Because of its thorough examination of all aspects of the Hereford Map, this book is a tribute to the richest, most complicated surviving example of medieval cartography, as well as an essential tool about medieval culture.

The Hereford Map, a depiction of the inhabited world drawn around 1300, is among the largest surviving examples of medieval mappamundi. It measures 1.59 meters by ca. 1.30 meters (52 1/2 inches by c. 52 inches). On it appear some 1,091 inscriptions, or legends; most of these are placed adjacent to a painted figure of what they identify. They range from simple place-names to long descriptions containing historical, ethnographical, theological and zoological information. The book's introduction offers essential background on the Map's history, sources, and scholarship. Particularly important is an explanation of its close relationship to a text recently discovered - Expositio mappe mundi - a work most composed a century before the Map was made. Right-facing pages contain, for each legend: (1) an exact line-for-line transcription, (2) an edited version of this transcription, and (3) an English translation. Left-facing pages offer commentary on each legend, giving information about its literary and cartographical source, the item it identifies, and textual problems. Included in the book is a color illustration of the entire Map (approximately 40% of its actual size), as well as detail photographs, taken in January 2001 under special conditions, enabling readers to see each legend precisely, as well as to locate all transcribed and translated text. Because of its thorough examination of all aspects of the Map, this book is a tribute to the richest, most complicated surviving example of medieval cartography, as well as an essential tool about medieval culture. giving information about its literary and cartographical source, the item it identifies, and textual problems. Included in the book is a color illustration of the entire Map (approximately 40% of its actual size), as well as detail photographs, taken in January 2001 under special conditions, enabling readers to see each legend precisely, as well as to locate all transcribed and translated text. Because of its thorough examination of all aspects of the Map, this book is a tribute to the richest, most complicated surviving example of medieval cartography, as well as an essential tool about medieval culture. giving information about its literary and cartographical source, the item it identifies, and textual problems. Included in the book is a color illustration of the entire Map (approximately 40% of its actual size), as well as detail photographs, taken in January 2001 under special conditions, enabling readers to see each legend precisely, as well as to locate all transcribed and translated text. Because of its thorough examination of all aspects of the Map, this book is a tribute to the richest, most complicated surviving example of medieval cartography, as well as an essential tool about medieval culture. taken in January 2001 under special conditions, enabling readers to see each legend precisely, as well as to locate all transcribed and translated text. Because of its thorough examination of all aspects of the Map, this book is a tribute to the richest, most complicated surviving example of medieval cartography, as well as an essential tool about medieval culture. taken in January 2001 under special conditions, enabling readers to see each legend precisely, as well as to locate all transcribed and translated text. Because of its thorough examination of all aspects of the Map, this book is a tribute to the richest, most complicated surviving example of medieval cartography, as well as an essential tool about medieval culture.

The Hereford map, drawn around 1300, is one of the largest preserved specimens of the genus of mappae mundi. It measures 1.59 x 1.30 m and contains more than a thousand legends and a large number of painted images. These legends range from simple toponyms to long descriptions containing information of all kinds. The introduction to the book provides essential elements relating to the history of the map, its sources and the studies devoted to it. Attention is drawn in particular to the close relations it maintains with a recently discovered text (Expositio mappe mundi), composed a century before the map was drawn up. The right pages give, for each legend, a diplomatic transcription, an edition and a translation in English. The left pages offer a detailed commentary giving information on the sources, the object identified, any textual problems. The book also contains an abundant illustration: a color reproduction (about 40% of its size), and photographs of details taken in January 2001 in privileged conditions, allowing the reader to locate and read all the transcribed and translated texts. . Thanks to an in-depth examination of all aspects of the map, this book is a tribute to the richest specimen of medieval cartography, as well as an essential working tool on the culture of the Middle Ages as a whole. a color reproduction (approximately 40% of its size), and photographs of details taken in January 2001 under privileged conditions, allowing the reader to locate and read all the transcribed and translated texts. Thanks to an in-depth examination of all aspects of the map, this book is a tribute to the richest specimen of medieval cartography, as well as an essential working tool on the culture of the Middle Ages as a whole. a color reproduction (approximately 40% of its size), and photographs of details taken in January 2001 under privileged conditions, allowing the reader to locate and read all the transcribed and translated texts. Thanks to an in-depth examination of all aspects of the map, this book is a tribute to the richest specimen of medieval cartography, as well as an essential working tool on the culture of the Middle Ages as a whole.