The Catalan Atlas is a medieval map in the Catalan language, created in 1375. Described as "the zenith of medieval map-work", it is the earliest known chart to use a compass rose. It was produced by the Majorcan cartographic school and is attributed to Abraham Cresques, a Jewish book illuminator described by a contemporary as a master of mappae mundi. It has been in the royal library of France (now the Bibliothèque nationale de France) since the time of King Charles V. The atlas originally consisted of six vellum leaves, each about 64.5 by 50 cm (25.4 by 19.7 in), folded vertically and painted in various colours including gold and silver. This picture is a montage of eight pages (four leaves) of the atlas, depicting Europe, northern Africa and Asia.Map credit: Abraham Cresques
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