Mapping the North

Myth, Exploration, Encounter

Charlotta Forss

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Bodleian Library
01 February 2026

History; Historical geography; Cartography, map-making & projections

Maps have played a central role in our understanding of what and where the north is. At the same time, the northernmost reaches of our world have, for much of history, been difficult to navigate and verify, from the mythical islands on medieval maps to the itineraries of Arctic explorers in the nineteenth century.

This has inspired inventive mapping strategies, as well as ongoing struggles to define what constitutes believable cartographic information. This beautifully illustrated book takes the reader on a journey to examine the rich, and sometimes contentious, history of how mapmakers have understood and processed knowledge about a region they described as 'the north'. In the process of mapping, the north as a place changed from an inaccessible and vividly imagined unknown to a region claimed and exploited by southern nations.

What emerges is a riveting story of exploration, survival and cartographic skill bound up with conceptions of nature, religion and politics extending far beyond the Arctic.

'This beguiling book offers a detailed history of cartographies of the farthest north: not only the real regions of ice and the aurora, but also the fabulous otherworldly norths of rumour and fable.'

Peter Davidson, author of The Lighted Window and The Idea of North

By: Charlotta Forss
Imprint: Bodleian Library
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 224mm, Width: 170mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781851245727
ISBN 10: 1851245723
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 01 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

CHARLOTTA FORSS is an Associate Professor in History at Sdertrn University, Stockholm.

Reviews for Mapping the North: Myth, Exploration, Encounter

This beguiling book offers a detailed history of cartographies of the farthest north: not only the real regions of ice and the aurora, but also the fabulous otherworldly norths of rumour and fable. -- Peter Davidson, author of The Lighted Window and The Idea of North Swedish historian Charlotta Forss offers a lively tour through the archive of the planetary attic. Armed with an eclectic set of maps, she sets off on a cartographic journey across six centuries: from the fears and fantasies of medieval mappae mundi to the vivid views of seafaring Europeans and indigenous hunters. Along the way, readers are treated to brisk readings of images both familiar and strange. A sure delight for the map-curious. -- Kären Wigen, editor of Territorial Imaginaries: Beyond the Sovereign Map