V-in-square map

The V-in-square (or V-in-◻) map is a highly schematic type of mappa mundi (world map) in use in Europe during the Middle Ages. It is based on and usually found in conjunction with the Etymologiae of Isidore of Seville.

Description The V-in-square map is named from its basic shape, by analogy with the T and O map. It is a square map divided into three parts by a V. These are labelled after the three sons of Noah, each corresponding to one of the known continents: Japheth for Europe on the left, Shem for Asia in the middle (inside the V) and Ham for Africa on the right. Like the T and O map, it is oriented with east at the top. Confusingly, the left edge is often labelled west and the right edge south, while the bottom is unlabelled. Some maps label the cardinal directions more logically, but most label the areas with the names of Noah's sons rather than the names of the continents. David Woodward classifies it as a mappa mundi of the schematic tripartite type. Michael Andrews classifies it as of the oecumenical tripartite type, by which he means that it depicts only the habitable world known to the medievals, to the exclusion of the Antipodes. Marcia Kupfer questions whether the V-in-square "figure" should be considered a map at all, since the correspondence between Noah's sons and the continents is not normally indicated and it is a presumption that the labelling of east and west on adjacent sides should be considered an error.

Usage

The geography of V-in-square maps is based on a single sentence in the Etymologiae of Isidore of Seville, written in the early 7th century: "For Asia extends from south to north in the east, but Europe from the north to the west, Africa from the west to the south." There are 35 known examples of V-in-square maps and 31 of them are illustrations of Book 14 of the Etymologiae, where they always accompany a T and O map. Only three V-in-square maps are not accompanied by a T and O map. The two map types both generally show Asia as being the same size as Europe and Africa combined, but the T and O map is otherwise a much better representation of Isidore's full description of the world. Although Isidore may have included a T and O map in his original work, the V-in-square map does not originate with him, but was probably designed by an early copyist. Although the V-in-square map illustrates Book 14, the names of Noah's sons are drawn from Book 9. V-in-square maps appear only in manuscripts. The earliest known example is found with a copy of the Etymologiae made before 811. It continued to be included in copies as late as the 15th century, but not later. The most elaborate example of the type was that painted by the Master of Jouvenel des Ursin for a copy of Giovanni Colonna's Mare historiarum, which may have been based on a V-in-square map in a copy of Raoul de Presles's translation of Augustine's De civitate Dei, where it could have been used to show the monstrous races as all descended from Adam. A copy of Corpus Pelagianum made at Oviedo around 1200 (now Madrid, Biblioteca nacional de España, MS 1513, but known as the Códice de Batres) contains a highly unusual square map on the back of the first folio. Patrick Marschner suggests that it is based on the V-in-square map type influenced by the T and O: "the map ... seems to follow the schematic approach of the V-in-square maps rather than that of T-O maps." it is square with the cardinal directions labelled, the continents labelled by Noah's sons and divided into three parts albeit with vertical lines, perhaps to better accommodate the copious text.

Table of maps The following is a table of V-in-square maps cited by Van Duzer 2012, plus the V-in-square-inspired map discussed in Marschner 2021 (marked in blue). It is not a complete list.

Notes

Bibliography