Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
A medieval mariner's compass
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA, 14TH CENTURY
The sea spray had already long evaporated from this portolan chart, when it embarked on a
second life on land in the 16th century. While decorative sea charts for display at European
courts are found in many map collections, often with still-bright colours and gilding, this is
a rare survival of a working chart. It would have been taken to sea to assist with navigation,
then discarded when it became obsolete. Parchment was valuable, however, and this spared
the chart from destruction. It went on to serve as the cover of a Tudor Exchequer customs
account which lists payments made in 1546; in this phase of its existence it acquired a clerk's
scrawl across its surface. It was rediscovered in 1953 by a conservator in the course of repair-
ing the account.
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