The Mappa Mundi and the Imperial Departmento Cartigraphicae Map of the Milky Way

In the Warhammer 40k universe, the Departmento Cartigraphicae is the branch of the Adeptus Mechanicus that is tasked with mapping the eternal void of space as the Explorator fleets chart its depths. The map of the Milky Way that they have devised is similar to the Mappa Mundi and the Medieval concept of a map portrayed in Medieval scripts such as The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Just as Jerusalem, the focal point of the Christian faith, is the center point of the Christian-centered maps of the Medieval era, so too is Holy Terra, formerly known as "Earth," the focal point for Imperial maps that chart the galaxy. Terra is the holiest and most cherished planet in the entire Milky Way Galaxy as it is not only the seat of Imperial power within the religiously fanatical Imperium of Man, but it is also the birthplace of Mankind, a race which is inherently holy and destined to rule all creation, and subsequently the Emperor of Mankind, the Eternal God of Mankind made flesh to lead Holy Humanity to its final victory. In addition, similarly to how the Mappa Mundi is divided into three sections, displaying the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia, the map of the 40k universe is divided into five sectors, each being a distinct section of the Milky Way Galaxy. In the Mappa Mundi and in Mandeville's Travels there is the concept that the farther one travels from Europe and Jerusalem towards the edges of Africa and Asia, the more bizarre and stranger the world becomes. This same concept is also prevalent in the map of 40k as the farther one moves from Terra and the Segmentum Solar, the sector in which Terra resides, the more terrible and grim the galaxy becomes, with the exception of the Segmentum Pacificus, which resides on the farthest "West" part of the galactic map, farthest from the horrors of the galaxy, similar to Europe in Mundi. The Segmentum Obscurus and the Segmentum Tempestus are both farther to the "East" and farther from Terra, but still somewhat close, thus they both are fraught with enemies that the Imperium of Man is relatively familiar with such as the heretical forces of Chaos who's holy war with the Imperium is reminiscent of the Crusades and Jihads fought between Christians and Muslims. In addition to heretics against the Imperial truth, these sections of space are teeming with monstrous xenos races such as the hyper-violent and crude Orks or the hive-minded killing machines that are the Tyranids, and alongside them are tamer, but no less alien and no less threatening, xenos races such as the collectivist Tau or the ancient and immensely wise Eldar. In these sectors of space, human worlds are also home to various races of abhumans, subspecies of humans that were born from genetic mutation brought about by the living conditions they found themselves in on foreign planets. These abhumans are similar to the almost human monstrous races featured in the Mappa Mundi and in Mandeville's Travels. The ratlings, for example, bear resemblance to the troglodites portrayed on Medieval maps and in Medieval travel narratives as they are nearly human, yet they have grown much shorter than the average man and are agile and rat-like due to the tens of thousands of years they spent trapped underground in squalid conditions as the surface of their colony world was irradiated and toxic. Another abhuman race are the ogryn, violent, simple-minded, and extremely large, they resemble giants portrayed in Medieval texts. They came to be because their home colony was subject to extremely high gravity due to the planets incredibly dense core. Lastly, the Segmentum Ultima comprises the farthest "East" expanse of the galaxy and contains the galaxies most ancient and mysterious threats. Farthest from the Emperor's grace, the Segmentum Ultima is home to xenos races such as the Necrons, an army of undying, immortal machines bent on the eradication of all biological life, or the cold, calculating Rak'Gol, about which almost nothing is known aside from their periodic attacks on human ships and worlds, harvesting all sentient life and disappearing back into the void before any had the chance to respond to the distress call. All in all, the maps of 40k and the Christian Medieval era bear many similarities to each other in the way they are designed and in the monstrous beasts that inhabit their fringes.