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The Catalan Atlas of 1375 is a marvel of medieval mapmaking. It holds a pivotal place in the history of western cartography; in many ways it represents the culmination of the art of cartography during the Middle Ages. The Catalan Atlas includes numerous innovations while preserving central features of the mappamundi tradition. And most importantly, the atlas reflects the state of geographical knowledge of the time, mixed with the persistent fantastical traditions that characterized popular Medieval literature. As such, the Catalan Atlas offers crucial insight into the worldview held by Europeans of the late fourteenth century.

The Catalan Atlas depicts the traditional three-continent world within the concept of the sphere. The atlas states, "So the world is round in shape, which is why it is called orbis, meaning "roundness." But the creator of the maps attempted more than a rendering of the known world. Also included is astrological and other information that places the atlas within the realm of cosmography. Preceding the maps themselves are two panels of information that incorporate information from many disciplines. Among the most fascinating is a bloodletting figure, accompanied by instructions of when to schedule "surgical interventions." In addition, there is a magnificent astrological wheel that includes, among other things, the zodiac, the medieval conception of the elements comprising the earth, planetary deities, and a calendar wheel. It is the dating on the calendar wheel that has led scholars to ascribe the production of the atlas to the year 1375.

The background of the Catalan Atlas is to some extent known. Most historians attribute the map to Abraham Cresques, sometimes referred to as Cresques le Juif, a Jewish cartographer from Palma, a seaport city located on the island of Majorca. [Tony Campbell raised significant doubts about the authorship of the atlas, however, in his review of Grosjean (1978) published in Imago Mundi 33 (1981), pp. 115-16.] Cresques enjoyed the patronage of Peter IV, King of Aragon. The atlas was presumably made to order in response to a request from Charles V of France for Peter's best cartographic representation of the world. The atlas appears in the records of the Royal Library of France (now the Bibliothèque Nationale) as early as 1380, where it has remained to the present time.

Abraham Cresques was born on July 11, 1325 in the Jewish quarter of Palma. He was the most renowned member of the "Catalan" school of cartography that dates to the twelfth century. Cresques characterized himself as a "master of mappaemundi and compasses," and was known for navigational instruments as well as for the quality of his maps. Georges Grosjean, a leading scholar of the Catalan Atlas, placed him also within the realm of the book illustrator; clearly, the concept of cartographer was more inclusive during the high Middle Ages.

Palma, as well as Barcelona, was an economic entrepôt characterized by great cultural diversity. Longstanding Muslim and Jewish traditions there included extensive relations with Africa and the Muslim East. Consequently the state of geographical knowledge was more advanced there and the limitations imposed by the Christian framework of the T-O tradition of St. Isidore were less imposing. Gerald Crone, the noted scholar of medieval mappamundi, observed that the Catalan school during the time of Cresques "threw off the bounds of tradition and anticipated the achievements of the Renaissance" (Wilford, p. 55).

The artistic quality of the Catalan Atlas was worthy of Cresques' royal patron. The dimensions are impressive; it measures three meters in length and 65 centimeters in width. The map was painted on parchment and attached to six wood panels. The orientation of the map is neither north nor south. Its sizable dimensions suggested that it would be kept on a table, to be consulted by King Charles and his councilors.

The diversity of traditions represented in the atlas make it a fascinating object for study. Cresques undoubtedly had access to many charts in the Catalan tradition, and he was familiar with similar charts made by the Genoese and Venetians that mapped the waters of the Mediterranean and Black Sea areas. For the regions further removed from Europe, he utilized religious traditions and often fantastical literature that reflected European attitudes toward the unfamiliar. Among Cresques' sources were the classical traditions of Pliny the Elder and Solinus. It is doubtful, however, that he utilized any classical cartography, since maps surviving from the classical period of European mapmaking were scarce. No world maps from the Greek and Roman tradition are extant. Evidence of local, survey and fanciful maps survive, but most of the classical cartographic tradition has disappeared. Medieval Europe, however, produced rich and varied cartographic traditions. Society during the "Age of Faith," with its preoccupation with Christian theology, framed its worldview within the tradition of the church.

