A Fool’s Paradise

This strange print just might be the most mysterious map in the world. The map at the centre, based on the work of Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius, allows historians to date the print to the late 1500s. The Latin mottos on the jester’s cap and collar refer to fools and foolishness. These suggest that the print’s purpose was probably satirical. Even with these clues, however, no one has yet identified the printmaker, nor whom he intended to mock.

Fool’s Cap Map of the World: O caput elleboro dignum (A Head Worthy of Hellebore)
Unknown artist and engraver, about 1590
Copperplate engraving on paper
© Library and Archives Canada, e003901385

Large Image

(6 MB)