The Mystery of the Fool’s Cap Map of the World

Originally posted by Vasa Croe
Very cool. Couple questions...

What is the word just below the name in the upper left corner. Looks to be a very faint, almost penciled in word there. Also, what is the significance of the coloring? The "wand" across the chest is red, the ring around the bells of the hat are red and some of the land masses on the map are highlighted in red. That appears to be the only color used so there must be a significance right?

Didn't catch that.

It looks like "Amond...." something or other.

Not sure but nice catch.

Peace

S+F Jude for a very interesting find!

I have an interest in mysteries, and maps, and to some degree, latin (took it in school but was not great, hence my complicated latin screen name). I also learned to read charts at an early age when dad got a sailboat, makes you look at maps a bit differently. I am one of those weird people who draws their own maps and directions after analyzing data. I simply don't trust technology much after working with it on the professional side.

So for the past year I've been a corporate GIS mapper for a ginormous IT company. Maps are very interesting to me to say the least (this after years of marking anything suspicious on google earth). I wish I was the guy who got to see all the stuff blurred out on our maps, but then again maybe I don't want that responsibility since I would want to blow a whistle?

Good thread regardless, and I will add what I can when I check your link out more. Thanks again Jude!

It appears this map was probably based on a woodcut print by Jean de Gourmont which was made earlier according to articles I have read.



Link is in French but I just used translate function.

blog.crdp-versailles.fr...

And from a book:

www.academicroom.com...

It is believed to have been published in Antwerp, ca. 1590. The geographical details on the small, oval map that takes the place of the fool's face identify it as a copy of one of Ortelius's latest plates; we can date the map with some certainty as being post-1587, since "the prominent south- [west] bulge to the coastline of South America appearing on nearly all maps before this date has been c~rrected."'~ While much of our information remains sketchy, we do possess some hard facts about the map. It was based on an earlier foolscap world map by the French mapmaker Jean de Gourmont, which was published in Paris ca. 1575 (please see Figure 2). The earlier foolscap map was made from a woodcut and is somewhat smaller than the later copper engraving; the actual map of the world on the woodcut is a small oval similarly framed within the hood of a jester's cap, where the face would ordinarily be. As on the anonymous copper engraving, the map on de Gourmont's woodcut is derived from a world map by Ortelius-but in this case it is Ortelius's earlier world map of 1570."

reply to post by jude11

Damn Mysteries

You've got that right, jude11,

The Fool was the very symbol of the 'mysteries' in medieval Europe, and representing the Fool as such was the prime literary and representational symbol that writers and artists of the period used to communicate 'secret stuff'. Stuff they wanted to communicate without drawing the attention of the Catholic authorities, evidently.

For instance François Rabelais:

François Rabelais (French: [fʁɑ̃.swa ʁa.blɛ]; c. 1494 – 9 April 1553) was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar.

He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes and songs. His best known work is Gargantua and Pantagruel. Rabelais is considered one of the great writers of world literature and among the creators of modern European writing.

Rabelais communicated deep insights about the nature of man's predicament through the foolishness of his characters.

And there was the Feastum Fatuorum (Feast of Fools:

The Feast of Fools, known also as the festum fatuorum, festum stultorum, festum hypodiaconorum, or fête des fous, are the varying names given to popular medieval festivals regularly celebrated by the clergy and laity from the fifth century until the sixteenth century in several countries of Europe, principally France, but also Spain, Germany, Poland, England, and Scotland. A similar celebration was the Feast of the Ass.

The central idea seems always to have been a brief social revolution, in which power, dignity and impunity is briefly conferred on those in a subordinate position. In the majority view, this makes the medieval festival a successor to the Roman Saturnalia.

In the medieval version the young people, who played the chief parts, chose from among their own number a mock pope, archbishop, bishop, or abbot to reign as Lord of Misrule. Participants would then "consecrate" him with many ridiculous ceremonies in the chief church of the place, giving names such as Archbishop of Dolts, Abbot of Unreason, Boy Bishop, or Pope of Fools.

