The Catalan Atlas is a massive, ambitious and stunningly beautiful artifact with illustrations and writing on the regions, peoples and cultures of the medieval world. While some of the images, such as pygmies attacking cranes, are based off legends, some, like a figure showing surgical practices, demonstrates the knowledge the Cresques had access to when creating this atlas.
The Catalan Atlas originally had a unique orientation as north was at the bottom and was read from the Far East to the Atlantic. However, the atlas was dismantled and re-ordinated with north at the top and from the Atlantic to the East, this imposition of western understanding, destroyed this unique feature and dismissed its culture heritage. Interestingly this atlas
The Catalan Atlas originally had a unique orientation as north was at the bottom and was read from the Far East to the Atlantic. However, the atlas was dismantled and re-ordinated with north at the top and from the Atlantic to the East, this imposition of western understanding, destroyed this unique feature and dismissed its culture heritage. Interestingly this atlas