Fantasy cartography, fictional map-making, or geofiction is a type of map design that visually presents an imaginary world or concept, or represents a real-world

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

in a fantastic style. Fantasy cartography usually manifests from

worldbuilding Worldbuilding is the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task f ...

and often corresponds to narratives within the fantasy and science fiction genres. Stefan Ekman says that, "a egularmap ''re''-presents what is already there; a fictional map is often primary – to create the map means, largely, to create the world of the map." Whilst cartographic fantasy has been popularized by novels of these genres it has also become a standalone hobby and artistic pursuit. Cartographic fantasy has its historic origins in mythology, philosophy, literature and natural sciences. Although typically geographical, cartographic fantasy can include planetary, galactic, and cosmological maps; conceptual maps; and speculative maps. Fantasy maps are created and presented across different media such as books, television shows, movies, video games, tabletop games, and websites; and are characterized by

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

, themes and styles associated with the world or concept they are portraying. The increased popularity of geofiction and worldbuilding has led to and been supported by the emergence of design programs tailored to creative cartographers such as Wonderdraft and Inkarnate.

History

Early history

The roots of the history of fantasy cartography are shared with the independent histories of both

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

as well as the general history of the

visualization Visualization or visualisation may refer to: * Visualization (graphics), the physical or imagining creation of images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message * Data visualization, the graphic representation of data * Information visuali ...

of ideas.

Middle ages

Cartographers of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

did not see their profession as purely making accurate representations of

. Often their maps were crafted as much as works of art as tools for navigating, incorporating imagery and symbolism from

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

and fantasy stories. An early example of cartography created without intending to present a geographical reality is Dante's Hell. By the late fifteenth century, numerous illustrations inspired by

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature ...

'' had been published based on descriptions from the text. Dante's Hell has continued to be the subject of fantasy cartographers for centuries. In 1516

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

published his ''Utopia'' accompanied by a map of the island. This map inspired artistic cartographers over the sixteenth century to iterate the original.

Enlightenment and discovery

In the latter half of the 16th century the bible began to be printed with internal maps as a product of the

Protestant movement The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and the Geneva reforms. This may have contributed to the increased popularity of text-accompanying maps and stirred the public imagination towards producing maps for fiction. Fiction inspired by the

Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...

and the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

also brought with it a romanticization of explorative cartography and surveying. Several classic stories from the era included maps as an important element of the reader's experience. Among the most popular of these map-accompanied fictional texts from the time are

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

's '' Gulliver's Travels'' (1726) and

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

's ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' (1883). John Bunyan's 1678 ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' included both "A Mapp Shewing the Order & Causes of Salvation and Damnation" and "The Road from the City of Destruction to the Eternal City."

Modern history

The most influential fantasy cartographer in geofiction is J.R.R Tolkien, whose maps of

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...

prefacing ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' have been called "the most influential example to date," one that "encouraged other writers and their publishers to include cartographic images." In Stefan Ekman's book ''Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings,'' the author and researcher says, "In modern fantasy, especially high fantasy, maps are considered common enough to be almost obligatory, mainly because of the maps J. R. R. Tolkien included in ''The Lord of the Rings'' (1954–55)." Before Tolkien, another text that brought fantastic worlds into the zeitgeist was the 1900

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz afte ...

written by L. Frank Baum and the corresponding 1939 musical fantasy film The Wizard of Oz. The world of Oz was mapped by Baum in 1914.

Types

There are many types of maps within cartographic fantasy which can be classified by genre, scope and purpose.

Genre

Fantasy maps can be categorized based on genre. These genre classifications inform what kind of aesthetic,

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

and scope the map presents.

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and

. Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the respective absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these genres can overlap. In popular culture, the fantasy genre predominantly features maps and settings that emulate Earth, but with a sense of otherness. Maps created in this genre reflect these concepts.

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration,

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It has been called the "literature of ideas", and it often explores the potential consequences of scientific, social, and technological innovations. Maps created in this genre reflect these concepts.

Sub-genres

Under the genre umbrellas of Fantasy and Science fiction exist many subgenres. Included here are brief introductions to the subgenres that more often exhibit maps.

= Fantasy subgenres

High fantasy

High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a

subgenre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

, themes or plot.

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Plymouth. 2005.

Historical fantasy

Historical fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" or historical narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as

Arthurian King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

, Celtic, or Dark Ages could just as easily be placed in historical fantasy. Stories fitting this classification generally take place prior to the 20th century.

Heroic fantasy

Heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy in which events occur in a world where magic is prevalent and modern technology is non-existent. The setting may be entirely fictitious in nature or based upon earth with some additions. Unlike dark fiction, it provides a setting in which "all men are strong, all women beautiful, all life adventurous, and all problems simple". This means that adventures based in heroic fantasy are unlikely to mention any wider problems that cannot be fixed by a quest.

= Science fiction subgenres

Steampunk

Steampunk is a

of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and

inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an

alternative history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

or the American "Wild West", where steam power remains in mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power.

