Pomerania. They created a monster map in a Renaissance style

Researchers prepared a stylized map at a scale of 1:720,000 as part of a research project financed by the National Science Center. It is available for free online HERE.

An interdisciplinary team was needed to develop a unique map of demonic figures, including: an ethnographer, a cartographer, a cartographic historian, a graphic artist, a writer, and an IT specialist.

Ethnologist Dr. Robert Piotrowski from the Team of Interdisciplinary Research on the Anthropocene of the Institute of Geography and Spatial Development of the Polish Academy of Sciences analyzed the materials of German and Polish folklorists (including Otto Knoop, Karol Bartsch, Oskar Kolberg, Stefan Ramułt) who wrote down at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries stories of the inhabitants of Pomerania. Thanks to this, the researcher collected a total of 1,200 examples of beliefs and ideas about the supernatural world. To prepare the map, 600 locations were used in which local communities associated specific landscape elements, e.g. erratic boulders, moraine hills or peat bogs, with religious legends.

– We were mainly interested in local stories about amazing events related to a specific place. For example, legends in which it was imagined that witches met on this particular mountain, this boulder was once thrown by a giant, the devil built a dyke on the lake or will-o'-the-wisps appeared in this swamp. The combination of the natural and religious context made it possible to recreate the way landscape is valued among the inhabitants of the studied regions – explains Dr. Piotrowski.

He adds that beliefs related to the supernatural world, even at the beginning of the 20th century, helped to explain natural phenomena or the origin of geological objects through the prism of ideas functioning in a given culture. Recognizing and defining them allowed us to create a coherent image of reality – on the one hand terrifying, but on the other hand giving a sense of security resulting from the orderliness of the world.

Dr. Włodzimierz Juśkiewicz, a cartographer from IGiPZ PAN, emphasizes that “a map is a great tool that helps understand the world around us.” The researcher decided to prepare a fully cartometric map consistent with modern knowledge. However, he believed that such interesting data deserved a form that went beyond currently accepted cartographic standards. Its goal was to attract the attention of recipients through an unusual form that would show the fascinating nature of the information presented.

Dr. Juśkiewicz came to the conclusion that the aesthetics of Renaissance maps would best reflect the atmosphere of the era and best refer to the depicted demonic figures. During the Italian Renaissance, maps were treated as works of art, and many of them were considered sophisticated artistic forms. Inspired by this tradition, he decided to combine scientific precision with artistic expression, creating a map that not only informs, but also visually delights.

It was also important that Renaissance maps were famous for their depictions of monsters. – In the past, these monsters were supposed to fill white spots – for example, water or places on maps that were not yet fully known – explains a geographer dealing with the history of cartography, Dr. Dariusz Brykała from IGiPZ PAN.

He adds that monsters also appeared in scientific publications in the 18th century, for example in the first version of the taxonomy of the animal kingdom by Carl Linnaeus.

The aesthetics of Renaissance maps include details – graphic elements such as cartouches, borders and wind roses, but also small signatures of trees, hills, animals, boulders and ships that fill the map space and indicate landmarks.

In this case, the American writer KM Alexander turned out to be irreplaceable. For years, he had been collecting symbols and graphic elements extracted from old maps to create illustrations for his fantasy novels. He made his collection available to the Polish team and enriched it with a number of beasts and sea monsters. In this way, the map could be filled with hundreds of different pictograms.

An IT specialist, a student from the Gdańsk University of Technology, helped to automate the location of these small elements on the map so that they coincided with the range of contemporary geographical features. He also supported the process of generalization of contemporary cartographic materials in the Geographic Information System.

However, the legend map was still missing… a legend. It was necessary to develop original versions of illustrations depicting fantastic beings. The artist – Dr. Jakub Jaszewski from the Nicolaus Copernicus University specializing in relief printing techniques – used AI tools to design the style and appearance of individual demons. The AI ​​sketches then became the starting point for further work. In this way, matrices for 12 linocuts were prepared. The prints were made using the traditional method and their digital copies were inserted onto the map.

And so the following appeared in the legend of the map: a devil, a dragon, a ghost, a giant, a will-o'-the-wisp, a bane, a werewolf, a ghost, an elf, a house spirit, a mermaid and a wild hunt.

Dr. Jaszewski explains that woodcut (the matrix is ​​made of wood) and its modern equivalent, linocut (the matrix is ​​made of linoleum) – are relief printing techniques (stamps work on this principle). – Relief printing techniques were quite rarely used to create maps, because woodcut matrices could deteriorate over time during printing. Cartography relatively quickly began to use intaglio printing techniques (etching and then copperplate engraving), i.e. techniques that allow you to select a line in a metal matrix and color it – he comments. However, the linocut fit well into the convention of folklore stories.

And this is how the map was created, based on 19th-century ethnographic data, made in the Renaissance style, prepared using modern cartographic and artistic methods.

– Maps should focus on the recipient. It is up to the recipient to feel comfortable with the topic they are learning about. He has to look through the map with a flushed face. And we are creating a new trend in our work on maps. We have gone a step forward and show you how to make modern maps. Now we are in the lead, others will chase us, criticize us, copy us. But we are showing a new form of presenting scientific content – adds Dr. Brykała.

The team unanimously believes that the map would not have been created if each of them worked alone. They emphasize that this work was created thanks to conversations and passion of an interdisciplinary team.

When asked if they had plans to prepare similar maps for other parts of Poland, researchers said that if a publisher was found, they would be happy to do so. More projects are waiting in their drawers.