The mappamundi tradition, once viewed with derision by map scholars, has been accorded the position of respect it so richly deserves. Though P.D.A. Harvey, whose research on medieval cartography is prodigious, maintains that mappamundi are not maps within the modern meaning of the term, other scholars are more inclusive in their assessments. Among contemporary scholars, David Woodward has argued that the medieval mappaemundi represent an important component in the evolution of cartography. Woodward asserts that the rich illustrations of the surviving mappamundi must be judged on their own terms, and that the application of modern mapmaking criteria to the theological maps of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries is an exercise in futility.

The mappamundi of late medieval Europe provided an evocative worldview placed squarely within the Christian theological framework. Though mappaemundi contained wide variations among them, they generally possessed certain features in common. Jerusalem was placed at or near the center of the world, and religious imagery abounded. Vignettes representing the Garden of Eden, the crucifixion, Noah's Ark, the wall containing Gog and Magog, and other biblical scenes were common. Non-Christian elements, and those of which the Europeans had no accurate knowledge, framed the margins of these circular maps. Occasionally, the image of Christ appears superimposed on the world, as on the psalter mappamundi of ca. 1250, an image that accompanied a text on the Psalms. In this mappamundi, Christ's head denotes the top of the map to the east, and his feet identify the western limits of the European worldview - the famous Pillars of Hercules. Like amniotic fluid, the primordial ocean protected the world, and the major and minor wind currents appear in the form of human faces stirring the world's atmosphere with their exhaling breath.

The Catalan Atlas represents in part a late example of this medieval mappamundi tradition. The theological imagery of the Atlas is confined primarily to Asia, the European knowledge of which was still rudimentary. Cresques' portrayal of Asia retained a northeast curvature that is reminiscent of the earlier circular mappamundi.

The other great Medieval cartographic tradition from which Cresques draws is that of the portolan charts. The portolan charts are sea charts, developed by Mediterranean sailors at least as early as the thirteenth century, when a resurgence in the volume of navigational trade and improving technology created a demand for accurate knowledge of seacoasts and distances. The portolan charts—the earliest extant copy of which (the famous Carte Pisane) dates to 1275—provided a workable knowledge of navigational cartography in a concise and usable form. Originating in the port cities of Genoa and Venice, and later in Palma, the sea charts represented a valuable new direction in the evolution of European cartography.

The Catalan Atlas is a signal achievement in European cartography in part because of the incorporation of major features of the portolan charts in what is at heart a mappamundi, though a sophisticated one. The panels of the Atlas representing the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and Black Sea are essentially a portolan chart. The entire western section of the map is criss-crossed by rhumb lines which marked major compass directions (or winds) and assisted the navigator in plotting a ship's course. To the west, in the mid-Atlantic is a large colorful wind rose, the earliest known to appear on a portolan chart. The seacoasts of Europe and the Mediterranean lands are marked by place names, located at right angles to the coastline. Flags are located strategically to denote the prevailing political power in a given area. Majorca, the center of the Catalan school of cartography, is depicted in the gold and red colors of the house of Aragon.

The European section of the Atlas, with its emphasis on accuracy and utilitarianism, suggests to the modern eye the revival of science that was to be central to Renaissance culture in the following century. The landmass of Europe is relatively unadorned. Mountain ranges and rivers are clearly marked. Major cities are denoted by a church, but the major pilgrimage centers so central to the lives of the faithful are absent. Six hundred twenty European place names are denoted on the map, as well as 260 names in the Black Sea area.

As a cultural document the Catalan Atlas is more daring and fanciful in its depiction of Africa. The "dark" continent had long fascinated Europeans, and the relative impenetrability of this area fostered myths that lingered throughout the Middle Ages. The travel accounts of the Arab chronicler Ibn Battuta are major sources for Cresques' depiction of North Africa.

