Map of the "Fool's Cap" - a riddle of cartography

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The only thing that can be said about it with certainty is that it was created sometime in 1580-1590. But sources differ even in the definition of the projection used in it - some argue that it is a ptolemic (that is, equidistant conical) system, others claim that it is more similar to the Mercator and / or Ortelius technique. The map depicts the world “dressed” in the traditional surroundings of a court jester: a two-horned cap with bells and a jester's staff. The face is obscured (or replaced) by the card, creating a somewhat ominous and threatening sensation.

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The Jester archetype, represented here in his incarnation of the court jester, is the first indicator of some deep meaning inherent in the card by its creator. In the old days, the jester was a court figure who was allowed to ridicule the ruler and speak the pure truth. This was a rare and useful opportunity during a time of corrupting monarchical absolutism. But criticism of this kind was only possible if it was presented under the disarmingly grotesque guise of a Jester - preferably a hunchback dwarf, that is, one who cannot be taken too seriously. All this was obvious and well known to people who looked at this map in the 16th century. The inconvenient truth that this map told was that the world is a dark, irrational and dangerous place, and life in it is disgusting, cruel and short.

This is underlined by sayings from biblical and classical sources scattered throughout the map. The phrase on the left side of the map reads: "Democritus of Abdera laughed at the world, Heraclitus of Ephesus wept for him, Epichton the Cosmopolitan portrayed him." On the cap is a Latin variation of the Greek maxim, "Know thyself." On the eyebrow of the cap is the inscription "O head, worthy of a dose of hellebore." (In antiquity, some plants of the hellebore family were used as a medicine. According to the ancients, hellebore caused madness)

The reason for so many problems and strife is explained in the quote from Ecclesiastes under the map: "The number of fools is infinite." Another quote from the same depressing biblical book is located on the jester's staff and reads: "Vanity is vanity, everything is vanity." The badges adorning the shoulder strap bear several more of the same encouraging sayings: “Oh, the worries of this world; how much triviality there is in it "," Everyone is devoid of common sense ", and" All things are vain: equally everyone who lives."

For some researchers, the sum of these sayings, as well as their depiction in cartographic surroundings, points to a little-known Christian sect known as the "Family of Love". Rumor has it that the famous Flemish cartographer Ortelius was also a member of this secret group.

Much remains a mystery, however, as the last piece of this cartographic puzzle is the name written in the upper left corner: Orontius Phineus. This name is associated with a mysterious 1531 map depicting an ice-free and river-covered Antarctica. This fact raises many new questions. Why did this name appear on a map that appeared many decades later? Could this person have been the creator of this card? And it should be admitted that most of the meanings that this card carries with it remain a complete mystery to this day.