Fantasy cartography

Fantasy cartography, fictional map-making, or geofiction is a type of map design that visually presents an imaginary world or concept, or represents a real-world geography in a fantastic style.[1] Cartographic fantasy usually manifests from worldbuilding and often corresponds to narratives within the fantasy and science fiction genres.

A map of the fictional kingdom of Aredia, which is used in a Medieval role-playing game.Public domain
A map of the fictional Island of Sodor from The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry. cc-by-sa-2.5

Whilst cartographic fantasy has been popularized by novels of these genres it has also become a standalone hobby and artistic pursuit.[2][3] Cartographic fantasy has its historic origins in mythology, philosophy, literature and natural sciences.[4][5] Although typically geographical, cartographic fantasy can include planetary, galactic, and cosmological maps; conceptual maps[6]; and speculative maps.[1] Fantasy maps are created and presented across different mediums[7][8] such as books, television shows, movies, video games, tabletop games, and websites; and are characterized by aesthetics, themes and styles associated with the world or concept they are portraying. The increased popularity of geofiction and worldbuilding has led to and been supported by the emergence of design programs tailored to creative cartographers such as Wonderdraft[9] and Inkarnate.[10]

History

Early History

The roots of the history of fantasy cartography are shared with the independent histories of bothcartography and fantasy as well as the general history of the visualization of ideas.

Middle Ages

Cartographers of the middle ages did not see their profession as purely making accurate representations of geography. Often their maps were crafted as much as works of art as tools for navigating, incorporating imagery and symbolism from mythology and fantasy stories.[5]

An early example of cartography created without intending to present a geographical reality is Dante’s Hell. By the late fifteenth century, numerous illustrations inspired by Dante Aligheri’s Divine Comedy had been published based on descriptions from the text.[11] Dante’s Hell has continued to be the subject of fantasy cartographers for centuries.

In 1516 Thomas More published his Utopia accompanied by a map of the island. This map inspired artistic cartographers over the sixteenth century to iterate the original.

Stradanus' Map of Dante's Lower Inferno, public domain
The Island of More's Utopia, public domain
Ambrosius Holbien's woodcut print Map of Utopia, public domain
Abraham Ortelius' map of More's Utopia, public domain
Examples of Fantasy Maps from the Middle Ages

Enlightenment and Discovery

In the latter half of the sixteenth century the bible began to be printed with internal maps as a product of the protestant movement and the Geneva reforms.[12] This may have contributed to the increased popularity of text-accompanying maps and stirred the public imagination towards producing maps for fiction.[12]

Fiction inspired by the Age of Discovery and the Age of Enlightenment also brought with it a romanticization of explorative cartography and surveying.[4] Several classic stories from the era included maps as an important element of the reader’s experience.[12] Among the most popular of these map-accompanied fictional texts from the time are Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726) and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1883).

'Map of the Bible Lands' from Volume 2 of the Bowyer Bible, public domain
The Island Laputa from Dr. Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, public domain
A Map of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, public domain

Modern History

The most influential fantasy cartographer in geofiction is J.R.R Tolkien, whose maps of Middle-earth prefacing The Lord of the Rings have been called "the most influential example to date," one that "encouraged other writers and their publishers to include cartographic images."[13] In Stefan Ekman’s book Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings, the author and researcher says, “In modern fantasy, especially high fantasy, maps are considered common enough to be almost obligatory, mainly because of the maps J. R. R. Tolkien included in The Lord of the Rings (1954-55).”[14]

Maps of Tolkien's Middle Earth, photographed by Aleksandar Cocek, cc-by-sa-2.0

Types

There are many types of maps within cartographic fantasy which can be classified by genre, scope and purpose.

Genre

Fantasy maps can be categorized based on genre. These genre classifications inform what kind of aesthetic, style and scope the map presents.

  • Fantasy
  • Science fiction
  • Sub-genres

Scope

Fantasy maps can be categorized based on scope. Scope informs how, and how much, information is displayed in the map.

  • Local (City and town maps)
    A Map of Alexandria, 1575, Public domain

Purpose

Fantasy maps can be categorized based on intended purpose. These classifications reflect the creator’s aim and inform the way the map is crafted.

  • Conceptual or Allegorical

Conceptual maps are cartographic visualizations of ideas and concepts. These maps do not attempt to correspond to anything physically real but are instead meant to display an idea in a cartographic medium. Matthaus Seutter's The Attack of Love is an example of a battle map utilized as an allegory for winning someone in love.

Matthaus Seutter's The Attack of Love, public domain
A Map of Woman's Heart, public domain
Ernest Dudley Chase's A Pictorial Map of Loveland, public domain
  • Hypothetical

Hypothetical maps are maps that present geography in ‘alternate history’ scenarios. Melissa Gould created an alternate-history map of New York City in a hypothetical world where Nazi Germany won World War II.[15]

  • Perspectival

Fantasy maps are often used by creators to convey a perspective. For this reason, they are depicted to be created by an in-world character or organisation. This is a useful tool for authors or worldbuilders as the map can act as a character within the story. They can be erroneous, time-specific or prejudiced much like a regular character or an unreliable narrator.

