A map of the fictional kingdom of the lengendary Christian King, Prester John, in central Africa from the 1587 French edition of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by Abraham Ortelius. The legend of Prester John's kingdom as located somewhere in the Indes circulated in Europe from the Middle Ages until the 17th century. The legend spoke of a wealthy, virtuous, and pious Christian king who ruled over a Christian nation suriving amongst Muslims and pagans in the Orient. He was said to rule over strange creatures such as centaurs, Amazons, and giants, and his kingdom was said to be the site of the Fountain of Youth, the closest manifestation of Paradise on Earth, and possess a magic mirror through which every province could be seen. These stories persisted through a widely-circulated fake letter to the Holy Roman Emperor written by Prester John and the popular (fictional) stories from the Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Emissaries and explorers sought and failed to find the kingdom; later, it was said to be in Ethiopia. This map by Ortelius reinforced the legend of Prester John. The strapwork cartouche in the upper left corner contains Latin text that describes the genealogy of the king in first person as a descent from King David. Ortelius' depiction of John's kingdom was added to his atlas in 1573, and it remained the standard depiction of the kingdom for other cartographers.
French text on verso (99r) that begins the chapter on "Abissinne, ov L'Empire de Prestre Iean." The last line, indented left transcribed: "sa Carte Vniuerselle."
See Nebenzahl, Kenneth. 2004. Mapping the Silk Road and Beyond --2,000 Years of Exploring the East. London: Phaidon Press Limited.; Ross, E. Denison. 1968. "Prester John and the Empire of Ethiopia." In Newton 1968, 174-194.; Van den Bosch, Glenn. 2007. "Maps on the legend of Prester John." Brussels International Map Collectors' Circle Newsletter 29:19-24.; and Van den Broecke, Marcel P. R. 1996. Ortelius Atlas Maps -- An Illustrated Guide. Utrecht, The Netherlands: HES Publishers.
