Since the first moment mankind “slipped the surly bonds of earth” and achieved the ability to examine our planet from extreme altitude, mapping our place on earth entered its future. Today, it is hard to imagine a time when we didn’t have exact information on our location.

Getting there from here is easier than ever. We have global positioning from satellites. We can go to the Internet for aerial views of almost any location on Earth. We can print out maps for almost any place we are or want to be.

Makes it hard to imagine a time when explorers set forth into truly unchartered territory. Even more difficult, try thinking of a time when illustrating the known world was as much imagination as it was fact.

Medieval Mapmakers:  Putting America on the Map examines how the imagination of these illustrators helped spur the discovery and exploration of America. This 2008 Festival of the Book program will be on Thursday, March 27th at 7:00PM in the Greene County Library.

In academic terms Edson, a Professor Emerita of History with a PhD in History from the University of Chicago, is a newcomer to mapmaking. Like many involved in cartography (the science of maps) she started out in another field. Most cartographers began as historians, geographers or art historians.

“I have always been interested in maps but didn’t think of it as an academic field,” admits Edson. "I was always frustrated by books that had inadequate maps."

The turning point for Edson came 20 years ago when she found a 5-foot-tall, life-size facsimile of a map created in the 13th century.

“I spent all Christmas vacation crawling around the edge of it,” she says her voice excited with the memory. “It is round. East is at the top. The 3 continents of the known world fill most of the space.”

“There is not a single geographical area you can recognize. It is completely foreign to any map you would see nowadays and it is covered with text and illustrations. It is just fascinating.”

Edson’s conversation is filled enthusiasm. After a few moments, you begin to understand the importance of these early maps. As much as they showed how the view of the world was changing, they paved the way for changes yet to come.

“I was really interested in what happened before the discovery of America,” she explains. “Why did mapmakers think anything was out there? Columbus was not the first to land in America but he was the first to come back and say where he had been.”

“It is especially interesting to look in the 15th century as South America and the Azores are discovered and reports are brought back,” says Edson. “Very often the mapmaker is guessing when the map is drawn. These mapmakers expanded the space on their drawings to include these new things. They had to have an open mind to include the new reports and the ability to do something with the new information.”

For Edson, studying maps is about opening the mind to what people knew and imagined before technology expanded our world beyond the horizon and beyond what we could see. Bring an open mind and an active imagination to any discussion she leads and you are sure to find your own knowledge of how we got here form there expanded as well.

The Festival of the Book program featuring Evelyn Edson will be in the Greene County Library on Thursday, March 27th at 7:00PM. The program is free and open to the public. Edson will have several map reproductions on hand for visitors to examine.

“I am not going to make it real academic,” stresses Edson. “There won’t be any footnotes. It should be of general appeal.”

With her knowledge and enthusiasm, Edson’s program should be very appealing indeed.