OBITUARIES

The crime of Claudius Ptolemy. By Robert R. Newton. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London. Pp. 411. Illustrated. Price £15.75.

London map‐sellers 1660–1720. A collection of advertisements for maps placed in the London Gazette 1668–1719 with biographical notes on the map‐sellers. By Sarah Tyacke. Tring, Hertfordshire, Map Collector Publications Limited, 1978. Pp. 160, illustrated. Price £12.

Heinrich Berghaus: der Kartograph von Potsdam. By Gerhard Enmglemann. Halle: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina, 1977. 411p.: ill.; 24cm. Acta Historica Leopoldina; Nr 10.

Vývoj mapového zobrazení Slovenska [The development of mapping of Slovakia]. By Lubomír Viliam Prikryl. SAV Bratislava, 1977. Pp. 481, illustrated.

John Cary, Engraver, Map, Chart and Print‐Seller and Globe‐Maker 1714 to 1831. By Sir Herbert George Fordham. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1925. Reprinted by Wm. Dawsons &; Sons Ltd. 1976.     

Medieval Maps at Merton College,Oxford

Abstract

À la fin du XVIIIe siècle, dans le processus de fixation de la frontière linéaire entre le Royaume de France et les Pays‐Bas autrichiens, les cartes manuscrites thématiques des traités des limites jouent un rôle fondamental en tant qu'instruments de négociation. Ces cartes permettent de saisir visuellement la complexité des possessions territoriales et de comprendre les enjeux économiques et politiques des transactions pacifiques. Les cartes analysées, de concert avec les actes des traités, mettent clairement en évidence un aspect moins connu, mais fondamental des cartes des limites, à savoir leur rôle en tant qu'indicateurs des enjeux économiques, en présentant avec beaucoup de soin les grands axes de communication par route.     

An unknown “Pilot” by Hessel Gerritsz,dating from 1612

Abstract

Maps of Africa produced in the sixteenth century relied on Ptolemy for their representation of the unknown heart of the continent. However, another cartographic model, which challenged the classical authority in several respects, became available for the depiction of the African interior. This was the map attributed to Duarte Lopes (Odoardo Lopez) and published by Filippo Pigafetta in 1591. Since contemporary cartographers had no way of verifying which model presented the African interior most realistically, other facts must explain the pre‐eminence of one model over the other.     

Maps and Memory: Readings of Cartography in Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century Song China

ABSTRACT

This essay traces the early history of the genre of the empire map in China, examines twelfth-century steles and printed maps of the Chinese territories, and analyses contemporary viewings and readings of maps in this genre. It argues that such maps reached a much broader readership of literate elites over the course of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and acquired new political significance as maps became powerful symbols in debates concerning the pros and cons of negotiated peace.     

Map or Terrier? The Example of Christ Church, Oxford, Estate Management, 1600–1840

Many factors might have prompted English landowners to map their properties after the genre of estate maps emerged in the late sixteenth century. However, the continuing predominance of the traditional written survey, or terrier, remains to be accounted for. An example from the muniments of Christ Church, Oxford, a large institutional landowner, is used to explain this pattern. Circumstantial evidence from maps and written surveys is augmented by the deeper insights gained from evidence of individual perceptions and institutional policies to explain the durability of the written, as opposed to the cartographic, record of land.     

Interdisciplinary approach for reconstructing an alder-based historical agricultural practice of the Eastern Ligurian Apennines (NW Italy)

Data from four soil profiles studied through pollen and macroscopic charcoal analyses were used to identify specific palynological assemblages associated with a traditional land-use system documented in the Eastern Ligurian Apennines (NW Italy) between the 18th and early 20th century, concerning a cyclical use of grey alder plots for temporary cultivations involving to the use of controlled fire. This is the first attempt to verify on palynological evidence some hypotheses raised by previous historical ecology studies about the consequences of this agricultural practice (recently named alnocoltura) on past and present vegetation. Our investigations underline (1) high percentages of anthropogenic pollen indicators, (2) increase of Ericaceae percentages, (3) low pollen percentages of Alnus, (4) high macrocharcoal concentrations and (5) high values of palynological richness during periods affected by the alnocoltura cycle according to the historical sources. Similar patterns are also detectable in pollen diagrams from two adjacent peat bogs. The paper shows the strength of an interdisciplinary methodology (field observations, cartographical and archival historical data, palynological and archaeological investigations) for studies of past land-use systems. By demonstrating the necessity of a long-term prospective in environmental reconstructions for the preservation of the cultural landscape, one of the important elements of this research is its potential contribution to issues of habitat management and nature-conservation policy. Further analyses are needed to test the replicability and reliability of the hypotheses derived from this study.     

清至民国西宁至拉萨道路(青海段)分布格局的变迁——基于古旧地图及数字化的分析

西宁至拉萨道路是青海地区交通网中的主线,近代西宁至拉萨道路(青海段)分布格局的变迁代表了青海地区历史时期道路分布格局变迁的一般规律。基于中国国家图书馆所藏1935年《青海省三十万分一图》的数字化成果,结合其他时期的资料可复原出清初至1954年近三百年青海地区西宁至拉萨道路分布格局的变迁过程。驿站制度裁撤导致的清代官道系统崩溃,新式交通工具带来的新交通体系和民国时期青海地区的开发活动是近代青海地区道路分布格局变迁的三大驱动力。清至民国西宁至拉萨道路(青海段)分布格局的变迁,表现出历史时期复杂地形条件下道路分布格局易受多变的人文要素影响的特点。基于丰富实测地图资料的近代道路复原是准确复原古代道路的基础。     

Encounters with the Levant: the late medieval illustrated Jerusalem Travelogue by Paul Walter von Guglingen

The late medieval illustrated Jerusalem travelogue by the Franciscan friar Paul Walther von Guglingen has heretofore received scant scholarly attention, perhaps owing to the unusual nature of some of its images. Guglingen charts decidedly Islamic spaces with his maps and plan, instead of the conventional sacred shrines of Christianity; these topographical features are interlaced with personal travelling experiences. Illustrations of flora and fauna encountered along the way are the result of careful observation, and meticulous recording. The author experiments with forms to visually represent his own lived experience. In all cases, text and image are closely intertwined and testify that non-religious aspects form a legitimate aspect of this pilgrimage account. Consideration of the illustrations in Guglingen’s Itinerarium, alongside, for example, those in the travelogue of his famous travel companion Bernhard von Breydenbach, allows us to illuminate more facets of the late medieval pilgrimage experience.     

Imperial Geography and the Medieval Peutinger Map

The Peutinger map is an extraordinary world map drawn c.1200 and long considered a copy of a Roman road map made for late antique travellers. This paper presents arguments against these assumptions and concludes that the lost original was more likely to be a Carolingian display map. Ninth‐century scribes had the expertise and resources necessary for creating an antiquarian work based on Roman itinerary lists, while Carolingian rulers had ample motivation for commissioning a map to display their Roman imperial ambitions.