Small T-O Map

When you look at the circle in God’s left hand, what do you see? To medieval cartographers, this three-part circle represented the earth. If you imagine the west facing up, the three sections represent continents: Asia on the bottom, Europe on the top right, and Africa on the top left. Categorized by historians as a T-O map, this minimalist portrayal of the earth is quite common in medieval manuscripts. The maps would vary between complete simplicity – like the one you see – and striking complexity where the T-O design only provides skeletal structure. But in this case, the T-O map is a simple symbol in a larger image. An adjacent Latin inscription informs us that this is an image of God on the first day, creating the heavens and the earth. The T-O map in his left hand symbolizes the newly created earth. (Taylor Gee '16, Sarah Trachtenberg '17)