cgid4 al-idrisi; the book of roger preface, …（cgid4 al-idrisi;《罗杰前言,u2026）.pdfVIP

cgId4 AL-IDRISI; THE BOOK OF ROGER PREFACE, PROLOGUE 70 MAPS ABSTRACT The preface by Al-Idrisi to his text concerning the geography of the world, named “The Book of Roger”, is an exercise in hyperbole that any current publicist would be proud to have written to enhance the reputation of Roger II of Sicily. The prologue is a different matter. There-in we read of the size of the oikoumene, of the seven (sic) climates and a brief description of features of that oikoumene. It is as if the two sections were written at very different stages of the overall work that Al-Idrisi carried out for Roger II of Sicily. They are not contiguous in what purports to be a single homogenous text. Al-Idrisi sets down towards the end of his very short preface details of a drawing board being prepared and iron compasses used to draw a world map. This is to become the silver planisphere model. However, he issues no instructions for the construction of the planisphere other than its metal weight. Then in the last paragraph of the prologue he sets down that there will be 70 maps to describe the oikoumene ‘without counting the two extremities of the oikoumene ’. But as text cgId3 explains there are in fact 71 maps within the text, with the 71st being a small scale circular world map which may be considered an instruction sheet for the amalgamation of the 70 tableaux. It serves no other purpose. But the 70 maps spread throughout the texts vary in content. The oldest text available is ARABE 2221 held by the BnF in Paris, and is dated to c1300. That is some 150 years after the original was written, but the diagrams do appear to agree with the Pococke 375 text, which is another 150 years later, and is held by the Bodleian Library, Oxford. However, Konrad Miller collated the Al-Idrisi maps and prepared a restoration and transliteration in 1927 (Arabic/ Latin/ Ger