Ranulph Higden (d. 1364), was a monk of the Benedictine abbey of St. Werburg, Chester. His ‘Polychronicon’ is a universal history, based on earlier writers, but extended down to his own lifetime. As it was the most complete such work available in the 14th century, it enjoyed considerable popularity, being translated into English in the late 14th century, and printed by William Caxton in the late 15th century. This manuscript has the ownership inscription of John Lawrence alias Wardeboys, who was abbot of Ramsey at the time of its dissolution in 1539. At the top of the map is a sketch of Adam and Eve at The Fall. Below them to the right is the Red Sea (coloured red), interrupted by a label marking where Moses led the Hebrews to safely from Herod. The small square islands near the middle of the page, set against a green sea, include Crete, Cyprus, Rhodes, and Sicily.

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