The Feast of Fools was finally forbidden under the very severest penalties by the Council of Basel in 1431 and a strongly worded document issued by the theological faculty of the University of Paris in 1444; numerous decrees of provincial councils followed. The Feast of Fools was roundly condemned by early Protestants, and among Catholics it seems that the abuse had largely disappeared by the time of the Council of Trent, though instances of festivals of this kind survived in France as late as 1644.

Using The Fool as a vector for perspective-changing memes was how these dudes worked to get their 'subversive' message across to the public.

A favorite study subject of mine has been for years trying to figure out what they were trying to tell us.

I would recommend that you sit and watch Ingmar Bergman's Seventh Seal as soon as you get a chance; he seems to have been using the same methods, as best as he had been able to reconstruct them, to create that movie.

Great post!

Originally posted by jude11

Originally posted by Vasa Croe
Very cool. Couple questions...

What is the word just below the name in the upper left corner. Looks to be a very faint, almost penciled in word there. Also, what is the significance of the coloring? The "wand" across the chest is red, the ring around the bells of the hat are red and some of the land masses on the map are highlighted in red. That appears to be the only color used so there must be a significance right?

Didn't catch that.

It looks like "Amond...." something or other.

Not sure but nice catch.

Peace

It almost appears to be "anno" with a _____ after it. Like the maker was about to put the year on the map, or suggest that it is ever lasting with no year. Odd....just what it kind of appears to be to me.

What a great map!
Very cool. It's amazing that if people in 2013
see the devil in this map, it survived 450 years
of the Catholic Church. Not to mention the inquisition.

I just noticed, the colors seem different at the link (that I previously posted) and the pic in the OP.

Link to other pic

It seems to be different in another way too. Part of the top line of text is missing from the pic that I linked to.

One more,

I wanted to emphasize that we aren't talking about metaphorical Fools here, it was a profession. These guys were some of the only (probably the only) regular people with any kind of education at the time; merely by dint of having to know what they knew to be good at their job. They had to know an awful lot of stories and history to do their job. I suspect that they worked as a sort of network, keeping and exchanging 'information' that had been forgotten because of neglect or persecution.


-Pieter Breugel the Elder, Feast of Fools. Painted about 1525-1569.

Seems to have been an extension of the Troubadour and Meistersinger traditions of western Europe.

Originally posted by DocHolidaze
reply to post by jude11

 

I see a Satan undertone to it. The devil has been represented by a clown/jester ....entertainer????(makes me think of Hollywood). I personally dont believe in the a horned goon that lives underneath the ground, but evil is a real thing and we all have seen it at some time or another

The artist could have been a monk, very often they would paint in colorful and strange drawings of devils, demons, and fantasy creatures towards the end of each chapter of a book. Whoever draw this, must have been paid to do the work, which must have taken weeks if not months.

I also find the map of the Atlantic interesting with what seems to be dozens of islands. Are they still there or were they the same island seen at different locations?

The parrots of Antartica could have been penguins - some of them are brightly coloured.

Originally posted by jude11
Many have seen this map before, many may have not. I for one have always found it a mixture of curiosity, intrigue and a beautiful art form. Just thought I'd post this and ask the question: What does it mean to you?

I know that "All the World's a Stage" comes to mind for me and also: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World"" Or maybe "We all Wear Masks." or "Our Reality is but an illusion" OR.....?????

Whatever it was meant to be, it has stumped many more intelligent people than I for hundreds of years. Some say Evil...some say Christian...(The argument of same could be made as well).

I have also often wondered if there is an actual person wearing the mask to be painted. Was it a mask that could even be modeled? And if so, was it worn by an apprentice to the cartographer? A friend? An Elite? A Lover?

And also, since no one really knows who, when, where etc...is it even a cartographer? Perhaps it could be a one-off by an artist of the time?

So many questions...Damn Mysteries

bigthink.com...

Most often referred to simply as the Fool’s Cap Map of the World, it is unknown why, when, where and by whom it was made.

The only thing that can be said about it with some certainty is that it dates from ca. 1580-1590. But sources even differ as to the type of projection used, some referring to it as ptolemaic (i.e. equidistant conic), others claiming it owes more to the techniques of Mercator and/or Ortelius (and being an enthusiast rather than a specialist, I’m not one to call this).

For those interested in seeing a more detailed image: cartanciennes.free.fr...
Just click to enlarge of course.

