Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps

Lavish. . . . The sea monsters depicted throughout Van Duzers beautifully illustrated British Library volume strike absolute wonder in the reader today and the author provides valuable insight into what medieval and Renaissance viewers must have made of these sinewy silly horned fanged and fearsome creatures. . . . Van Duzer reminds scholars that it sometimes helps to let the eye wander to the margins to get a different historical perspective of medieval perspectives of their surrounding seas. This critical analysis of a hitherto ignored cartographic trope adds much-needed depth to our understanding of medieval and later perceptions of the sea and its mysterious creatures.--Vicki Ellen Szabo Western Carolina University "Nautical Research Journal "