The Ebstorf Map
The Ebstorf Map is one of the finest examples of a mappa mundi from the High Middle Ages. It was produced probably in Germany in the early thirteenth century. Its creator may possibly be the writer and courtier Gervase of Tilbury, an Englishman working in the court of the German Emperor whose book Otia Imperialia engages in geographical survey and is particularly interested in monsters and marvels.
The map was enormous, about twelve feet by twelve feet. It perhaps was produced at the Benedictine monastery at Ebstorf, Germany (not far from Hanover). It exists today only in facsimile: the original was destroyed in the Allied bombing of that area in World War Two. It may have had close artistic connections with the Hereford Mappa Mundi, which still survives. (Click here for an interactive exploration of the Hereford Mappa Mundi.)
Reminder: as is typical in medieval maps, east is on the top, west on the bottom (a 90° rotation from our modern cartographical norm).
The map was enormous, about twelve feet by twelve feet. It perhaps was produced at the Benedictine monastery at Ebstorf, Germany (not far from Hanover). It exists today only in facsimile: the original was destroyed in the Allied bombing of that area in World War Two. It may have had close artistic connections with the Hereford Mappa Mundi, which still survives. (Click here for an interactive exploration of the Hereford Mappa Mundi.)
Reminder: as is typical in medieval maps, east is on the top, west on the bottom (a 90° rotation from our modern cartographical norm).
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