Studia Humanitatis (Dec 2023)
Legendary islands or phantom islands: in the search of mythical lands in old folk tales, on historical maps and in weather phenomena on open sea
Abstract
What is the meaning of legendary or phantom islands? A phantom island is a purposed island which was included on maps for a period of time, but was later found not to exist. Most of these phantom islands appeared on maps from the 1200s until the early 1800s. Some of islands did not disappear on maps until our time. But is an island simply falsely mapped and then turned out to be not existent. This paper analyses the histories, meaning of and the etymologies of these phantom islands in different parts of the world ocean. It can be argued that these mysterious lands were almost all found in the Middle Ages and some centuries later. To which depictions of sea monsters, dragons and Cyclops on various maps from the Middle Ages bear witness? Or these fantasies and hallucinations are in the minds of sailors? This paper also tries to put these legendary islands into a far much larger perspective. Be it in the world of mythology or in the world of fantasy, in the inexplicable universe or simply in weather phenomena under extreme conditions both among the sailors and in the world of nature.