In the same way that creatives can use maps to convey perspective, mankind has done the same in history. Sebastian Munster's Europa Regina is a good example of this - a map design that unashamedly presents Europe as a majestic queen.

Map of Europe as a queen, printed by Sebastian Munster in Basel in 1570. Public Domain

Mediums and Applications

Although popularized in novels, fantasy maps are now created and presented across various mediums such as television shows,[16] movies,[17] video games,[18][19] and websites.[7]

Features and characteristics

The depiction of geographical components within fantasy maps can range from simple drawings of a small area as in The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois to an entire fictional world as in The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien to even an entire galaxy as in Star Trek.

Ernest Dudley Chase's Pictorial Map of World Wonder, public domain

Cartographic software

With the increased popularity of professional and recreational cartographic fantasy, the demand for computer programs to streamline the process has increased too. Two leaders in the budding industry are Wonderdraft[9] and Inkarnate.[10] Some software programs can create random terrain using fractal algorithms. Sophisticated programs can apply geologic effects such as tectonic plate movement and erosion; the resulting world can be rendered in great detail, providing a degree of realism to the result.

A map created in the program 'Wonderdraft', cc-by-sa-4.0
A map created in the program 'Inkarnate', cc-by-sa-4.0

Further reading
  • Ekman, Stefan (2013). Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 978-0819573230
  • Miller, Laura (2016). Literary Wonderlands: A Journey through the Greatest Fictional Worlds Ever Created. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 978-0819573230
  • Post, Jeremiah Benjamin (1979). An Atlas of Fantasy. London: Souvenir Press. ISBN 0-345-27399-0

References
  1. Post, Jeremiah Benjamin (1979). An Atlas of Fantasy. London: Souvenir Press. pp. ix.
  2. "OpenGeofiction:About". Open Geofiction. 26 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Stockton, Nick (14 August 2013). "You won't believe how insanely detailed this guy's fictional maps are. Seriously". Wired (magazine).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. Miller, Laura (2016). Literary Wonderlands: A Journey through the Greatest Fictional Worlds Ever Created. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.
  5. Waymack, Anna F.; Greenlee, John Wyatt (2020). "In the Beginning Was the Word: How Medieval Text Became Fantasy Maps". Studies in Medievalism. 29: 183–200.
  6. Strange Maps (30 March 2009). "370 – Palestine's Island Paradise, Now With a Word from its Creator". Blog. StrangeMaps. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  7. Medyńska-Gulij, B.; Forrest, D.; Cybulski, P. (2021). "Modern cartographic form of expression: The renaissance of multimedia cartography". Journal of Geo-Information. 10(7): 484.
  8. Kinberger, Michaela (26 February 2009). "Cartography and Art". Book. Springer Berlin Heidelberg: 1–11. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-68569-2_22. ISBN 978-3-540-68569-2.
  9. "Wonderdraft". Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  10. "Inkarnate - Create Fantasy Maps Online". inkarnate.com. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  11. Padron, Ricardo (2007). "Mapping Imaginary Worlds". In Akerman, James R.; Karrow Jr., Robert W. (eds.). Map: Finding Our Place in the World. Chicago: University of Chicago press. pp. 261–62.
  12. Ingram, Elizabeth (1993). "Maps as Reader's Aids: Maps and Plans in Geneva Bibles". Imago Mundi. 45: 29–44.
  13. Haft, Adele (2015). "Literature and Cartography". In Monmonier, Mark (ed.). The History of Cartography 6 vols. Vol. Cartography in the 20th Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 6:782.
  14. Ekman, Stefan (2013). Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan University Press. pp. 22–23.
  15. Lucarelli, Fosco (7 November 2011). "NEU-YORK, a psycho-geographical cartography of alternate history". SOCKS.
  16. Houghton, David (26 August 2017). "The Evolution of Game of Thrones' Title Sequence - from basic map, to a deceptively deep part of the show's journey". Gamesradar.
  17. Platt, Richard; Dakin, Glenn (2007). "Sao Feng's Map". Pirates of The Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide. Dorling Kindersley. pp. 86–87. ISBN 9781405320061.
  18. Horbinski, Tymoteusz; Zagata, Krysztof (2022). "View of Cartography in Video Games: Literature Review and Examples of Specific Solutions". Journal of Cartography and Geographic Information. 72: 104–8.
  19. Horbinski, Tymoteusz; Zagata, Krysztof (2021). "Map Symbols in Video Games". Journal of Cartography and Geographic Information. 71: 269–283.
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