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Cartographic Fantasy
[edit]Cartographic fantasy,[1] fictional map-making, or geofiction is a type of map design that visually presents an imaginary world or concept, or represents a real-world geography in a fantastic style. Fantasy maps are typically manifestations of worldbuilding and often correspond to stories within the fantasy and science fiction genres. Whilst cartographic fantasy has been popularized by novels of these genres it has also become a standalone hobby and artistic pursuit.[2][3]
Cartographic fantasy has its origins in mythology, philosophy, literature and natural sciences.[4][5] Although typically geographical, cartographic fantasy can include planetary, galactic, and cosmological maps; conceptual maps; and speculative maps.[1] Fantasy maps are created in several different mediums such as books, television shows, movies, video games, tabletop games, and websites, and are characterized by aesthetics, themes and styles associated with the world or concept they are portraying.
The increased popularity of geofiction has led to and been supported by the emergence of design programs tailored to creative cartographers such as Wonderdraft[6] and Inkarnate.[7]
Statistics of Fantasy Maps in Novels
[edit]In Stefan Ekman's 2013 book, Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings he published the results of a survey he made of two-hundred fantasy books.[8] This survey sought to answer common questions about the prevalence, features, and characteristics of fantasy cartography within the genre. Here are some of those findings.
How common is it for fantasy novels to contain at least one map? Of the two-hundred surveyed books, sixty-seven (34%) contained at least one map.
How many maps do fantasy novels contain?
| # of Maps | % of Fantasy Novels with Maps, in Sample (n) | % of Fantasy Novels with Maps | % of All Fantasy Novels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 73.1 (49) | 60.9-83.2 | 18.7-31.1 |
| 2 | 22.4 (15) | 13.1-34.2 | 4.3-12.1 |
| >2 | 4.5 (3) | 0.9-12.5 |
What is the main subject of maps in fantasy novels?
| Subject | % of Maps in the Sample (n) | % of All Fantasy Maps |
|---|---|---|
| Primary World | 14.1 (13) | 7 .7-23.0 |
| Secondary World | 78.3 (72) | 68.4-86.2 |
| Imaginary City | 5.4 (5) | 1.8-12.2 |
| Building/s | 2.2 (2) | 0.3-7.6 |
What is the orientation of maps in fantasy novels? How many include a compass rose?
| % of Maps in Sample (n) | % of All Fantasy Maps | |
|---|---|---|
| N | 80.4 (74) | 70.9-88.0 |
| NE to NW | 9.8 (9) | 4.6-17.8 |
| No Orientation Given | 9.8 (9) | 4.6-17.8 |
| Compass Rose | 68.5 (63) | 58.0-77.8 |
History
[edit]The roots of cartographic fantasy are shared with the general histories of cartography and fantasy as well as the history visualization of ideas.
Early History
[edit]Mythology, guesswork cartography, etc
Pre-Enlightenment
[edit]An early example of cartography created without intending to present a geographical reality is Dante’s Hell. By the late fifteenth century, numerous illustrations inspired by Dante Aligheri’s Divine Comedy had been published based on descriptions from the text.[1] Dante’s Hell has continued to be the subject of fantasy cartographers for centuries. (CITE)
In 1516 Thomas More published his Utopia accompanied by a map. As the written content inspired philosophical discourse, so too did the map inspire artistic cartographers over the sixteenth century to iterate the original design.
IMAGE – Isola di Utopia Moro (File:Isola di Utopia Moro.jpg - Wikimedia Commons)
IMAGE – Utopia woodcut print (Holbien, 1518) (File:Utopia Woodcut (Holbein, 1518).jpg - Wikimedia Commons)
IMAGE – Ortelius’ map of Utopia (circa 1595) (File:Utopia.ortelius.jpg - Wikimedia Commons)
Enlightenment and Discovery
[edit]In the latter half of the sixteenth century the bible began to be printed with internal maps as a product of the protestant movement and the Geneva reforms.[2] This may have contributed to the increased popularity of text-accompanying maps and stirred the public imagination towards producing maps for fiction. (CITE)
IMAGE – Bowyer Bible Volume 2 Print 340. Map of Bible Lands. Genesis. (File:Bowyer Bible Volume 2 Print 340. Map of the Bible Lands. Genesis. Anonymous.png - Wikimedia Commons)
Fiction inspired by the Age of Discovery also brought with it a romanticisation of explorative cartography and surveying. Several classic stories from the era included maps as an important element of the reader experience. (CITE) Among the most popular of these map-accompanied fictional texts from the time are Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726) and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1883).
IMAGE – Laputa, from Gulliver’s Travels (File:The works of Dr. Jonathan Swift, Dean of St Fleuron T052750-3.png - Wikimedia Commons)
IMAGE – Map of Treasure Island (File:Treasure-island-map.jpg - Wikimedia Commons)
In the same way the Age of Discovery inspired geofiction, the Age of Enlightenment also brought with it cartographic visualisations with pseudo-academic purposes.
