MAP CURIOS

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20891, 24 August 1939, Page 5

MAP CURIOS

POSITION OF PARADISE Maps, during the Middle Ages, showed the geographic location of Paradise on earth. The heavenly kingdom was given a position to agree with its importance—at the top of the map. To indicate its location the map usually bore a picture of Eden. It was customary, in tlie Middle ; Ages, for map-makers to fill in blank | spaces on maps with descriptive iin- • pressions. This was done to cover , ignorance of what should actually i have filled the blank areas. On one ancient map there were the words "Here lions abound,” in tlie extreme north-eastern part of Asia, a place where it would be impossible for lions to exist because of the cold climate. A map of England—drawn in the loth century—contains a note in Latin stating tiiat if the space available on the manuscript had been laiiger the length of England would have been shown to have been greater. The Russian Court, before Hie World War. sought friendship with I lie French by presenting them with a map of France made entirely of goid

and jewels. This extraordinary map seen to-day in the Louvre.