Much of the information contained on the African portion of the Atlas is rooted in fact. Cresques identified 240 place names along the North African coast. The Atlas Mountains are correctly placed, though depicted in the traditional Medieval form of a bird leg with claw. The text that accompanies the Atlas range reads, "This region is inhabited by people who go heavily veiled, so that nothing can be seen of them but their eyes. They live in tents and ride on camels. They keep animals that are called 'lemp', from the leather of which they make good shields" (Grosjean, p. 63). A lavish image of a Moorish king is identified as Muse Melley, "lord of the Negroes of Guinea," but probably reflects knowledge of the leader of Mali, the learned and powerful Mansa Musa, well-known in Islamic circles.

Other portions of Africa are more fanciful. Few place names appear on the land portion of Africa, though lavish illustrations are placed prominently in North Africa. One, for example, refers to the persistent tradition of Prester John, the legendary Christian ruler whose presumed existence intrigued generations of Europeans. Also included on the map was the mythical river flowing from east to west that Europeans believed held access to the riches of interior Africa. Jacme Ferrer, a Majorcan navigator, is depicted in search of the elusive river.

Despite the intriguing images with which Cresques adorned Africa, it is the Asian portion of the Atlas that most captivates the modern observer. Though accurate geographical knowledge of Asia was limited in the late 1300s, Europeans were familiar with many accounts, both apocryphal and accurate, of the East. King Peter of Aragon acquired manuscripts of Marco Polo's Il Milione, the specious Travels of Sire John Mandeville, as well as lesser known works for Cresques' use. It is in this portion of the Atlas that the powerful tradition of the Christian mappamundi is apparent. The result is a mixture of fact and fiction, illuminated in rich, lavish tones.

Colorful images compete for the attention of the scholar. One of the most illustrious depictions is the caravan traveling along the Silk Road. The accompanying text identifies place names in relatively accurate terms. The relaxed travel restrictions of earlier years had brought a modicum of useful information about the East. Marco Polo's account was indispensable in magnifying the role of Asia within the European worldview.

Also of interest is the magnificent portrayal of the gates of Alexander the Great, who, with the assistance of Satan, contained the forces of evil within the far northern margins of Asia. The Biblical tradition of Gog and Magog is apparent here. Images as disparate as a female warrior, pearldivers, and a Chinese junk provide filler for unknown lands. Text describing mythical lands guarantee satiation for intense European curiosities.

In summary, the Catalan Atlas is a cartographic product fully within the tradition of the high Middle Ages. It is a reflection of a reawakening of European interest in the world beyond its horizons. The Atlas encapsulates the great medieval cartographic traditions, and yet it also reflects the coming Renaissance.

The image of a Catalan voyage appears on the portolan chart portion of the Catalan Atlas. This western section of the atlas represented the current state of knowledge of the Mediterranean area and the Atlantic Ocean near the west coast of Africa. Catalan interest in the Atlantic increased dramatically with the Spanish acquisition of the Canary Islands from Portugal in the 1300s. Spanish possession of the islands also served to intensify Iberian interest in the exotic products and legendary wealth of African kingdoms located beyond the known part of northern Africa.

Rhumb lines represent the definitive feature of the portolan charts from the Catalan school of cartography, the origins of which can be traced to the late 1200s. Another noteworthy feature of the portolan chart section of the Catalan Atlas is a large compass rose located east of the Iberian Peninsula. According to Tony Campbell, the compass rose makes its first appearance on the Catalan Atlas, though it lacks customary alignment with the rhumb line intersections (Woodward and Harley, p. 396).

The ship in question documents the voyage of the Majorcan navigator Jacme (also referred to as Jaime) Ferrer. The ship appears to be a galley, the ship type commonly found in the Mediterranean trade. The banner on the ship reflects the gold and red colors of the kingdom of Aragon, which included the areas of Majorca and Catalonia. The text accompanying the image of the ship states that Jacme Ferrer's ship set sail on St. Laurence Day, the 10th August 1346, bound for the Rio d'Oro. Little is known of this voyage. It was one of several documented voyages of the time that failed to return to port. The ship evidently reached Cape Bojalar but its ultimate fate remained a mystery.

