Literary Territories

Cartographical Thinking in Late Antiquity

Scott Fitzgerald Johnson

Presents new theories about how late antique authors thought about space, travel, and the organization of knowledge
Crosses many disciplinary boundaries, including literature, history, religious studies, sociology, classics, late antiquity, Byzantine studies, medieval studies, and Islamic studies

Literary Territories

Cartographical Thinking in Late Antiquity

Scott Fitzgerald Johnson

Description

Literary Territories introduces readers to a wide range of literature from 200-900 CE in which geography is a defining principle of literary art. From accounts of Holy Land pilgrimage, to Roman mapmaking, to the systematization of Ptolemy's scientific works, Literary Territories argues that forms of literature that were conceived and produced in very different environments and for different purposes in Late Antiquity nevertheless shared an aesthetic sensibility which treated the classical "inhabited world," the oikoumene, as a literary metaphor for the collection and organization of knowledge. This type of "cartographical thinking" stresses the world of knowledge that is encapsulated in the literary archive. The archival aesthetic coincided with an explosion of late antique travel and Christian pilgrimage which in itself suggests important unifying themes between visual and textual conceptions of space. Indeed, by the end of Late Antiquity the geographical mode appears in nearly every type of writing in multiple Christian languages (Greek, Latin, Syriac, and others). The diffusion of cartographical thinking throughout the real-world oikoumene, now the Christian Roman Empire, was a fundamental intellectual trajectory of Late Antiquity.

Literary Territories

Cartographical Thinking in Late Antiquity

Scott Fitzgerald Johnson

Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1 Pilgrimage and Archive

Chapter 2 An Aesthetic of Accumulation

Chapter 3 Locus Amoenus / Loca Sancta

Chapter 4 Apostolic Geography

Chapter 5 The Westwardness of Things

Conclusion

Appendix Astrological, Astronomical, Cosmographical, Geographical, and Topographical Texts in Greek, Latin, and Syriac from 0 to 700 CE

Works Cited

Literary Territories

Cartographical Thinking in Late Antiquity

Scott Fitzgerald Johnson

Author Information

Scott Fitzgerald Johnson is Assistant Professor of Classics and Letters at the University of Oklahoma.

Literary Territories

Cartographical Thinking in Late Antiquity

Scott Fitzgerald Johnson

Reviews and Awards

"Readers will appreciate J.'s sound scholarship, attention to detail, and not least, clarity. Each chapter is helpfully concluded with a summary of the key points, so that the reader is effectively prepared to press on to the next stage of this compelling journey. What makes Literary Territories truly distinctive, however, is the combination of multi-lingual sources and the pairing of well-known case studies (e.g. the Bordeaux pilgrim and Egeria's accounts) with less well-known ones (such as The Miracles of Saint Thekla and the Syrian accounts of Thomas of Marga and Isho'dnah of Basra). Critical and illuminating, at times even revisionist, Literary Territories is a scholarly contribution of fundamental importance. Beyond Late Antique specialists, it will appeal to classicists, medievalists, as well as historical geographers, map historians, and anyone interested in pre-modern perceptions of space." -- Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies

"In sum, Literary Territories is an important book that demonstrates handily how a "more fluid approach" to geographical literature can provide fresh insights into the astrological, astronomical, cosmographical, geographical, and topographical texts of late antiquity. It poses new questions for the study of Christianization and urbanization in Late Antiquity. Moreover, Johnson's insights into the dynamics and effects of cartographical thinking are likely to serve as springboards future research. Students of pilgrims' writings stand to benefit from the similarities Johnson detects between these works and other non Christian travel genres. ... With Johnson as navigator and fellow-traveler, the journey ahead is bound to be eye-opening." --Georgia Frank, Journal of Late Antiquity

"there is...much of value in this study, which serves as a riveting introduction to travel literature in late antiquity." --Georgia L. Irby, The Classical Association of the Middle West and South

"Johnson's brilliant study of 'cartographical thinking' opens new territory for understanding late antique intellectual life. It explains with great clarity how literary representations of the world, rather like encyclopedias or maps, served as metaphors for the organization of knowledge. This fascinating tour of Greek, Latin, and Syriac literature deserves highest praise." --Michael Mass, Dumbarton Oaks

"Literary Territories is a dazzling study of geography and travel in late antiquity. Johnson brilliantly illuminates a variety of texts from the Mediterranean world, identifying both the traces of earlier classical modes of description, and their manipulation into an array of complex new forms. The result is an invigorating and original reading of many important literary works, and a persuasive portrait of the societies for which they were written." --Andrew Merrills, University of Leicester