The Date of the Gough Map

ABSTRACT

The date commonly given for the Gough map of Britain, about 1360, is, in the author's opinion, wrong. Arguments that have been offered to support such a dating are invalid. The best indication of the date of the map is the writing on it, which is essentially in a hand of about 1400, a dating endorsed by expert palaeographical opinion. Indeed, a few exceptional features of the handwriting may suggest a slightly later date. A few specific non-palaeographical features of the map confirm a date of production close to, or a little after, 1400. Comparison with other late medieval maps of large inland areas from any part of Europe shows how precocious or advanced the Gough Map is, even for the beginning of the fifteenth century. Arguments suggesting that the map had an earlier ‘prototype’, reflecting the affairs of King Edward I, are also found to be without merit.     

Stamped Signs on Manuscript Maps in the Renaissance

Abstract

The cordiform projection employed by Oronce Fine, Gerard Mercator and Abraham Ortelius may have had a hermetic meaning. The focus in this paper is on Ortelius, for recent studies have suggested connections between Ortelius, Christopher Plantin and a clandestine religious sect in Antwerp, called the Family of Love (Family of Charity), whose emblem was the heart, source of divine illumination and of Free Will. It is argued that Ortelius's contemporaries in the radical religious circles of northern Europe would have perceived the Theatrum orbis terrarum in such a light. As Guillaume Postel's evaluation of Ortelius's work demonstrates, the atlas was considered a talismanic book based on the power of the images.     

Doctoral Theses in Progress

Abstract

Jean Bonfa's 1696 map offered the most accurate portrait in its day of the Comtat Venaissin. Commissioned when France threatened the region economically and politically, the map's topographical detail and allegorical themes exhibit a political geography favouring papal interests. Yet the map's coordinates for Avignon reflect neither Bonfa's skill as a positional astronomer nor his collaboration with the Paris Observatory. Finally, because local authorities controlled the distribution of Bonfa's map, it was not available to other cartographers.     

乾隆与新疆地名研究及疆域地图

乾隆帝在位期间。曾下令编纂并亲自审定出版了《西域同文志》和《西域图志》两部巨著。他还写了《西域地名考证叙概》和《阳关考》两文。乾隆帝还曾派官员新疆实地测量。编绘了《乾隆内府铜版地图》。成为当时我国最完整的疆域地图。也是世界上最完整的亚洲大地图。在乾隆帝重视新疆地名研究和编写全图地图的影响下。促成了西北舆地学的形成。     

认知地图空间分析的地理学研究进展

认知地图是环境意象构成要素、要素间的距离和方向信息最为完全的表现形式,综合反映了居民对城市的认知和城市对居民的影响,是行为地理学核心研究内容之一。论文基于认知地图空间分析的视角,全面梳理了国内外的手绘地图研究、认知地图扭曲研究、地名认知/距离认知/城市空间结构认知、认知地图居民属性研究,提出了国内努力的方向。     

利玛窦世界地图传入韩国及其影响

利玛窦世界地图是东西文化交流的重大课题。自20世纪初到现在, 对此课题各国学者都做过不少深入的研究, 但总体看来, 对其传入朝鲜半岛的情况和影响研究不够深入全面。本文根据有关资料和成果, 探究其传入朝鲜半岛的史事, 考察目前地图在韩国的收藏情况, 并对它们带给朝鲜半岛的影响作一概述。     

吴应箕实政思想略论

长期以来,吴应箕的实政思想一直未能引起学界的重视,本文旨在对他的主要思想进行评述.吴应箕对明代政治体制问题的关注和思考,已经超出了与他同时代的人,因而,他的许多批判思想,对于我们今天研究明代政治史具有十分重要的价值.通过分析和比较,人们不难看到明末清初黄宗羲、顾炎武等人的启蒙思想形成的条件,还可从吴应箕这一个案进一步了解复社士人的思想主张和政治参与意识.     

A View from America: Map Collecting, ‘Treasure-House’ Libraries,and American Civic Influences on the History of Cartography

Abstract

The study of the history of cartography in the United States has been profoundly shaped by the peculiar American institution sometimes known as the ‘treasure house’. These libraries, located in major metropolitan areas and at prestigious universities, were created through the philanthropy of businessmen of local and national significance, most of whom also collected maps and books. The collecting patterns of these philanthropists and the institutions they helped to found emphasized materials (including maps) relating to American history and culture before 1800. This emphasis on pre-nineteenth century holdings tended to marginalize the historical study of most post-1800 cartography in the United States until the middle of the twentieth century. At the same time, as a case study of Chicago’s Newberry Library shows, the development of these collections was flavoured by the civic and regional pride of their host communities and the aspirations to be regional, national and global metropolises.     

A Content Analysis of Imago Mundi, 1935–2010

ABSTRACT

The 592 research articles in the first 62 volumes of Imago Mundi, from 1935 to 2010, are analysed to discern trends in the scholarly approaches, biases and interests of historians of cartography. Particular attention is paid to map historians’ preferred historical periods and topical subjects of study, to their nationalistic tendencies and to the shifting importance of traditional, internal and socio-cultural approaches to map history.