Hereford Mappa Mundi

The Hereford Mappa Mundi (Latin: mappa mundi) is the largest medieval map still known to exist, depicting the known world. It is a religious rather than literal depiction, featuring heaven, hell and the path to salvation. Dating from ca. AD 1300, the map is drawn in a form deriving from the T and O pattern. It is displayed at Hereford Cathedral in Hereford, England.^[1] The map was created as an intricate work of art rather than as a navigational tool.^[2] Sources for the information presented on the map include the Alexander tradition, medieval bestiaries and legends of monstrous races, as well as the Bible.

Although the evidence is circumstantial, modern scholarship links the map with the promotion of the cult of Thomas de Cantilupe,^[3] and with a justification of the expulsion of Jewry from England.^[4] Potentially antisemitic images include a horned Moses and a depiction of Jews worshipping the Golden Calf in the form of a Saracen devil. The map also seems to reflect very patriarchal views of women as inherently sinful, including figures such as the wife of Lot being turned into a pillar of salt for gazing at the city of Sodom. Cantilupe was known for his dislike of Jews and was regarded as misogynistic even by the standards of his own time.^[3]

The map would have functioned as an object to show people visiting Cantilupe's cult, and guides would have described and helped visitors to understand the content. The idea of looking, reading and hearing the stories is mentioned on the map itself. There would not have always been single, fixed ideas attached to the images, which would be interpreted symbolically, and through juxtaposition and proximity. Text in Latin and French would help guides and international visitors to understand something of its meaning.

The map suffered neglect in the post-Reformation period. By the 19th century, it was in need of repair, and it was repaired at the British Museum. However, the side panels of the original triptych were lost, and the map was detached from its wooden frame panel. The cathedral proposed to sell the map in 1988, but fundraising kept the map from sale, and it was moved to a dedicated building in 1996.

A larger mappa mundi, the Ebstorf Map, was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1943, though photographs of it survive.