A <map> node is always the root node. It contains all information on a single map, including links to other maps, the bitmap image, terrain information and so on.
<map>
<header>
<name> Example Map </name>
<author> Samuel Penn </author>
<id> example.1066074818754 </id>
<parent> none </parent>
<cvs>
<version> $Revision: 1.1 $ </version>
<date> $Date: 2004/07/10 21:46:22 </date>
</cvs>
<type> World </type>
<shape> Hexagonal </shape>
<imagedir> hexagonal/standard </imagedir>
<format> 0.2.1 </format>
</header>
</map>
map:: (header, terrainset, terrainset, terrainset, tileset, areas?)
A <map> is not designed to be rendered directly since it represents graphical rather than textual data. It is meant to be loaded by Mapcraft and displayed within as a Java JComponent.