The Impact of the Mongol Empire on the Development of Latin Geographical Imagination
Abstract
The title of this article is intended to draw attention to the rapid transformation of Latin geographical thought that took place during the Mongol moment. We will mention its imprint on cartographic science, geostrategic thinking, ecumenical notions of mission and evangelism, and on long-distance trade. However, we will focus on its impact on two key figures in Latin mythology, King David and Prester John. We will look for the origin of this process in the creation by the Mongols of an immense political continuum over most of Eurasia and its effects on an even larger scale on practically the whole of the medieval ecumene. Such a vast empire was built on peculiar notions of circulation and movement directly related to shamanism and the economy of nomadic pastoral peoples. The aim of this paper is to show the transformation of some of the main landmarks of the late medieval Latin geographical imagination as a form of adaptation to this vast and peculiar form of rule achieved by the Mongols.
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