MAPS AND MAP-MAKING BEFORE MERC AT OR. 489 



As these maps have not come down to us, it is supposed that they 

 were rare, and were not intended for practical use, but constructed to 

 aid the inquiries of the learned ; for the Arabians pursued the study 

 of geography mainly in its connection with astronomy, and were not, 

 as Ave would understand the term, topographers, or only to a very lim- 



FiG. S— Edri^i's Map, a. d. 1154 



ited extent. It is rather for the preservation of what was previously 

 known that we are indebted to the Arabs ; for, though they studied 

 geography with great assiduity, they can not be said to have greatly 

 advanced it as a science. 



Leaving the Arabs and their labors for the present, wo will now 

 return to the growth of cartography in Europe. We have maps de- 

 signed to represent the earth as known, or particular parts of it, from 

 the ninth to the fifteenth century ; and which, from the rude efforts in 

 the ninth century, exhibit the widest diversity in plan and execution. 

 Some consist of straight parallel lines drawn across a circle, with the 

 names of countries or places arranged along the lines. In others, the 

 position of the Mediterranean is indicated simply by the name of the 

 sea, and the names of countries and places are grouped about it in 