The uncomfortable truth told by this map is that the world is a sombre, irrational and dangerous place, and that life on it is nasty, brutish and short. The world is, quite literally, a foolish place.

This is underlined by the mottoes of biblical and classical origin, dotted across the map.

The legend in the left panel reads: “Democritus of Abdera laughed at [the world], Heraclitus of Ephesus wept over it, Epichtonius Cosmopolites portrayed it” (3). Over the cap is the Latin version of the Greek dictum, “Know thyself" (4). Across the cap’s brow, the inscription translates as “O head, worthy of a dose of hellebore” (5). bigthink.com...

And one last mystery to add.

But much remains conjecture, as indicated also by the last piece of this cartographic puzzle - the name written in its top left corner: Orontius Fineus.

This name (the Latinised version of the French name Oronce Finé) is associated with a map dated 1531, purportedly showing an ice-free, river-rich Antarctica. Why would the name of this cartographer crop up on a map made decades later? Could he have been the mapmaker (12)? Or is he the one being made fun of? bigthink.com...

Of course the ideas and opinions presented by the author are also just that. Thoughts and personal conclusions based on the little info available.

One thing I did find interesting tho is this:

"The map is very modern in appearance, yet it dates back to about 1580-1590. Although Epichtonius Cosmopolites appears to be the artist’s name, it translates roughly as “Everyman,” leaving the true identity of the mapmaker a mystery."

Damn Mysteries...

Peace

Knowing this image reveals the face of your image...

It began before this Image...



The Home Of Father Abba... This Earth Is A Harsh Lesson To Learn The Spiritual Evolution of ones Spirit

... Surrounded By A Harsh Environment... That Soul is Perfection... That spirit which is you is growing within the soul of perfection... The Soul Of Jesus Christ... Spiritual Ones Understand Light... Love Is Gods Highest Truth ... This Truth He Teaches Himself Among you.... He teaches you his language he teaches you about fish and he teaches you how to fish and plant your own garden as the image you see here in this hostile environment... See Both Good And Evil In One Place.... The Earth Gives That Vision Everyone So Wants... To Live Life Forever... It is not a given you earn it as your spirit grows and learns from it's soul... As I said one is perfected one is not... Your soul is borrowed as a tool for learning... Your spirit is yours and it came from above... Through The Sun Of Renewal... Can you see yourself putting on that suit of armor... That first image awaits your face... To become as us... The truth of your drawing...

... Everyone's Vision Everywhere... That's Why This Planet Holds The Name EVE... El lE... Everyone Lives Live Equally... A Lesson that has become extinct on this land... O Man... Meet Abba Now... Learn His Language... And His Ways Of The Spiritual World In Which You Dwell...

reply to post by jude11


Everyman has the world in his mind.

sandfOP
it has been shown that the celtic cross used as a navigational measuring device ( to cross an ocean ) was accurate and versatile enough to be used to make these types of maps going back to before 10500 BC...
www.crichtonmiller.com...

the astrological symbols painted on cave walls vis a vis the moon ( used for finding longditude without a clock )have been found on cave walls going back some 30,000 years

The world only is in the mind of everyman.

He's a stranger to some
And a vision to none
He can never get enough,
Get enough of the one

For a fortune he'd quit
But it's hard to admit
How it ends and begins
On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)
On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)
From yesterday, it's coming!
From yesterday, the fear!
From yesterday, it calls him
But he doesn't want to read the message here

On a mountain he sits, not of gold but of s**t
through the blood he can look, see the life that he took
From council of one
He'll decide when he's done with the innocent

On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)
On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)

From yesterday, it's coming!
From yesterday, the fear!
From yesterday, it calls him
But he doesn't want to read the message
He doesn't want to read the message
Doesn't want to read the message here

On his face is a map of the world

From yesterday, it's coming!
From yesterday, the fear!
From yesterday, it calls him
But he doesn't want to read the message here
From yesterday,
From yesterday,
From yesterday, the fear
From yesterday,
From yesterday
But he doesn't want to read the message
But he doesn't want to read the message
But he doesn't want to read the message here

Originally posted by SLAYER69

Stultorum infinitus est numerus

*The number of fools is infinite.

Sounds about right.

Couldn't agree more.

