Earliest printed example of a classical T and O map (by Guntherus Ziner, Augsburg, 1472), illustrating the first page of chapter XIV of the Etymologiae. It shows the continents as domains of the sons of Noah - Sem (Shem), Iafeth (Japheth) and Cham (Ham).

The Hereford Mappa Mundi, about 1300, Hereford Cathedral, England. A classic "T-O" map with Jerusalem at center, east toward the top, Europe the bottom left and Africa on the right.

A T and O map or O-T or T-O map (orbis terrae, orb or circle of the earth), is a type of medieval world map, sometimes also called a Beatine map or a Beatus map because one of the earliest known representations of this sort is attributed to Beatus of Liébana, an 8th century Spanish monk. The map appeared in the prologue to his twelve books of commentaries on the Apocalypse. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... Augsburg is a city in south-central Germany. ... February 20 - Orkney and Shetland are returned by Norway to Scotland, due to a defaulted dowry payment Possible discovery of Bacalao (possibly Newfoundland, North America) by João Vaz Corte-Real. ... First printed edition of 1472 (by Guntherus Ziner, Augsburg), title page of chapter 14 (de terra et partibus), illustrated with a T and O map. ... Noahs Ark, Französischer Meister (The French Master), Magyar Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest. ... Shem (שֵׁם renown; prosperity; name, Standard Hebrew Å em, Tiberian Hebrew Å Ä“m; Greek Σημ, SÄ“m; ) was one of the sons of Noah in the Bible who adhered to the Noahide Laws. ... Japheth (יֶפֶת / יָפֶת enlarge, Standard Hebrew Yéfet / Yáfet, Tiberian Hebrew / ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible. ... Ham (חָם, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew , , Geez Kam), according to the Genealogies of Genesis, was a son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x678, 156 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x678, 156 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... The Hereford Mappa Mundi is a T and O map dating to ca. ... The current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford in England, United Kingdom, dates from 1079. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... Physical world map (2004) with country borders and capitals—click for large, 1. ... The world map called St. ... St. ... Look up Apocalypse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The T-O map represents the physical world as first described by the 7th century scholar Isidore of Seville in his Etymologiae (chapter 14, de terra et partibus): The 7th century is the period from 601 - 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... Saint Isidore of Seville (Spanish: or ) (c. ... First printed edition of 1472 (by Guntherus Ziner, Augsburg), title page of chapter 14 (de terra et partibus), illustrated with a T and O map. ...

Orbis a rotunditate circuli dictus, quia sicut rota est [...] Undique enim Oceanus circumfluens eius in circulo ambit fines. Divisus est autem trifarie: e quibus una pars Asia, altera Europa, tertia Africa nuncupatur.

"The [inhabitated] mass of solid land is called round after the roundness of a circle, because it is like a wheel [...] Because of this, the Ocean flowing around it is contained in a circular limit, and it is divided in three parts, one part being called Asia, the second Europe, and the third Africa."

Although Isidore taught in the Etymologiae that the Earth was 'round', his meaning was ambiguous and some writers think he referred to a disc-shaped Earth. However, other writings by Isidore make it clear that he considered the Earth to be globular.^[1] Indeed, the theory of a spherical earth had always been the prevailing assumption since at least Aristotle, who had divided the spherical earth into zones of climate, with a frigid clime at the poles, a deadly torrid clime near the equator, and a mild and habitable temperate clime between the two. Medieval representation of a spherical Earth - with compartments representing earth, air, and water (c. ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... The seven climes (klima, plural klimata, meaning inclination, referring to the angle between the axis of the celestial sphere and the horizon) was a notion of dividing the Earth into zones in Classical Antiquity. ... World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, in São Tomé and Príncipe. ...