The mythical River of Gold appeared on many Medieval and Renaissance maps. It was said to literally convey its flow of fold into the Atlantic from its source in a fabulously wealthy kingdom in the interior of Africa. Ferrer's journey was one of many to seek the source of the Rio d'Oro. Frequently linked to they myth of the Rio d'Oro was the tradition of Prester John, which had fascinated Europeans since the twelfth century. Prester John was believed to rule a Christian kingdom beyond the realm of the Muslim lands. The kingdom was initially identified with Asia, but increasing knowledge of the continent made his presence their unlikely. Hence his identification on the Catalan Atlas with the continent of Africa (Ethiopia). Europeans believed that Prester John was the key to pushing back the borders of the expanding realm of the Muslims. The Prester John tradition originated with a forged letter received by the King of Portugal in 1165. Its popularity was fostered by its inclusion in the popular Travels of Sir John Mandeville, copies of which first began circulating in the late 1300s. Thus the image of Jacme Ferrer symbolizes the motives of God, gold and glory which served as the driving force of European expansion for centuries to come.

Religious imagery represents one of the most fascinating cultural features of the Catalan Atlas. Symbols signifying religious traditions are profuse in the Atlas but are confined to the non-European sections of the map. Rome, Compostella, and other important European pilgrimage sites are not included by Cresques. Some scholars see this absence as a great stride forward in the development in scientific maps. Indeed, the European section of the Atlas is squarely within the late-fourteenth century portolan tradition of the Catalan chartmakers.

The Asian and African sections of the map represent a stark contrast. Reference to Biblical traditions abound; the traditions of Gog and Magog, the Three Wise Men and the monastery of St. Katherine are among the Christian symbols present in the Asian sections of the map. Christian cities are often designated by a cross. Grosjean suggests that religious imagery was used as filler for places about which little was known. This may explain the absence of such symbols in Europe and the tendency to use them more frequently in little-known locations.

The Atlas takes careful account of the extensive area under Muslim control. Muslim cities are often symbolized by a dome. The city of Mecca, center of Muslim devotion, is marked in blue, the only city so designated. Medina, the city that first accepted Mohammed as the prophet of Allah, is also given prominence. Both of the holy cities of the Muslims are located closer to the Red Sea than they actually are. The Red Sea is given a red pigmentation, found on many medieval mapamundi. The text on the Atlas indicates the coloration of the Red Sea derives from the reddish cast of the seabeds rather than the water itself.

This image features the city of Mecca, accompanied by an image of a Muslim at prayer. The text beside the praying Muslim reads:

Mecca. In this town is the shrine of Mohammed, the Prophet of the Saracens, who come here on pilgrimages from every country. And they say that, having seen something so precious, they are no longer worthy of seeing anything more at all, and they blind themselves in honor of Mohammed.

Grosjean, who wrote an impressive commentary on the Catalan Atlas, points out the likelihood that the above quote refers to the Kaaba, the shrine at Mecca containing the revered black stone, rather than the tomb of Mohammed. The text leaves the distinct impression, widely accepted by Europeans, that Muslims prayed to Mohammed the prophet rather than to Allah.

Though Marco Polo, Mandeville, and the Arab writer Ibn Battuta are major sources for Cresques, the source for this particular Muslim tradition is unknown. It is one example of erroneous concepts of Islam readily believed in Europe, despite Catalonian familiarity with Moorish customs.

The Catalan Atlas is a compendium of knowledge, tradition and legend that draws on many sources. The Bible, the fantastical literature popular in Medieval Europe, travel accounts such as Marco Polo's, and previous portolan charts all influenced the creator of the atlas. An additional source was the classical tradition of Greece and Rome. The Greek philosopher Plato, as well as later Roman writers, perpetuated the tradition of the Amazon women, fierce female warriors who wielded great power.

