"LONDINUM FERACISSIMI ANGLIÆ REGNI METROPOLIS"
By HOEFNAGEL
Description.—This map seems at first sight to be much less interesting than those which have preceded it, but that is due chiefly to its small size. The probable date is 1572, and even if otherwise unknown, it might have been judged approximately by the costumes of the figures in the foreground. It must have been contemporary with, or even earlier than, Agas, with whose work it is interesting to compare it. This map was made by Hoefnagel, and is taken from Braun and Hogenburg's work, Civitates Orbis Terrarum, in which Braun wrote the text, while Hogenburg and Hoefnagel engraved the maps. In the left-hand top corner are the arms of Elizabeth, and in the right-hand corner those of the City. In the later editions the delicately drawn figures in the foreground are omitted. In his notes on Old London Maps in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, vol. vi., Mr. W. H. Overall says it cannot be supposed that all the cities of the world engraved in Braun and Hogenburg's work were freshly surveyed for the purpose; and there are several points—such, for instance, as the inclusion of the steeple of St. Paul's, destroyed in 1561—which point to the fact that this version was probably taken from existing surveys. The original is 19 inches by 12¾ inches. The bull- and bear-baiting pits on the Surrey side are quite conspicuous, and so is the royal barge, in very much the same position in the river as it is in Agas's map. Here is a detailed account of it in Sir Walter Besant's own words:
Details.—"This is in some respects more exact than the better-known map attributed to Agas. The streets, gardens, and fields are laid down with greater precision, and there is no serious attempt to combine, as Agas does, a picture or a panorama with a map. At the same time, the surveyor has been unable to resist the fashion of his time to consider the map as laid down from a bird's-eye view, so that he thinks it necessary to give something of elevation.
"I will take that part of the map which lies outside the walls. The precinct of St. Katherine stands beside the Tower, with its chapel, court, and gardens; there are a few houses near it, apparently farmhouses. The convent of Eastminster had
