Locating the Hereford Mappamundi

Abstract

The Hereford mappamundi is one of the most informative and impressive world maps to survive from the Middle Ages. In order to understand its effect and significance, however, it is necessary to determine its earliest location within Hereford Cathedral, the building for which it was made. Having clarified the original framing of the map, which took the form of a large triptych, this paper argues that the whole ensemble was initially positioned on one of the piers in the south choir aisle of the cathedral. The precise manner of the map's installation on this pier can be deduced from the structure of the central wooden panel of the triptych, the only part that survives, and from written and visual information provided by nineteenth-century antiquarians. Hung in the south choir aisle, the map triptych would have addressed pilgrims about to enter the shrine of St Thomas Cantilupe in the Lady Chapel, serving as a memorable moral commentary on their life and pilgrimage.