The Amazon women have been associated with varied locations. Some classical traditions trace their origins to northwest Africa, though they are more commonly associated, particularly in Greek mythology, with Asia Minor. Amazon women are often depicted on horseback with bows and arrows. Greek legend traces their defeat at the hand of the Athenians to their arrogance in daring to assume male roles.

By the early medieval years cosmographers tended to place them in northern Asia, well beyond the Caspian Sea, which seemed to represent the eastern limits of geographical knowledge during the early Middle Ages. As Europeans acquired greater familiarity with northern Asia, the Amazons were located further south, where knowledge of the area was more tentative. Cresques has identified the Amazon tradition with the mythical island of Iana. Here he paints a female sovereign wielding a sword in a land bordering the southern Asian sea. No representation of the traditional horses or arrows appears, but the influence of the Amazon tradition is clearly suggested in this image.

And so the Amazon tradition is merged with the exotic lands known to Europe primarily through the memoirs of Marco Polo. European demand for knowledge of the Orient knew no bounds. Interest in potentially the profitable markets of the spice trade accelerated. The cartographer adds the accompanying text just to the west of the island of Iana. "On the island of Iana there are many trees of aloe, camphor, sandalwood, fine spices, garenga, nutmeg, cinnamon trees, from which the most precious spice of all India comes, and here there are also mace and leaves."

Placing this ancient legend on the further margins of the map was consistent with the medieval tradition of depicting the exotic and fanciful far from the center of Christianity. Not surprisingly, this fierce warrior is surrounded by the dome symbol marking the realm of the Muslims. During the age of exploration the Amazon tradition became associated with the "New World," where the promise of new sources of wealth and mystery beckoned a new generation of Europeans. Eventually the enduring legend of the fierce female warriors gained renewed life with the naming of the Amazon River.

The image of the warrior queen also is a good example of the lack of a definite orientation to the map. Symbols and text are written so that portions of the map could be understood regardless of the direction from which the map was viewed. This point serves as a reminder that the Catalan Atlas was not a working portolan chart but a presentation copy intended for royalty.

The western sections of the Catalan Atlas are characterized by relatively accurate and complete geographical information. Firmly within the portolan chart tradition of the Catalan school of chartmakers, the depiction of Europe and the Mediterranean are considered sophisticated and represent a tremendous advance in scientific cartography.

In contrast, the depiction of Asia is often fanciful and filled with allusions to customs foreign to European cultures. Cresques relies here on classical sources, scripture, and travel accounts of dubious reliability. His familiarity with the travels of Marco Polo is obvious in his conception of Asia.

One of the truly intriguing images on Panel 6A pertains to the burial customs of far Asia. In the vicinity of the Caspian Sea (located inaccurately in far northern Asia) a burial rite is depicted. A deceased man lies curled in a burial font, with a figure presiding over rites which culminate in cremation. Alongside the font are three musicians playing, respectively, a flute, a violin and a zither. The text which accompanies the portrayal says,

Know that men and women of this region, when they are dead, are carried away to be burnt, to the sounds of instruments and in ecstasies of joy, while the relatives of the dead person of course weep. And it sometimes happens, though rarely, that the widow of the dead man throws herself into the flames, whereas a man never does the same for his wives.

The preceding text has the ring of truth, though the facts are somewhat convoluted. Grosjean believes that the map's creator has confused accounts dictated by Marco Polo. The musical accompaniment to the cremation of the deceased in the font is associated with death rites common in China (Kansu in Polo's account), though the practice of immolation of widows is a clear reference to the practice of suttee, common among the Hindus of India. Jean Michel Massing points to Polo's rendition of the death rites of Malabar, where certain lawbreakers duly accused must commit suicide, to the accompaniment of the celebration of the condemned's relatives.

The inclusion of the burial rites in the atlas is an excellent example of the European fascination with the "other." The revival of trade with the East clearly evoked images of the exotic among those people residing in the west. The fanciful nature of many of the illustrations of Asia on the Catalan Atlas is reminiscent of the mappamundi tradition of depicting the non-Christian world with imaginative and fantastical characteristics far from the center of the world (Jerusalem).