Originally posted by Mugen
Ok on the OP map, look far left of America, left of supposed Hawaii, "Nova Gui" - is that Australia?

It says "Nova Gui-
nea."

That's New Guinea, dude. Calm yourself.

Harte

Originally posted by Mugen

Ok on the OP map, look far left of America, left of supposed Hawaii, "Nova Gui" - is that Australia?

Because here it says "Pfitacorum regio, Land of the Parrots, with fronti/ piece."

I goog led "land of parrots" and it says Australia is the land of parrots.

It actually says "nova guinea" which means new guinea.

Australia's geography is barely depicted in this map, so it may have been an era when we were first sighted by the europeans (not settled).

You can see the creator of the map has tried to depict a landmass down here, so the land is known of, so to speak, but barely recognisable.

Looking at the map, as an australian, the bottom right corner where it says "beach" looks like a rough version of the west coast, and the "nova guinea" part looks like a decent map of the torres strait which was named after "Luís Vaz de Torres" who was known to have possibly sailed through there in 1606.
He was working for the spanish crown at the time, so perhaps it was after 1606 and this map has spanish origins, taking the writing into account?

Keep in mind, this is excluding the dutch exploration at the same time, which covered more of queensland and the west coast, so i'm led to believe it was very early in the 1600's during torres' exploration prior to knowledge of other explorations

Update: Take a look at the "torres route" via en.wikipedia.org...

and see how much of the areas (in the fools cap map) that he sailed are mapped out. The islands to the right of new guinea are mapped quite well as well as the path leading up to japan - which is the route he took.

A lot of this map caters to his expedition, which was during 1606 exciting stuff

Originally posted by xxdaniel21

Originally posted by Mugen

Ok on the OP map, look far left of America, left of supposed Hawaii, "Nova Gui" - is that Australia?

Because here it says "Pfitacorum regio, Land of the Parrots, with fronti/ piece."

I goog led "land of parrots" and it says Australia is the land of parrots.

It actually says "nova guinea" which means new guinea.

Australia's geography is barely depicted in this map, so it may have been an era when we were first sighted by the europeans (not settled).

You can see the creator of the map has tried to depict a landmass down here, so the land is known of, so to speak, but barely recognisable.

Looking at the map, as an australian, the bottom right corner where it says "beach" looks like a rough version of the west coast, and the "nova guinea" part looks like a decent map of the torres strait which was named after "Luís Vaz de Torres" who was known to have possibly sailed through there in 1606.
He was working for the spanish crown at the time, so perhaps it was after 1606 and this map has spanish origins, taking the writing into account?

Keep in mind, this is excluding the dutch exploration at the same time, which covered more of queensland and the west coast, so i'm led to believe it was very early in the 1600's during torres' exploration prior to knowledge of other explorations

Update: Take a look at the "torres route" via en.wikipedia.org...

and see how much of the areas (in the fools cap map) that he sailed are mapped out. The islands to the right of new guinea are mapped quite well as well as the path leading up to japan - which is the route he took.

A lot of this map caters to his expedition, which was during 1606

exciting stuff

edit on 21-6-2013 by xxdaniel21 because: (no reason given)

Nice reply except for one thing. In the Spanish language, the phrase "nova" is pronounced no-va. Its literal translation means no go.

So would this translate to "Don't go to Guinea?. Or perhaps "Don't go here?"

More questions...

Peace

Originally posted by jude11
Nice reply except for one thing. In the Spanish language, the phrase "nova" is pronounced no-va. Its literal translation means no go.

So would this translate to "Don't go to Guinea?. Or perhaps "Don't go here?"

More questions...

Peace

The map's in Latin.

Read much?

Harte

reply to post by jude11


Ooooo....flagged for awesomeness! What do I think of this? Can't even answer yet, but, at the risk of sounding like one of those art-snob types (which i'm definitely not in reality), something about this piece really speaks to me. Why? Well, it seems it has an awful lot to say, and would probably say different things at different times. I think its something I coukd put a lot of contemplation into, and would be one heck of an interesting piece for a wall in the basement/library when I finally put it together. I'll definitely be sourcing or making a nice copy of this puppy to frame and hang!

Very interesting! You can see Hy Brasil in the map.