In 15th-century Europe, the apocalypse weighed heavily on the minds of the people. Plagues were rampant. The once-great capital of the Roman empire, Constantinople, had fallen to the Turks.

Researchers decipher a mystifying 15th-century document. ... The map, made by a German working in Florence named Henricus Martellus, has long been overlooked because fading obscured much of its text.

When it surfaced in 1957, it was too good to be true: a purported 15th-century world map depicting an island to the far west labeled Vinilandia Insula -- the fabled Vinland -- proof positive, it ...

When it surfaced in 1957, it was too good to be true: a purported 15th-century world map depicting an island to the far west labelled Vinilandia Insula the fabled Vinland proof positive, it seemed ...

MARTELLUS AND COLUMBUS. Contrary to popular myth, 15th-century Europeans did not believe that Columbus would sail off the edge of a flat Earth, says Chet Van Duzer, the map scholar who led the study.

Germany is handing over a 15th century navigation cross to Namibia, ... Namibia, the Stone Cross was once considered to be such an important navigation marker that it featured on old world maps.