The mapping of wilderness - French
Journal
Arcadia. Environment and Society Portal
Type
newspaper article
Date Issued
2013-09-02
Author(s)
Abstract
Wilderness has no ready translation as a noun in modern French. The general concept is not exactly missing; it is rather left unnamed even when it is mapped.
On the allegorical "Carte de Tendre" by Madeleine de Scudéry (1654), wilderness is an isolated island on top of the map. Called Terres Inconnues, it is surrounded by the reefs of Mer Dangereuse. The same map shows another kind of wilderness in its northeastern corner. It is about 12 "Friendship Leagues" long, and consists of treeless plateaus, cliffs, and gorges. From this mountain without a name flows the Estime River, which can be crossed at the city of Tendre-sur-Estime. A smaller wilderness area lies in the West, separating Mer Dangereuse from Mer d'Inimitié.
Wild could be translated as sauvage (from the Latin silva or forest), and we could suggest for wilderness both la nature and la barbarie. Wilderness is primarily an isolated, dangerous, almost frightening place, a refuge for cruel bandits, moody poets, and misanthropic philosophers. Applied to specific areas, wilderness can mean jungle (forêt vierge) or desert, physically or metaphorically, or land lying fallow. In all cases it means an area empty of inhabitants that terrain, size, and climate have made unsuitable to agriculture. The badlands of the Southern French Alps and the rainforest of Guyana would be in that sense considered wilderness.
On the allegorical "Carte de Tendre" by Madeleine de Scudéry (1654), wilderness is an isolated island on top of the map. Called Terres Inconnues, it is surrounded by the reefs of Mer Dangereuse. The same map shows another kind of wilderness in its northeastern corner. It is about 12 "Friendship Leagues" long, and consists of treeless plateaus, cliffs, and gorges. From this mountain without a name flows the Estime River, which can be crossed at the city of Tendre-sur-Estime. A smaller wilderness area lies in the West, separating Mer Dangereuse from Mer d'Inimitié.
Wild could be translated as sauvage (from the Latin silva or forest), and we could suggest for wilderness both la nature and la barbarie. Wilderness is primarily an isolated, dangerous, almost frightening place, a refuge for cruel bandits, moody poets, and misanthropic philosophers. Applied to specific areas, wilderness can mean jungle (forêt vierge) or desert, physically or metaphorically, or land lying fallow. In all cases it means an area empty of inhabitants that terrain, size, and climate have made unsuitable to agriculture. The badlands of the Southern French Alps and the rainforest of Guyana would be in that sense considered wilderness.
Language
English
Keywords
Environmental history
historical geography
environmental humanities
French studies
history of cartography
HSG Classification
contribution to education
HSG Profile Area
SHSS - Kulturen, Institutionen, Maerkte (KIM)
Refereed
No
Publisher
Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society
Publisher place
Munich
Volume
111
Number
NA
Start page
NA
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
225345