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I started investigating the sea monsters on other medieval and Renaissance maps, and found them to be absolutely fascinating, both for their beauty and their whimsy, and for what they can tell us about the sources the cartographer was using. So in 2009 when I was in the National Library in Madrid, and I consulted a 15th century manuscript of Ptolemy’s Geography and saw that its maps had sea monsters everywhere, I was immediately interested.

Scuba Diving: What sparked your interest in sea monsters on maps?Ĭhet Van Duzer: The ocean has had a spell on me since I was a child, and I have been studying old maps for the last fifteen years. Chet Van Duzer explores these monsters in his new book Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps and gives readers a better understanding of their place and purpose in history. For thousands of years sea monsters have appeared on maps as both warnings to travelers and as decorations.