The T and O map is representing only the top-half of the spherical Earth^[2]. It was presumably tacitly considered a convenient projection of the inhabited parts, the northern temperate half of the globe. Since the southern temperate clime was considered uninhabited, or unattainable, there was no need to depict them on a world map. It was then believed that no one could cross the torrid equatorial clime and reach the unknown lands on the other half of the globe. These imagined lands were called antipodes.^[3] The Mercator projection shows courses of constant bearing as straight lines. ... This world map (in red) is overlaid with an antipodal map (in yellow) showing the antipodes of each point on the Earths surface. ...

The T is the Mediterranean, dividing the three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa, and the O is the encircling Ocean. Jerusalem was generally represented in the center of the map. Asia was typically the size of the other two continents combined. Because the sun rose in the east, Paradise (the Garden of Eden) was generally depicted as being in Asia, and Asia was situated at the top portion of the map. The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ...

This qualitative and conceptual type of medieval cartography could yield extremely detailed maps in addition to simple representations. The earliest maps had only a few cities and the most important bodies of water noted. The four sacred rivers of the holy land were always present. More useful tools for the traveller were the itinerary, which listed in order the names of towns between two points, and the periplus that did the same for harbours and landmarks along a seacoast. Cartography or mapmaking (in Greek chartis = map and graphein = write) is the study, practice, science and art of making maps or globes. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Holy Land (Biblical). ... Travel literature is a record of the events, sights and personal feelings which a traveller experiences as they go from place to place. ... A periplus in the ancient navigation of Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans is a manuscript document that lists in order the ports and coastal landmarks, with approximate distances between, that the captain of a vessel could expect to find along a shore. ...

Later maps of this same conceptual format featured many rivers and cities of Eastern as well as Western Europe, and other features encountered during the Crusades. Decorative illuminations were also added in addition to the new geographic features. The most important cities would be represented by distinct fortifications and towers in addition to their names, and the empty spaces would be filled with mythical creatures. The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniature painting, during the First Crusade. ...

Gallery

The world map from the Saint-Sever Beatus, dating to ca. AD 1050. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Saint-Sever Beatus - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...	From a 12th c. copy of Etymologiae. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (608 × 608 pixel, file size: 72 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) See also this alternate version. ...		Mappa Mundi in La Fleur des Histoires. 1459-1463. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 439 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (600 × 819 pixel, file size: 122 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) See also this modified version. ...
Bünting clover leaf map. A 1581 woodcut, Magdeburg. Jerusalem is in the center, surrounded by Europe, Asia and Africa. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 762 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (4441 × 3496 pixel, file size: 14. ...	A "T-O" map made with modern cartography. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1806x1806, 863 KB) Summary An orthographic map centered on jerusalem with east pointing up. ...

See also

• Flat Earth
• Mappa mundi

15th century adaptation of a T-O map. ... The Hereford Mappa Mundi, about 1300, Hereford Cathedral, England. ...

References and notes

1. ^ Isidore, Etymologiae, XIV.ii.1[1]; Wesley M. Stevens, "The Figure of the Earth in Isidore's De natura rerum", Isis, 71(1980): 268-277. - Isidore also admitted the possibility of people dwelling at the antipodes, considering them as legendary (Isidore, Etymologiae, XIV.v.17[2]) and noting that there was no evidence for their existence. (Isidore, Etymologiae, IX.ii.133[3]).
2. ^ Michael Livingston, Modern Medieval Map Myths: The Flat World, Ancient Sea-Kings, and Dragons, 2002.
3. ^ Alfred Hiatt, "Blank Spaces on the Earth," The Yale Journal of Criticism, 15, (2002): 223–250; Michael Livingston, Modern Medieval Map Myths: The Flat World, Ancient Sea-Kings, and Dragons, 2002.

• Crosby, Alfred W. The Measure of Reality : Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

This world map (in red) is overlaid with an antipodal map (in yellow) showing the antipodes of each point on the Earths surface. ...

External links

• Modern Medieval Map Myths: The Flat World, Ancient Sea-Kings, and Dragons