38 Hobart
the eleventh century. Bouloux addresses how once more the ancient insular
descriptions come through. The maps continue to show Sardinia as the early
medieval ones had—i.e. as part of the larger Mediterranean and continental
context, and not for its own sake. It is not until the end of the Middle Ages
that precise and truly autonomous maps of the island begin to emerge. The
fifteenth-century reinterpretation of Ptolemy’s Geography is the progenitor of
more autonomous maps that would follow. While still confining Sardinia to a
regional status relative to Sicily and the other islands of the Mediterranean,
much more information is added, such as interior lands and rivers, than was
previously shown in maritime maps. Ptolemy leads, by way of Bondelmont’s
Liber Insularium Archipelagi, to the first autonomous map showing Sardinia
in its own right: Martellus’ Insularium Illustratum. Here, Sardinia is shown on
its own page of parchment with enriched graphics. It is this presentation that
separates it from all the prior maps.
The second section begins with Laura Galoppini’s historical survey of
Sardinia from the early Middle Ages through the early modern era, which pro-
vides an ideal introduction. It is accompanied by a rich list of published docu-
ments and bibliography (mostly in Italian, but also in other languages, when
available) that will serve any scholar. Galoppini’s narrative is admirable for its
neutrality. This chapter provides the proper foundation that has inspired gen-
erations of historians. When she touches on controversial topics, Galoppini of-
fers historical grounds before challenging the inherited histories, and explains
what is still missing or impossible to determine from the record.
Following Galoppini’s sound presentation we move to some of the contro-
versial issues that are at stake in the current historiography: the dating of the
giudicati, their formation, identity, and geopolitical territory. Corrado Zedda,
often accompanied by Raimondo Pinna, has shown the wealth of information
that remains to be exploited in old documents, which may provide answers to
questions that are still shrouded in uncertainty. These authors have proposed
a fresh interpretation of the nature of the giudicati and its protagonists, tempt-
ing many to reevaluate the status quo. For example, Zedda and Pinna propose
a later date for the partitioning of Sardinia, locating it during the eleventh-
century Gregorian Reform, in contrast with previous interpretations that place
the division in the ninth or tenth century, or even earlier. Furthermore, the au-
thors focus on aspects of a hybrid society, culture, and governance in Sardinia
that have not previously been given the attention they deserve, particularly as
they pertain to the Muslim presence on the island.108
108 Corrado Zedda, “Bisanzio, l’Islam e I Giudicati: La Sardegna e il mondo mediterraneo
tra VII e XI secolo,” Archivio Storico e Giuridico Sardo di Sassari n.s. 10 (2006), pp. 39–112;