The Perils of Historical Geography: On a Pretended Lost Map to a Legendary Sunken Forest

Abstract Our perception of territory and the geographical terrain continues to be influenced as much by our cultural persuasions and desires as by the reality of hard facts. Edward Eigen trawls the literature of Mont‐Saint‐Michel to reveal the fascinating case of the mythical forest that surfaced on an erroneous 18th‐century map of the abbey and its environs. Could this plot against history have put myth in danger of triumphing over reason? Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.