Chapter 02 of 5
Hy-Brasil: The Vanishing Isle
The mysterious land off the Irish coast that appeared every seven years.
- Origin
The Atlantic's Greatest Ghost
Long before the Americas were mapped, a mysterious island named Hy-Brasil lived in the minds of sailors. It was said to lie off the coast of Ireland, shrouded in thick fog.
- Mythology
The Seven-Year Cycle
Folklore held that the island was cloaked in mist for all but one day every seven years. Only on that day did its golden shores and high peaks become visible.
- Early Cartography
Ink Becomes Reality
The island first transitioned from myth to reality on a 1325 map by Angelino Dulcert. For cartographers of the era, a legend was a sufficient source for a new landmass.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
According to Irish folklore, how often did Hy-Brasil become visible through the mist?
🗺️ Ghost Geographies
- 01The Cartographer's MirageHow blank spaces on ancient maps were filled by legend, rumor, and hope.
- 02Hy-Brasil: The Vanishing IsleThe mysterious land off the Irish coast that appeared every seven years.
- 03The California Island ErrorTracing the 200-year mistake that detached a peninsula from a continent.
- 04Sandy Island: The Digital PhantomThe island that survived on Google Maps until its 'undiscovery' in 2012.
- 05The Erasure of the WorldThe high-stakes hunts that finally scrubbed the map of its ghosts.