Legendary Islands of the Atlantic: A Study of Medieval Geography
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About This Book
This is a study in medieval geography relating to the Western Ocean, including Greenland, Brazil, Corvo, Antilla, Atlantis, the Seven Cities, Mavda, Markland, Estotiland, St. Brendan's Explorations and Islands; The Sunken Land of Buss and other mysterious places - some of which were on official naval charts as recently as the beginning of the 19th century. Originally published in 1922 by the American Geographical Society, it covers the lore, myth, legend, and evidence of Legendary Islands of the Atlantic.
Chapters (339)
- LEGENDARY ISLANDS OF THE ATLANTIC
- CONTENTS
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
- Early Accounts of Big Ships
- The Atlantis Legend
- Phoenician Exploration
- The Greeks and Romans
- Irish Sea-Roving
- The Norsemen
- Moorish Voyages
- Italian Exploration
- Bretons and Basques
- The Zeno Story
- Portuguese Discovery
- Columbus, Vespucius, and Cabot
- CHAPTER II ATLANTIS
- Elements of Fact and Fancy in Plato’s Tale of Atlantis
- Significant Passages from the Tale
- Atlantean Invasion of the Mediterranean
- Location and Size of Atlantis
- Improbability of the Existence of Such an Island
- Termier’s Theory of an Ancient Atlantic Continental Mass
- Floral and Faunal Evidence of Connection with Europe and Africa
- Evidence of Submergence
- Relation of the Submarine Banks of the North Atlantic to the Problem
- Facts and Legends As to Submergences in Historic Times
- Reports of Obstruction to Navigation in Early Times
- The Sargasso Sea As the Ancient Atlantis
- Summary
- CHAPTER III ST. BRENDAN’S EXPLORATIONS AND ISLANDS
- The Lismore Version of the Saint’s Adventures
- Another Version
- Attempts to Explain the Origin of the Brendan Narratives
- A Norman French Version
- The Probable Basis of Fact
- The Cartographic Evidence
- The Hereford Map of circa 1275
- The Dulcert Map of 1339
- The Map of the Pizigani of 1367
- First Use of “Porto Santo” as Name of One of the Madeiras
- Animal and Bird Names of Islands
- Madeira
- The Beccario Map of 1426
- The Bianco Map of 1448
- Behaim’s Globe of 1492
- Later Maps
- Conclusion
- CHAPTER IV THE ISLAND OF BRAZIL
- Probable Gaelic Origin of the Word “Brazil”
- Another Suggested Derivation
- Free Distribution of the Name on Early Maps
- Location and Shape of the Island
- Significant Shape on the Catalan Map of 1375
- Possible Identification with the Gulf of St. Lawrence Region
- The Catalan Map of about 1480
- The Sylvanus Map of 1511
- Omission of the Name in Norse and Irish Records
- CHAPTER V THE ISLAND OF THE SEVEN CITIES
- The Island of Brazil
- Antillia
- The Legendary Home of Portuguese Refugees
- Another Account
- Mythical Location of the Seven Cities on the Mainland
- Later Reappearance As an Island
- Occurrence of the Name in the Azores
- CHAPTER VI THE PROBLEM OF MAYDA
- Possible Arabic Origin of Name
- Mayda and the Isle of Man
- Resumption of Name “Mayda”
- Transference of Mayda To American Waters
- Possible Identity of Vlaenderen Island with Mayda
- Persistence of Mayda on Maps Down to the Modern Period
- Probable Basis of Fact Underlying This Legendary Island
- CHAPTER VII GREENLAND OR GREEN ISLAND
- Adam of Bremen’s Account of Greenland
- Its Insular Character
- As “Illa Verde” on the Catalan Map of 1480
- Green Island on Sixteenth-Century Maps
- Various “Green Islands:” Shrinkage of the Name
- Origin of the Name “Greenland” and Its Justification
- Icelandic Settlement
- Greenland as a Peninsula
- Life of the Icelandic Colony
- Explorations of Early Greenlanders
- The Eskimos
- CHAPTER VIII MARKLAND, OTHERWISE NEWFOUNDLAND
- First Norse Account, In Hauk’s Book
- Another Account, In the Arna-Magnaean Manuscript
- Later Derivative Records
- Labrador as Markland
- Nova Scotia as Markland
- Intercourse between Greenland and Markland
- Brazil Island in the Place of Markland
- The Zeno Narrative
- CHAPTER IX ESTOTILAND AND THE OTHER ISLANDS OF ZENO
- The Zeno Volume
- First Use of the Names “Estotiland” and “Drogio”
- Geographical Implication of the Narrative
- Conjectures as to the Derivation of “Estotiland”
- The Estotilanders
- Drogio
- Discrepancies in the Narrative of the Fisherman
- The Zeno Narrative Itself
- R. H. Major’s Study of the Zeno Narrative
- The Work of F. W. Lucas
- A Monastery in the Arctic
- The Zeno Map
- Frisland
- Icaria
- Influence of Imaginary Cartography
- CHAPTER X ANTILLIA AND THE ANTILLES
- Antillia
- Peter Martyr’s Identification of Antillia
- Other Identifications
- An Antillia of the Mainland
- The Origin of the Name
- Humboldt’s Hypothesis
- The Weimar Map
- The Beccario Map of 1426
- The Beccario Map of 1435
- The Four Islands of the Antilles on the Beccario Map
- Antillia
- Reylla
- Salvagio
- I in Mar
- The Roselli Map of 1468
- The Bianco Map of 1436
- The Pareto Map of 1455
- The Benincasa Map of 1482
- The Weimar Map (after 1481)
- The Laon Globe of 1493
- Other Maps
- Identity of Antillia with the Antilles
- CHAPTER XI CORVO, OUR NEAREST EUROPEAN NEIGHBOR
- Origin of the Name
- Ancient Memorials
- Equestrian Statues
- Need of Exploration
- CHAPTER XII THE SUNKEN LAND OF BUSS AND OTHER PHANTOM ISLANDS
- The Discovery of Buss
- Its Disappearance from the Map
- Islands of Demons
- Saintly Islands
- Daculi and Bra
- Grocland, Helluland, etc.
- Stokafixa
- Other Map Islands in the Northwestern Atlantic
- CHAPTER XIII SUMMARY
- FOOTNOTES
- INDEX
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
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- 31
- 32
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- 36
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- 38
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