bathing architecture in f78v

[davidjackson]

I wouldn't say "the mapmakers' habit of differentiating salt water by coloring it green" as if it were a universal constant - I've flipped through a few medieval maps and it seems to be mainly ones from the British Isles that have this habit, usually distinguishing between rivers and sea.

Ie this 1460 illustration from La fleur des histoires doesn't have colour distinction

Nor does this late 15th century Germanic mappamundi by Kopie von Claudius:

Or the 1457 Genoese world map:


By contrast, the earlier English 13th century Hereford mappamundi does use the two colour schemes:

As does the 1250 map of Britain by Matthew Paris:

And this late 15th century map of northern England:


I'm sure there are counter-examples, but at this period in time it seems to be a stylistic thing based upon the school you were trained in.

One interesting thing I've found now on several different 15th and 16th century maps is the use of blue on creatures to indicate that they are maritime. See ie this double finned siren in Hortus Sanitatis (1491) (and the motif is repeated on other illustrations of mythical creatures in the same book):



The application of blue to some of those nymphs is not accidental and must have been added with a purpose in mind.