cover image The Golden Age of Maritime Maps: When Europe Discovered the World Name

The Golden Age of Maritime Maps: When Europe Discovered the World Name

Catherine Hofmann, Helene Richard, Emmanuelle Vagnon. Firefly Books (Firefly, North American dist.), $49.95 (256p) ISBN 978-1-77085-238-9

In the closing centuries of Europe's medieval age, that backward, isolated continent belatedly turned its gaze outward in search of trade and conquest. From that era of discovery came the Portolan charts, precursors of modern maps. Reproduced here in lavish full-color plates, this display of Portolan maps, many preserved at the National Library of France, documents Europe's expanding consciousness, its fumbling from blinkered ignorance to illumination and brief global dominance. The authors provide the historical context for these documents; the main body of the text is organized geographically, from the Mediterranean%E2%80%94so long the focus of insular European civilization%E2%80%94to the lands across the Atlantic and finally the traditional centers of human civilization on the far side of the Indian Ocean. Also included are appendices ranging from a lengthy bibliography to a full accounting of authors and photographers. From their roots in the 13th century to final decline in the 17th century, Portolan maps enshrined knowledge in works of magnificent artistry; the text and the high-resolution photographs document this flowering of creativity and curiosity. The work stands as one of scholarly love, like the maps themselves a grand partnership between abstract knowledge and concrete images. (Nov.)