science

Sawley map

Sawley map is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sawley map rather than just read about it. In short: The Sawley map, formerly known as the 'Henry of Mainz' map, is the earliest surviving mappa mundi (world map) made in England. It was made between about 1180 and the early 13th century.

Key takeaways

Sawley map belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sawley map to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sawley map from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Sawley map, formerly known as the 'Henry of Mainz' map, is the earliest surviving mappa mundi (world map) made in England. It was made between about 1180 and the early 13th century. The map is the frontispiece of a copy of the Imago mundi of Honorius of Autun. It is oriented with east (and the Garden of Eden) at the top and the island of Delos at the centre. The map takes up the second page (folio 1v) of manuscript 66 at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. The first folio is of thicker vellum than the rest of the manuscript. The manuscript was probably copied at Durham Priory before being given to Sawley Abbey (now in Lancashire) in the early 13th century. The map is oval in shape, with winged figures (angels, not winds) decorating the four corners of the rectangular page. It measures about 30 by 20 centimetres (11.8 in × 7.9 in). Across the top of the page is a faint ex libris in Latin: Liber s[an]c[t]e Marie de Salleia, 'book of Saint Mary's of Sawley'. The map depicts three continents—Asia, Africa and Europe—surrounded by a world ocean. It is in colour, with green representing the ocean and purple the rivers. Mountains are depicted as series of red lobes. Places are marked by circles, square and pictographic symbols, such as towers or, in the case of Jerusalem, a temple. Delos, at the centre, was noted for its pagan temples. It is depicted as a circle surrounded by smaller circles (the Cyclades). Orkney is depicted in the same way. The Sawley map is usually grouped with other encyclopaedic mappae mundi of the same period, such as the Hereford map and the Ebstorf map (the latter destroyed by bombing in the Second World War). It contains much fanciful material and many pieces of information derived from the Bible and the classics. It may belong to a northern French tradition, if it was copied from the mappa mundi which Bishop Hugh of Le Puiset bequeathed to Durham Priory in 1195. The misattribution of the map to Henry of Mainz, possibly the future Archbishop Henry I, stems from a misreading of the prologue, which states that this version of the Imago mundi was edited by Henry in 1110. It does not mention the map, which is not an integral part of the Imago but was created decades later. Whether or not the Cambridge MS. 66 version of the text was even edited by any Henry of Mainz has been challenged. No other manuscript of the Imago contains a copy of the Sawley map or one like it. The only thing that can be said for certain of the connection between the Sawley map and the accompanying text is that they could be found bound together at Sawley shortly after 1200.

Notes

Bibliography

External links Virtual Mappa 2.0 — contains an annotated Sawley map

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sawley map

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sawley map claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sawley map before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sawley map ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sawley map

In research: Sawley map appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sawley map in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sawley map is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 12th-century maps, Historic maps of the world, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sawley map outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sawley map in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sawley map means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sawley map out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sawley map in simple terms?

The Sawley map, formerly known as the 'Henry of Mainz' map, is the earliest surviving mappa mundi (world map) made in England. It was made between about 1180 and the early 13th century.

Why does Sawley map matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sawley map?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sawley map.