Modern History
[edit]Arguably the most influential fantasy cartographer in geofiction is J.R.R Tolkien, whose maps of Middle-earth prefacing The Lord of the Rings have been called "the most influential example to date," one that "encouraged other writers and their publishers to include cartographic images."[9] In his book Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings, the author and researcher Stefan Ekman says, “In modern fantasy, especially high fantasy, maps are considered common enough to be almost obligatory, mainly because of the maps J. R. R. Tolkien included in The Lord of the Rings (1954-55).”[8]
Types
[edit]There are many types of maps within cartographic fantasy
Geographical
[edit]Planetary
[edit]Galactic
[edit]Cosmological
[edit]Conceptual
[edit]IMAGE – The Attack of Love, an allegorical map, (File:Seutter, The Attack of Love, 1730, Cornell CUL PJM 1020 01.jpg - Wikimedia Commons)
IMAGE – The Open Country of Woman’s Heart, an allegorical map, (File:A Map of Womans Heart.jpg - Wikimedia Commons)
Hypothetical
[edit]Hypothetical maps are maps that depict the world in ‘alternate history’ scenarios. Melissa Gould created an alternate-history map of New York city in a world where Nazi Germany won World War II.[i]
[i] Lucarelli, Fosco (November 7, 2011). “NEU-YORK, a psycho-geographical cartography of alternate history”. – SOCKS (socks-studio.com)
Perspectival
[edit]Although not always, fantasy maps are often used to convey a perspective and are, for this reason, depicted to be created by an in-world character or organisation. This is a useful tool for authors or narrative-based worldbuilders as the map can act as a character within the story. They can be erroneous, time-specific or prejudiced much like an unreliable narrator.
Mediums and Applications
[edit]Although popularized in novels, fantasy maps are now created and presented across various mediums such as television shows,[5][10] movies,[11] video games,[12][13] tabletop games,[14] and websites.[15]
Features and Characteristics
[edit]The variety of map types and purposes in cartographic fantasy manifests different categories for features and characteristics.
Fantasy
[edit]Science Fiction
[edit]Statistics
[edit]Cartographic Software
[edit][1] Ricardo Padron, “Mapping Imaginary Worlds,” Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, eds. James R. Akerman and Robert W. Karrow, Jr. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007), 261-62.
[2] Elizabeth M Ingram, “Maps as Readers’ Aids: Maps and Plans in Geneva Bibles,” Imago Mundi 45 (1993): 44.
Practicing Citations
[edit]This article[16] explores the confluence of fantasy and cartography and will support all proposed sections of my article.
The author of this book[8], researcher at Karlstad university with a PhD in English literature, explores the importance and power of settings, worlds, and maps in the fantasy genre.
This literary encyclopedia[17] surveys the history of great fictional worlds, and by extension, their maps.
This atlas[1] curates the history of fantasy maps.
This essay[18] was a collaborative doctoral project between Anne Waymack, a PhD candidate at Cornell University, and John Greenlee who holds a PhD in Medieval Studies at Cornell University. Their thesis will help in understanding some of the origins of fantasy maps.
Answers to Module 7 Questions
[edit]I have chosen to upload a digital illustration of a fantasy map that I created using the program Wonderdraft.
It is my own work.
I've chosen to upload it under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
I've added it to the categories, Fantasy, Map, Cartography, Worldbuilding
I have described the file as "A fantasy map created using the program Wonderdraft."
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Post, Jeremiah Benjamin (1979). An Atlas of Fantasy. London: Souvenir Press. pp. ix.
- ^ "OpenGeofiction:About". OpenGeofiction.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Stockton, Nick (August 14, 2013). "You Won't Believe How Insanely Detailed This Guy's Fictional Maps Are. Seriously". Wired (magazine).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Miller, Laura (2016). Literary Wonderlands: a Journey through the Greatest Fictional Worlds Ever Created. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.
- ^ a b Waymack, Anna F; Greenlee, John Wyatt (2020). "In the Beginning Was the Word: How Medieval Text Became Fantasy Maps". Studies in Medievalism. XXIX. Boydell & Brewer: 183–200.
- ^ "Wonderdraft". Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- ^ "Inkarnate - Create Fantasy Maps Online". inkarnate.com. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- ^ a b c Ekman, Stefan (2013). Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. pp. 22–23.
- ^ Haft, Adele (2015). "Literature and Cartography". In Monmonier, Mark (ed.). The History of Cartography 6 vols. Vol. Cartography in the 20th Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 6:782.
- ^ Houghton, David (August 26, 2017). "The evolution of Game of Thrones' title sequence - from basic map, to a deceptively deep part of the show's journey". www.gamesradar.com/sfx/.
- ^ Platt, Richard; Dakin, Glenn (2007). "Sao Feng's Map". Pirates of The Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide. Dorling Kindersley. pp. 86–87. ISBN 9781405320061.
- ^ Horbinski, Tymoteusz (2022). "View of Cartography in Video Games: Literate Review and Examples of Specific Solutions". Journal of Cartography and Geographic Information: 104–8.
- ^ Horbinski, Tymoteusz; Zagata, Krysztof (2021). "Map Symbols in Video Games: The Example of 'Valheim'". Journal of Cartography and Geographic Information. 71: 269–283.
- ^ "Maps of Faerûn". Forgotten Realms Wiki. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
- ^ Medyńska-Gulij, B.; Forrest, D.; Cybulski, P. (2021). "Modern cartographic form of expression: The renaissance of multimedia cartography". Journal of Geo-Information. 10(7): 484.
- ^ Brett, Jeremy (2017). "Touring Fantasyland: The 'Maps of Imaginary Places' Collection and Exhibit at Cushing Memorial Library and Archives". Journal of Map & Geography Libraries. 13, no.13: 280–299.
- ^ Miller, Laura (2016). Literary Wonderlands: a Journey through the Greatest Fictional Worlds Ever Created. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.
- ^ Waymack, Anna F (2020). "In the Beginning Was the Word: How Medieval Text Became Fantasy Maps". Studies in Medievalism. XXIX: 183–200.