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and

high tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...

and cybernetics, juxtaposed with

societal collapse Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of socioeconomic complexity, the downfall of government, and the rise of violence. Possible cause ...

or decay.

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of science fiction among others, in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as

runaway climate change In climate science, a tipping point is a critical threshold that, when crossed, leads to large and often irreversible changes in the climate system. If tipping points are crossed, they are likely to have severe impacts on human society. Tippin ...

; astronomical, such as an impact event; destructive, such as

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...

resource depletion Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources (see also mineral resource classification). Use of either ...

; medical, such as a pandemic, whether natural or human-caused; end time, such as the Last Judgment,

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...

or Ragnarök; or more imaginative, such as a

zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack huma ...

cybernetic revolt An AI takeover is a hypothetical scenario in which an artificial intelligence (AI) becomes the dominant form of intelligence on Earth, as computer programs or robots effectively take the control of the planet away from the human species. Possible ...

technological singularity The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical future point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization. According to the m ...

, dysgenics or

alien invasion The alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade the Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under an intense state, harvest people ...

Scope

Fantasy maps can be categorized based on scope. Scope informs how, and how much, information is displayed in the map. * Local (City and town maps) * Geographical * Planetary T and O map Guntherus Ziner 1472

* Galactic Galactic Quadrant Star Trek

* Cosmological

Purpose

Fantasy maps can be categorized based on intended purpose. These classifications reflect the creator's aim and inform the way the map is crafted.

Conceptual or allegorical

Conceptual maps are cartographic visualizations of ideas and concepts. These maps do not attempt to correspond to anything physically real but are instead meant to display an idea in a cartographic medium. Matthaus Seutter's ''The Attack of Love'' is an example of a

battle map A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

used as an allegory for winning someone in love.

Hypothetical

Hypothetical maps are maps that present geography in ‘ alternate history’ scenarios. Melissa Gould created an alternate-history map of New York City in a hypothetical world where

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

won

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Perspectival

Fantasy maps are often used by creators to convey a perspective. For this reason, they are depicted to be created by an in-world character or organisation. This is a useful tool for authors or worldbuilders as the map can act as a character within the story. They can be erroneous, time-specific or prejudiced much like a regular character or an

unreliable narrator An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility is compromised. They can be found in fiction and film, and range from children to mature characters. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in ''The Rhetoric of Fiction''. While unr ...

. In the same way that creatives can use maps to convey perspective, mankind has done the same in history. Sebastian Munster's ''Europa Regina'' is a good example of this – a map design that presents Europe as a majestic queen. Europe As A Queen Sebastian Munster 1570

Europe As A Queen Sebastian Munster 1570

Pedagogical or simulative

Fantasy maps can be used as cartographic aids to teach or simulate situations. In

The Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term ''cold war'' is used because the ...

, a U.S Army

cryptologist This is a list of cryptographers. Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties called adversaries. Pre twentieth century * Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi: wrote a (now lost) bo ...

Lambros. D Callimahos developed a training exercise war game for code-breakers simulating the invasion of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. In this program the fantasy 'Republic of Zendia' was created with its northern and central province 'Loreno' mapped as cartographic references used in these exercises. These fantasy maps have now been

declassified Declassification is the process of ceasing a protective classification, often under the principle of freedom of information. Procedures for declassification vary by country. Papers may be withheld without being classified as secret, and event ...

and released to the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

by the U.S Military.

Media and applications

Although popularized in novels, fantasy maps are now created and presented across various media such as television shows, movies, video games, and websites.

Prevalence, features and characteristics

In Stefan Ekman's 2013 book, ''Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings'' he published the results of a survey he made of two-hundred fantasy books. This survey sought to answer common questions about the prevalence, features, and characteristics of fantasy cartography within the genre. Here are some of those findings. Of the 200 surveyed books, 67 (34%) contained at least one map. Of these, 49 (73.1%) books had one map, 15 (22.4%) had two, and 3 (4.5%) had more than two maps. In a survey of the 92 fantasy maps within the 67 fantasy books, the main subject matter or content of the maps were of: a primary world – 13 (14.1%); a secondary world – 72 (78.3%); an imaginary city – 5 (5.4%); one or more buildings – 2 (2.2%). The same survey showed that maps were orientated differently. 74 of 92 (80.4%) were orientated north, 9 (9.8%) were orientated northeast to northwest, 9 (9.8%) did not specify an cardinal orientation. Of the 92 maps 63 (68.5%) included a

compass rose A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their i ...

as a feature.

Cartographic software

With the increased popularity of professional and recreational cartographic fantasy, the demand for computer programs to streamline the process has increased too. Two leaders in the budding industry are Wonderdraft and Inkarnate. Some software programs can create random terrain using fractal algorithms. Sophisticated programs can apply geologic effects such as

tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...

plate movement and

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

; the resulting world can be rendered in great detail, providing a degree of realism to the result.