Maps - The Parnassian (Page 9)

Geography · Maps · Books · Observations · Humour

Map of Britain in a 1961 Soviet book and the wrong placement of Nottinghamshire

The authors of a curious little book, "Atomic Energy in Aviation and Rocket Technology" (1961), seem to be asking us: what, exactly, matters most in a map? Fidelity of scale, beauty of line, the number of dragons and sea monsters in the margins, the power to frighten, or,

Colour geological map of France with shaded relief, French lettering and a legend in the lower left corner.

NB! · Geography · Maps · Observations

The geological map of France and how it differs from political maps

Firstly, it is very beautiful. A geological map of France. And secondly, political maps are simply dull

NB! · Geography · Maps · Observations · Society · Humour

Germany and Russia

Germany and Russia. And Poland between them, naturally; how could it be otherwise. One date I have prudently blurred out, simply because I am not sure whether, where we are, mentioning it nowadays merely lands one in prison or has already progressed to the firing squad.

Geography · Maps · Books · Monarchies

Sergey Nikitin, in his book "The Land of Names" (NLO, 2020) on historical onomastics in Russia, relates, for example, that Paul I, soon after his accession, renamed Yekaterinoslav, Feodosia and Sevastopol, all named under Catherine the Great, to…

Novorossiysk is, in principle, clear enough: the new name was tied to that of the whole region, Russia's southern Russian acquisitions. But Kafa and Akhtiar? The former is found as early as Afanasy Nikitin; it was what the Genoese called Feodosia, and after them the Turks who seized

Geography · Art · Maps · Monarchies · Humour

A half-naked lady with a remarkable coiffure sits enthroned upon a sumptuous chariot drawn by two exceedingly large armadillos

A half-naked lady with a remarkable coiffure sits enthroned upon a sumptuous chariot drawn by two exceedingly large armadillos. Why, this is America, of course! One guesses it at the first glance. At any rate, this is the image chosen for that enchanting part of the world by Jean

Map of Europe with red dots marking places with “saint” in their name, densest in France, Spain, Italy and Greece.

NB! · Faith · Geography · Maps · Observations · Humour

Map of European settlements with names containing the word “Saint”

This map marks every European town whose name begins with the root Saint, "Holy" (in the national languages, naturally). One is tempted, of course, to say: France, Spain and Italy, pray for us

The East · Geography · Maps

European map of the early 17th century and the idea of a northern sea route to China

On a European map of the North-East Passage to China from the early seventeenth century, two names, CHINA and Cathay, stand side by side, separated by India Orientalis. The map illustrates not only the currency in Europe of Russian geographical names, but also the conviction, unshakeable at the time,

NB! · Geography · Maps · Moscow · Observations · Humour

Am I mistaken, or does Ryazan on this map of 1556 really enjoy a more attractive situation than Moscow?

Archive · Geography · Maps · Observations · Rome

Map of Rome from a Ptolemy codex of the late 15th century with the Colosseum and Pantheon

In my view, the best kind of map. Fidelity of scale and distance is of no real consequence for finding one's way anyway, nor are superfluous features, which distract the eye from what truly deserves to be marked on a map. A view of Rome from a codex

NB! · Geography · Maps · Observations

A Curious Map Showing How the Number 6 Sounds in Different Indo-European Languages

Geography · Maps

Map of the Roman provinces and the location of European and Asian Sarmatia

A useful and simple thing: a map of the Roman provinces. Should it happen that school never quite made it clear that Mesopotamia lies just between Armenia and Syria, a little south-east of Cappadocia, while Mauretania is on the opposite side from Rome. As for Sarmatia, marked north-west

The East · Geography · Maps · Observations · Nature

The Kapchagay Reservoir, created in 1969, on a map of Alexander the Great's empire

The map of Alexander the Great's empire caught my interest for its easternmost part. If one looks at the north-eastern frontier of Alexander's conquests, where they run up against the unsubdued Massagetae and Saka, one notices an amusing thing: the Central Asian lakes Issyk-Kul