T-O Map

A T and O map or O–T or T–O map (''orbis terrarum'', orb or circle of the lands; with the letter T inside an O), also known as an Isidoran map, is a type of early world map that represents the physical world as first described by the 7th-century scholar Isidore of Seville in his ''De Natura Rerum'' and later his '' Etymologiae''.: "...the Isidoran tradition as it was known from peninsular examples, including the earliest of the ubiquitous T-O maps. This emblematic figure appears twice at the foot of folio 24v in a copy of Isidore's De Natura Rerum, now Escorial R.II.18... The relevant text comes from the concluding passage of the De Natura Rerum, Chapter XLVIII, 2... When, in the ninth century, the Escorial manuscript fell into the hands of Eulogius and was supplemented, this precise text (Etymologiae XIV, 2, 3) was placed on the page, folio 25r, facing the primitive map and was introduced another small T-O map. To this later T-O diagram, however, were added the names of Noah's sons- Shem, Japheth and Ham, for Asia, Europe and Africa, respectively-outside the circle of the globe. This apportionment is only implicit in the Bible (Genesis 9: 18-19). Josephus (d. c.100 AD) is more explicit as was Hippolytus of Rome, whose chronicle of 234 in its Latin translation disseminated the Noachid distribution in the West. Isidore's Etymologiae, however, the distribution of Noah's sons is not highlighted, but only incidentally reported with the description of the location of cities in Book IX. It seems clear, if we accept the evidence of Escorial R.II.18, that the Shem-Japheth-Ham distribution was not in the primitive Isidoran diagram. This means that Isidore's use of the T-O diagram was not informed by any overt religious content."

Although not included in the original Isidorian maps, a later manuscript added the names of Noah's sons ( Sem, Iafeth and Cham) for each of the three continents (see Biblical terminology for race).

More detailed later maps with equivalent orientation are sometimes described as a "Beatine map" after the Beatus map because one of the earliest known representations of this sort is attributed to Beatus of Liébana, an 8th-century Spanish monk, in the prologue to his '' Commentary on the Apocalypse''.

Isidore's description

''De Natura Rerum'', Chapter XLVIII, 2 (translation):

''Etymologiae'', chapter 14, ''de terra et partibus'':

''Etymologiae'', chapter 14, ''de terra et partibus'' (translation):

History and description

Although Isidore taught in the ''Etymologiae'' that the Earth was "round", his meaning was ambiguous and some writers think he referred to a disc-shaped Earth. However, other writings by Isidore make it clear that he considered the Earth to be globular. Indeed, the theory of a spherical Earth had always been the prevailing assumption among the learned since at least Aristotle, who had divided the spherical earth into zones of climate, with a ''frigid clime'' at the poles, a deadly ''torrid clime'' near the equator, and a mild and habitable ''temperate clime'' between the two.

The T and O map represents only the one half of the spherical Earth.Michael Livingston
Modern Medieval Map Myths: The Flat World, Ancient Sea-Kings, and Dragons
, 2002. It was presumably considered a convenient projection of known-inhabited parts, the northern temperate half of the globe. It was then believed that no one could cross the torrid equatorial clime and reach the unknown lands on the other half of the globe. These imagined lands were called antipodes.

The ''T'' is the Mediterranean, the Nile, and the Don (formerly called the Tanais) dividing the three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa, and the ''O'' is the encircling ocean. Jerusalem was generally represented in the center of the map. Asia was typically the size of the other two continents combined. Because the Sun rose in the east, Paradise (the Garden of Eden) was generally depicted as being in Asia, and Asia was situated at the top portion of the map.

This qualitative and conceptual type of medieval cartography could yield extremely detailed maps in addition to simple representations. The earliest maps had only a few cities and the most important bodies of water noted. The four sacred rivers of the Holy Land were always present. More useful tools for the traveler were the itinerarium, which listed in order the names of towns between two points, and the periplus that did the same for harbors and landmarks along a seacoast. Later maps of this same conceptual format featured many rivers and cities of Eastern as well as Western Europe, and other features encountered during the Crusades. Decorative illustrations were also added in addition to the new geographic features. The most important cities would be represented by distinct fortifications and towers in addition to their names, and the empty spaces would be filled with mythical creatures.

Gallery

File:Beatus map.jpg, The world map from the Saint-Sever Beatus, dating to ca. AD 1050.
File:Diagrammatic T-O world map - 12th c.jpg, From a 12th c. copy of ''Etymologiae''.
File:World map intermediate between T-O and mappa mundi.jpg, Map centred on Delos according to Greek tradition, from a French manuscript of Henry of Huntingdon, late 13th century
File:T-O Mappa mundi.jpg, Mappa Mundi in ''La Fleur des Histoires''. 1459–1463.
File:1581 Bunting clover leaf map.jpg, Bünting Clover Leaf Map. A 1581 woodcut, Magdeburg. Jerusalem is in the center, surrounded by Europe, Asia and Africa.
File:Unknown, Mer Des Hystoires World Map, 1491, Persuasive Cartography PJModeCollection, CUL, ID 1001.01.jpg, Unknown, Mer Des Hystoires World Map, 1491. This map follows the model of the T-O map, centered on Jerusalem with East (the biblical location of Paradise) at the top.
File:Bergomensis T-O World Map 1503 Cornell CUL PJM 1003 01.jpg, On the left part of the sheet is a zonal or climatic map, communicating geographical information. On the right is a "T-O" map.By Jacobus Philippus Bergomensis.
File:Rouen,_Bibliothèque_municipale,_MS_524,_fol._74v_maps.png, T and O map accompanied by a V-in-square map, from a copy of the ''Etymologiae'' (c. late 8th century).
File:Noachide map from the Abbey library of Saint Gall (oldest map naming Europe), Isidore-Codex 236.png, From the Saint Gall manuscript
File:Bodleian Libraries, Basic TO map and a schematic map.jpg, T and O map from the Flemish manuscript of Brunetto Latini, ''Le Livre dou Tresor,'' early 14th century.

See also

* Flat Earth
* Mappa Mundi
*Babylonian Map of the World

References

Further reading

* Christoph Mauntel, ‘The T-O Diagram and its Religious Connotations – a Circumstantial Case’, in Christoph Mauntel (ed.), ''Geography and Religious Knowledge in the Medieval World,'' Berlin/Boston, deGruyter, 2021, pp. 57-82.
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* Carlo Zaccagnini, ‘Maps of the World’, in Giovanni B. Lanfranchi et al., ''Leggo! Studies Presented to Frederick Mario Fales on the occasion of his 65th birthday,'' Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz Verlag, 2012, pp. 865–874.
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* Brigitte Englisch, Ordo orbis terrae. Die Weltsicht in den Mappae mundi des frühen und hohen Mittelalters. Berlin 2002,
* {{citation, last=Williams, first=John, title=Isidore, Orosius and the Beatus Map, journal=Imago Mundi, volume=49, pages=7–32, date=1997, jstor=1151330, doi=10.1080/03085699708592856

8th-century works
Map types