ABSTRACT

The item revives attention to a unique set of maps by Pierre Lapie published in 1845 that trace in detail the routes of the Antonine and Bordeaux Itineraries and the Peutinger Map, spanning the British Isles to Mesopotamia. This long-forgotten cartographic feat was not to be matched again until the twenty-first century. Most puzzling therefore is the impression that the maps seem to have been more or less willfully ignored by subsequent editors of these ancient sources, who accord them only token acknowledgment. Such neglect well illustrates the conclusion to be drawn from Walter Goffart’s investigation of historical atlases (see item 1), that even the best cartographer’s work may not receive the attention it merits. Reasons why it did not in this instance are proposed.