13th century zonal world map

Description

This 13th-century world map, though only 8 centimetres across, is more than a simple diagram. The southern (upper) hemisphere is filled with geographical note – when we have summer they have winter, when we have daylight they have night. The northern hemisphere, separated from it by the Equinoctial Sea, is divided into three continents with Jerusalem at the centre and also into seven zones, with the names of a few lands, peoples and geographical features appropriately placed.

This map forms part of the Cotton manuscripts collection. The collection comprises more than 1,400 manuscripts and over 1,500 charters, rolls and seals. These items range in date from approximately the 4th century to the 1600s and have their origin in western Europe and beyond.