The image of the caravan is one of the most famous and spectacular of the many wonders to be found on the Catalan Atlas. It is a potent symbol of both the increasing importance of European-Asian trade routes and the growing fascination of the Europeans with the mysteries of the East. The popularity of Il Milione by Marco Polo and the Travels of Sir John Mandeville satisfied European curiosity about Asia only in part. Cresques had few reliable sources at his disposal regarding many parts of Asia; consequently, much of this portion of the map is based on conjecture and myth.

Nonetheless, Europeans had profitable trade relations with the East dating back to the Roman Empire. Silk, spices and other products indigenous to Asia were in great demand throughout the Middle Ages. Both overland and sea routes to Asia, however, required the services of Arab intermediaries and encompassed huge tolls and tributes. The lucrative possibilities of the Europe-Asia trade connection created a demand for accurate information regarding caravan routes through the Asian continent.

The caravan image that appears on the Catalan Atlas is a useful measurement of the increasing sophistication of European principles of geography. The lush representation of the mercantile excursion is placed in the approximate location of the Silk Road, with which Europeans were quite familiar. The caravan is located near the top of Panel 5B of the Atlas. The cartographer gives the caravan a southern orientation, so the direction that it is traveling on the map is actually east.

The text that accompanies the caravan reads,

You must know that those who wish to cross the desert, remain and lodge for one whole week in a town named Lop, where they are [sic] their beasts can rest. Then they lay in all the provisions they need for seven months. For on their journey through the desert, it may be one day and one night before they find drinking water. Nevertheless, at intervals of a march lasting a day and a night so much is found as will suffice for 50 to 100 or more persons. And when it happens that a man falls asleep on his camel during a night-ride, or he wanders away and loses his companions for some other reason, it often happens that he hears (out of the air) the voices of devils which are the voices of his companions and they call him by his name and lead him in all directions through the desert, so that he can never find his companions again. A thousand tales are told about this desert.

The depiction of northeastern Asia in the upper corner of Panel 6, with its religious and classical imagery, is a fascinating and lavish example of the Catalan Atlas as Christian mappamundi. For medieval scholars, it is this portion of the map that stands out in stark contrast to the relatively accurate and scientific portrayal of Europe and the Black Sea area. This section of the map most truly illustrates Grosjean's description of the Catalan Atlas as "truly a mappamundi, a comprehensive atlas of the world, in accordance with the ideas of its times" (p. 15).

One of the most notable features of the portrayal of far Asia is the pronounced curvature of the world. This is the only place on the map where this characteristic appears. It is the dying remnant of the great mappamundi tradition, the apex of which is found in the Catalan Atlas. Bordering the noted curvature of far Asia is a reference to the great Mare Ocean, the ocean that enveloped and protected the earth, an indelible feature that provided the geographical framework of the noted Hereford, Psalter, and Ebsdorf mappamundi, as well as the numerous examples of variations on St. Isidore of Seville's T-O diagrams.

Cresques illustrates far Asia with grandiose and awesome scenes. Most reminiscent of earlier religious mappamundi are scenes related to the Biblical tradition of Gog and Magog, the harbingers of the Apocalypse. By the Middle Ages Gog and Magog were considered synonymous with the Antichrist. Christian as well as Islamic tradition places the forces of evil in the far north of Asia, where they remained until the coming destruction of the world. The tradition of Gog and Magog was a terrifying and central part of popular European medieval culture. Over time the tradition of Gog and Magog merged with the reputed exploits of Alexander the Great, and the hybrid legend assumes many forms, not the least of which is a variation on the sagas of Alexander. Medieval literary tradition accords Alexander the role of protector of Christian civilization and as the vehicle for containing the destructive forces of Gog and Magog within the marginal fringes of Asia. The Caspian Mountains in particular become the symbol of the prison of Gog and Magog. Medieval literary images include a massive iron gate erected by Alexander. Variant strains of this tradition provide the assistance of Satan in this endeavor to save the world from destruction.

