opposite direction through Egypt, first
skirting the region of Meroë (inhabited by dwarfs who ride on
crocodiles). At its mouth stands the cities such as Berenice, Leptis
Magna and Ocea lie here and there along the northern and Atlantic
coasts of the continent. Off the west coast the cartographer has placed
an empty rectangle to mark the position of the insula perdita [lost
island] where the seafaring St. Brandan discovered what he called Paradise.
But rubbing shoulders, as it were, in the southern portion of Africa we
find the most weird and wonderful assortment of creatures: the race that
does not know the use of fire; the race that has neither nose nor mouth
and can converse only by gestures; giants; people with four eyes; people
whose upper lips are so huge that they can pull them up over their heads
to serve as sunshades; troglodytes riding like the wind on stags
(these are level with Christ's hand); Artobatites who constantly
fall on their faces as they walk along; four-footed men; snake-charmers
on whom poison has no effect; dog-headed men; the centaur Chiron;
cave-dwelling giants; and so forth. The illustrations thus described as
occurring on the Ebstorf map also appear in very similar form and
content on both the Hereford and Psalter (Slides
#226 and #223 ).
EUROPE: On this more familiar continent, there are none of the mythical
and monstrous figures that are seen in the more remote regions of Africa
and Asia. However, this area receives the same stylized and generalized
treatment with regards to any attempt to display real coastlines or detail.
The countries that border the Mediterranean with its sprinkling of islands,
while still over stylized, are nonetheless identifiable. The western-most
country displayed is Spain; then come the Pyrenees, turning off at right
angles to the Rhone and stretching straight towards the Atlantic. North
of these is Gaul [France] land of many rivers and towns, including
Parisius, off whose northern coast lie the islands of Albion
[Britain] and Hibernia-Scotia [Ireland-Scotland]. In Italy, to north
and west of which the Alps curve in a semicircle, we are shown the city
of Rome, where seven churches stand within a surrounding wall that has sixteen
towers, and Venice, jutting out into the Adriatic. The heart-shaped island
lying not far off is Sicily, so the land round which the Mediterranean sweeps
northwards must be the Greek peninsula. What is now Switzerland was also
known to our author by hearsay; in the northern foothills of the Alps, due
north of Rome, he has painted a tower and written Curia against it, this
is the town of Chur. Below, on a great bend of the Rhine, are Oberzell,
Mittelzell and Niederzell, places on the island of Reichenau.
To the north of these the Danbue is formed by the confluence of five streams
and flows on its way past Urbs Salis [Salzburg], Pattavia [Passau]
and Wena [Vienna]. One piece of the map is missing, to the left of
the Danbue, where Lubeck and Hamburg should be. To the northeast, in what
George calls the Palearctic Region, elk and ures or aurocks, the
wild ox of Europe, denote the confines of Russia. Other fauna identified
with this region include the bonacus, probably the European bison,
the horse, possibly the saiga antelope, two humped camel, lion, tiger, and
other large cats, bear, ant-dog, some snakes, a chameleon and the gryphe,
probably the golden eagle and other birds (again, the ant-dog, saiga and
chameleon are marginally in the Oriental Region also).
Some scholars, such as Beazley, dismiss this map as merely a gross exaggeration
of the already unscientific medieval cartography. True, the Ebstorf
map does not present any breakthroughs of either a cartographic or geographic
nature. Like most of the other surviving medieval European maps, its content
is entirely lacking a genuine scientific attitude, its coastlines are over
generalized; contemporary discoveries or geographical knowledge represent
only a small part of the whole; and the profusion of illustrations are used,
to some extent, merely to substitute for factual knowledge of relatively
unknown, unfamiliar, far distant regions. However, its real historical value
lies in other areas and, viewed in terms of the cartographer's intent,
this map does demonstrates genuine historical value. To begin with, the
Ebstorf map is like a geographical romance in pictures; it is comprehensive
in design, admirable in execution, all of which supports its fundamental
concern, to establish a relationship between this world and the hereafter.
As mentioned earlier, the Ebstorf map built upon a tradition that
begins with works like Cosmas Indicopleustes' sketches and is carried on
in the maps of St. Isidore, Beatus, Henry of Mainz, in the Psalter
map, and is continued later by the Hereford map, a tradition that
sought the propagation of the Christian Faith. The old adage that a picture
is worth a thousand words is well documented and supported by this map.
The Ebstorf cartographer accomplishes here what early medieval writers
like St. Isidore of Seville attempted to do with mere words, to describe
the sum total of accumulated knowledge about man's habitat, the world, resulting
in a comprehensive pictorial encyclopedia, albeit through the rather narrow
focus of a religious context. In many ways it does portray the world as
it was seen by a great many medieval Europeans. "In no other work of
this period, perhaps, either in the graphic arts or in literature, was so
comprehensive a picture of the entire medieval world presented, in such
a narrow space, as in this map of ours. So it is well worth while studying
it closely and repeatedly and trying to discover new items, hitherto unnoticed,
among the immense variety of its features", writes Walter Rosien, one
of the leading authorities on the Ebstorf map.
Curiously enough, one must consider that, like many of the other significant
maps and texts of the so-called Dark Ages, the Ebstorf map
serves also as an aid to our understanding of the period of great discoveries
which began some two centuries after its completion. For the outlook of
the early Portuguese navigators, and that of Columbus too, was conditioned
by what they had imbibed of both the ancient and medieval concepts of the
world, as represented in the available maps. Sailing to find the sea route
round the Cape of Good Hope, the Portuguese were amazed to discover that
the coast of Africa, which looked so short on the existing maps, went on
and on without curving eastwards; as late as 1505 the bold seafarer Duarte
Pacheco, though a perfectly reliable observer of facts on his own behalf,
took for granted the existence of mile-long serpents; and Columbus, coming
to the mouth of the Orinoco, thought that he had discovered one of the four
rivers that watered the Garden of Eden in Asia. The impressions of
the world, therefore, recorded by the scientific attitude of Ptolemy and
those in the Ebstorf map, both lie, though at different depths, in
the twilight zone between experience and dream. Each of them bears noble
witness, in its own great cultural epoch, to a great historical process
with many ups and downs, to man's growing awareness of the world around
him.
LOCATION: (original destroyed during World War II)
REFERENCES:
*Bagrow, L., The History of Cartography, pp. 49-50, Plate E (color).
*Bettex, A., The Discovery of the World, pp. 28-32.
*George, W., Animals and Maps, pp. 29-31, 51, 104.
*Harley, J.B., The History of Cartography, Volume One, pp. 307, 309-10,
351, Figures 18.2, 18.3, 18.19.
*Harvey, P.D.A., Medieval Maps, pp. 19, 28, 30, Plates 13, 20, 23 (color).
*Rosien, W., Die Ebstorfer Weltkarte (Hanover, 1952).
* illustrated