Lit. 'map of the world'. Maps of this period showed the world within a circle (the perfect form) with Jerusalem at its centre. In addition, there was a surrounding text and imagery depicting e.g. Christ as judge, which linked the worldly realm of history and people with the Last Judgement. Such maps did not simply offer a depiction of the physical world; rather they were attempts to display a moral universe in which man, his world and the creator were shown within the circle of being. The greatest surviving mappa mundi is to be found at Hereford Cathedral. -
Cf. T/O map
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.