Sea monsters, navigation and politics at edge of the world: An interpretation of a Olaus Magnus’ "Carta Marina" (1539)
Abstract
A section of the Carta Marina (1539), showing Greenland at the upper edge of the map. (Uppsala University Library, Public Domain Mark 1.0, Own endorsements).
The 16th century sea map, commonly known as Carta Marina, by the Swedish archbishop in exile, Olaus Magnus, monsters roam the Atlantic. This article offers an interpretation of these monsters as carriers of symbolic meaning, and as messengers of specific, coded messages. Rather than being just figments of myth or superstition, or purely decorative, they must be seen as visual political comments or practical indications of dangerous waters. This interpretation undeniably demystifies the fantastic map, though the possibility of a symbolic meaning do not have to take away from either their decorative quality; og the realm of religious mysticism.
Olaus Magnus’ strategic use of monsters shows that the monsters themselves were not at the centre of his world view. Rather, it was the humans, their role on the sea and their political behaviour. For Olaus Magnus, it was not about the mysterious creatures of the sea - let alone whether they existed or not - but about the viewer of the map's ability to decode the messages they held.
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