Abstract:
The heart-shaped (or cordiform) maps of the sixteenth century, including those by Orance Fine, Peter Apian and Gerard Mercator, have long intrigued historians. Most writers have considered the heart shape a product only of mathematics, but some have recently offered other interpretations for the use of the heart. A classificatory system devised by d,Avezac in 1863, however, has impeded our understanding of the cordiform maps, particularly in the matter of what is considered to be such a map. The nature of his classification and its reception by other writers since the late nineteenth century are examined in order to elucidate new directions for the study of the use of the heart-shape in sixteenth-century cartography.
