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Documents in Medieval Latin states that (page 18)

Large numbers of maps, from small areas such as the English counties to world maps, were published from the early 16th century onwards. Many contain descriptions of considerable length in Latin, often in good literary style (they were, of course, published documents, aimed at the educated and wealthy).

I understand that Medieval Latin and New Latin were in use during the early part of this period, especially for scholarly applications, but it seems odd that maps would be annotated in Latin. If made for practical use, surely they would be made in the common native tongue of the user(s), so those not fluent in Latin could understand it.

So why were many maps annotated in Latin - or am I making a false assumption somewhere?

HDE 226868
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  • First thing that comes to mind is that the cartographer hoped to sell his map in both England and France, or other countries. It'd be interesting to know if any worked in Latin who didn't have much reason to expect an international audience. – Nathaniel is protesting Mar 03 '16 at 22:55
  • @Nathaniel Yeah, I could see that working for maps on large scales. On small scales, it wouldn't work so well. – HDE 226868 Mar 03 '16 at 22:57
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    Would this be better suited to history.SE? – cmw Mar 03 '16 at 23:00
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    @C.M.Weimer I don't know. More importantly, is it okay here? – HDE 226868 Mar 03 '16 at 23:03
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    Possibly. This sort of thing seems like it requires a Medievalist, though. I'm not entirely sure what the answer is, but I'd guess it'd have something to do with the socio-economic levels of Medieval England, and therefore is more about history than the language properly. I'm not voting down, but I'd like others to chime in on whether it's an appropriate question for this stack. – cmw Mar 03 '16 at 23:12
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    I like the question, though it does seem like an edge case. It is more history than the language itself, but it's also the usage of the language, which inclines me toward keeping it open. – Nathaniel is protesting Mar 03 '16 at 23:59
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    Wasn't it just because Latin was still the language of science/knowledge at the time? – Rafael May 11 '16 at 18:21
  • @Rafael, that might be why. Scientific works were most commonly written in Latin in Medieval and Renaissance times, such as Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. It's also possible for local languages, especially English, were persistently thought to be less poetic. This was why, in earlier Medieval times, tales like Canterbury Tales were impressive to have been written in English. So, perhaps the reason for this is, simply, it looks fancy. But, still, that could also be because of many languages at the time branching directly from Latin, unlike English, which was more (continued) – Middle School Historian Mar 15 '17 at 13:42
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    (continued) Germanic. So, speakers of Spanish, French (far more common), or any similar tongue could certainly be expected to discover familiar-looking words. At the time, professional documents were sometimes written in Latin. It was like the writing system of China, sure it's pronounced differently and has different rules, but it's otherwise "universal." Man, that was a long comment. – Middle School Historian Mar 15 '17 at 13:45
  • @MiddleSchoolHistorian The point of different vernaculars having different self-images is very interesting, in fact. That explains a lot of current choices of languages for universal communication... – Rafael Mar 15 '17 at 16:41

2 Answers2

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Modern people often underestimate how fractured the linguistic landscape of Late Mediaeval and Early Modern Europe were. Outside of Langue d'Oïl, very few people spoke each particular language you find in Europe. Even in England, until around the 17th Century, regional differences in spelling and vocabulary might not guarantee that a man from Manchester might read what a man from Bath might write.

In this situation, it makes perfect sense to write a map in Latin, which was widely understood by the sort of person who might have enough money to buy a map, and in any event might allow the mapmaker to sell his maps to a Frenchman or a Spaniard or a Pole, if they should have the opportunity to buy one from him, not only to fellow Englishmen.

Wtrmute
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Latin was typically the language of the educated (those who could read and write). It wasn't until after the Middle Ages, that textbooks, such as those about medicine and maps, were written in the language of the common people.

Lucy A.
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