Legendary Islands of the Atlantic

About this eBook

Author

Babcock, William Henry, 1849-1922

Title

Legendary Islands of the Atlantic: A Study of Medieval Geography

Credits

E-text prepared by ellinora, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team ( www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive ( archive.org)

Language

English

LoC Class

G: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation

Subject

Geographical myths

Category

Text

Project Gutenberg

eBook-No. 65103

Release Date

April 18, 2021

Copyright

Public domain in the USA.

Contents

1. 1.LEGENDARY ISLANDS OF THE ATLANTIC
2. 2.CONTENTS
3. 3.LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
4. 4.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
5. 5.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
6. 6.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
7. 7.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
8. 8.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
9. 9.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
10. 10.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
11. 11.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
12. 12.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
13. 13.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
14. 14.CHAPTER XI CORVO, OUR NEAREST EUROPEAN NEIGHBOR — Origin of the Name — Ancient Memorials — Equestrian Statues — Need of Exploration
15. 15.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
16. 16.CHAPTER XIII SUMMARY
17. 17.FOOTNOTES
18. 18.INDEX
19. 19.Transcriber’s Note

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