JTLS, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2026, pp. 99-122.
Print ISSN: 3135-6788; Online ISSN: 3135-6796
Journal homepage: https://www.tlsjournal.com
DOI：https://doi.org/10.64058/jtls260102mmtpc
Mapping Maritime Travel: Portolan Charts and the Epistemic Shift in Medieval European Geography
Sai Dong
Abstract: The emergence of portolan charts in the thirteenth-century Mediterranean marked a significant transformation in European cartographic practice. Unlike traditional mappae mundi, which organized space through classical and theological frameworks, portolan charts focused on maritime environments shaped by sustained navigation and exchange. Characterized by detailed coastlines, dense coastal toponymy, and networks of rhumb lines, these charts functioned as practical tools shaped by repeated maritime travel. This paper examines the development of portolan charts through their geographical scope and the evolution of hydrographic and toponymic information from the thirteenth to the fourteenth centuries. By tracing how navigational knowledge was accumulated, corrected, and stabilized in use, it argues that portolan charts represent not merely technical innovation but a broader epistemic reorientation in late medieval geography toward an empirically grounded spatial knowledge rooted in travel, movement, and practice.
Keywords: portolan chart; maritime travel; medieval cartography; navigation; epistemic change
Author Biography: Sai Dong is a lecturer in the School of Foreign Languages and International Communication at Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology. He obtained his PhD from the University of International Business and Economics, with a dissertation on the literary cartography of The Canterbury Tales. His research focuses on medieval English literature, literary geography and geocriticism, and travel writing. He has published in peer-reviewed journals including The Explicator, Journal of Central South University, and Journal of Henan University. Email: dongsailing@lit.edu.cn
Received: 11 Jul 2026 / Revised: 02 Aug 2026 / Accepted: 20 Aug 2026 / Published online: 15 Sep 2026 / Print published: 15 Dec 2026.
