1st Edition
The Shaping of Africa Cosmographic Discourse and Cartographic Science in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe
By Francesc Relaño
Copyright 2002
282 Pages
by
Routledge
314 Pages
by
Routledge
281 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
This title was first published in 2002. When did Africa emerge as a continent in the European mind? This book aims to trace the origins of the idea of Africa and its evolution in Renaissance thought. Particular attention is given to the relationship between the process of acquiring knowledge through travel and exploration, and its representation within a discourse which also includes previously... Read more
Contents: Introduction; The African Puzzle: Canon and variations on the medieval ecumene; Marvels at the southern edge of the world; Prester John: the migration of a legend; The Limits of Symbolic Space: From Allegorical Geometry to a Figurative World: Displaying Ham’s territory; The impact of portolan charts; From the mirror of the ocean; Charting Euclidean Space: the Cartography of the Great Discoveries: Beyond the Pillars of Hercules; From mare clausum to mare liberum; Towards the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea; From the Form to the Contents: the Design of the Unknown: Ptolemy shifted, and yet the same; The Mountains of the Moon; The Great Central Lake; Conclusions: the Projection of the Renaissance Tradition; Bibliography; Index.
Biography
Francesc Relano
'... utilizing a host of both primary and secondary sources written in several languages, the author has produced an intelligent, complex, and deeply thoughtful study that explores the subject matter with thoroughness and scholarly sensitivity. Notes and references at the end of every chapter offer relevant information on the subject matter; the bibliography is very detailed.' Sixteenth Century Journal '... an insightful book of interest to scholars of the Renaissance and cartography alike.' Itinerario '... useful, well organized, thoughtful, and often revealing.' The International History Review 'In this important and lavishly illustrated book, the author convincingly analyses European ideas of space and shows how they were translated into medieval and Renaissance cartography.' Kleio
