A portolan is an early modern European navigation chart, dating from the fourteenth century or later, in manuscript, usually with rhumb lines, shorelines and place names. World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions. ... (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... Example of pole-to-pole loxodrome In navigation, a rhumb line (or loxodrome) is a line crossing all meridians at the same angle, i. ...

The portolan combined the exact notations of the periplus with the decorative illustrations of the conceptual T and O map but on the whole it offered a realistic depiction of the shore and was meant for practical use by a mariner of the period. The portolan did not take into account the curvature of the Earth, so it was a misleading document for crossing an Ocean. It was useful for navigation in smaller bodies of water such as the Mediterranean or the Red sea. A periplus in the ancient navigation of Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans is a manuscript document that lists in order the ports and coastal landmarks, with approximate distances between, that the captain of a vessel could expect to find along a shore. ... earliest printed example of a classical T and O map (by Guntherus Ziner, Augsburg, 1472), illustrating the first page of chapter XIV of the Etymologiae. ...

The oldest portolan which has survived to our era dates from 1296. Events April 27 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated by Edward I of England. ...