Ebstorf Map

The Ebstorf Map is an example of a mappa mundi (a Medieval European map of the world) similar to the Hereford Map. It was made by Gervase of Ebstorf, who was possibly the same man as Gervase of Tilbury, some time in the thirteenth century.

Description

The map was found in a convent in Ebstorf, in northern Germany, in 1843. It was a very large map, painted on 30 goatskins sewn together and measuring around 3.6 by 3.6 metres (12 ft × 12 ft)—a greatly elaborated version of the common medieval tripartite, or T and O, map, centered on Jerusalem with east at top. The head of Christ was depicted at the top of the map, with his hands on either side and his feet at the bottom.Rome is represented in the shape of a lion, and the map reflects an evident interest in the distribution of bishoprics.

There was text around the map, which included descriptions of animals, the creation of the world, definitions of terms, and a sketch of the more common sort of T and O map with an explanation of how the world is divided into three parts. The map incorporated both pagan and biblical history.