The Catalan Atlas of 1375: The Most Interesting Map in the World

Event Type Sheppy Dog Fund Lecture
Date calendar  Thursday, March 16, 2023
Time clock  6:00pm - 7:00pm (1h)
Location FIA Theater
Details

The Catalan Atlas is a world map made in 1375 for King Charles V of France (r. 1364–1380) and is today housed in the National Library of France. A table map, the Atlas measures about 10 feet long and 2 feet high and is famous for being the oldest surviving map to draw extensively on Marco Polo’s Description of the World. In this illustrated lecture, Dr. Markus Cruse will discuss the Atlas’s origins and sources, its innovative depictions of major places and peoples, its relationship to the library of King Charles V, and its place in the history of cartography. 

Dr. Cruse is Associate Professor of French in the School of International Letters and Cultures at Arizona State University. His research focuses on the relationship between literature and visual culture in medieval Europe. His publications have examined the legend of Alexander the Great, manuscript illumination, heraldry, the Louvre, and medieval theater, among other subjects.

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