Affixed to this portion of the atlas is a luminous figure of a great leader, surrounded by groups of obedient followers, crowned figures among them. Encasing the multitude is an enormous enclosure separating the group from the known world. The lavish scene represents an allusion to various Biblical, classical and medieval traditions that continued to shape the European worldview. Grosjean suggests that this portion of the Atlas was the primary concern of Cresques and that indeed these startling literary images confirm his contention that the "Atlas is still of the Middle Ages. Its value lies in the domain of book-painting and in the fact that it has preserved for us some part of the antique heritage in cartography" (p. 22).

Despite the scale and detail of this apocalyptic scene, Grosjean further contends that the grand religious iconography located in Asia and Africa is intended to denote areas that would otherwise be marked as terra incognita. Europeans apparently substituted knowledge of areas marginal to the Mediterranean area with conjecture strongly tinged with the exotic and terrifying.

1. Abraham Cresques, [Catalan Atlas, 1375?], detail of fol. 3r
2. Abraham Cresques, [Catalan Atlas, 1375?], detail of fol. 5r
3. Abraham Cresques, [Catalan Atlas, 1375?], detail of fol. 6r
4. Abraham Cresques, [Catalan Atlas, 1375?], detail of fol. 6r
5. Abraham Cresques, [Catalan Atlas, 1375?], detail of fol. 5v
6. Abraham Cresques, [Catalan Atlas, 1375?], detail of fol. 6r and 6v

Brown, Lloyd A. The Story of Maps. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1949.

Lloyd Brown compiled a very informative and useful overview of cartography. It is written in language that the non-specialist will appreciate. Included is a lengthy and readable chapter on maps in the Middle Ages.

Grosjean, Georges, ed. The Catalan Atlas of the Year 1375. Dietikon-Zurich: Urs Graf, 1978.

Grosjean's work includes a high-quality facsimile of the complete atlas, as well as an extensive analysis of the Catalan Atlas. This is the most in-depth commentary on the Catalan Atlas available in English. This volume is in the Newberry collection.

Harley, J.B., and David Woodward. The History of Cartography. Vol. One: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

This volume provides comprehensive coverage of the tradition of medieval mapmaking. Particularly useful are David Woodward's chapter on Medieval mappamundi and a lengthy section on the portolani by Tony Campbell. Also included is an extensive bibliography.

Harvey, P.D.A. Medieval Maps. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991.

P.D.A. Harvey is an acknowledged scholar on the subject of medieval maps. This volume contains high-quality reproductions of examples from Roman, mappamundi, portolani, and local survey maps. It is an indispensable source on the subject of medieval maps.

Massing, Jean Michel. "Observations and Beliefs: The World of the Catalan Atlas." In Jay A. Levenson, Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991.

Massing's article provides a clear and concise introduction to the Catalan Atlas. The author includes an historical context, as well as a detailed analysis of the atlas. This source is very useful and more accessible than Grosjean's commentary.

Thrower, Norman J.W. Maps and Civilization: Cartography in Culture and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.

Thrower's is a solid work that attempts to place various map forms within a firm cultural context. This book provides a literate narrative that should appeal to the non-specialist as well as to cartographic scholars. The author devotes two chapters to the medieval tradition.

Wilford, John Noble. The Mapmakers: The Story of the Great Pioneers in Cartography from Antiquity to the Space Age. New York: Vintage Books, 1981.

Wilford has written a work based on solid scholarship but intended for the general reader. It is a useful introduction to the subject of cartographers in the western tradition and assists in placing Abraham Cresques within a valid historical context.

Woodward, David. "Reality, Symbolism, Time, and Space in Medieval World Maps," Annals of the Association of American Geographers 75 (1985): 510-21.

This article provides an overview of medieval maps and the meanings derived from their symbols. Woodward argues that medieval mappamundi are clearly within the cartographic tradition, but they must be judged on their own terms. He calls for a more inclusive view of what constitutes a map.