Brazil (mythical island) 810622 215667122 2008-05-29T04:45:39Z Martey 98886 /* In popular culture */ change wikilink to direct to new non-existent article, instead of recursive link to this article '''Brazil''', also known as '''Hy-Brazil''' or several other variants, is a [[phantom island]] which features in many [[Irish mythology|Irish myth]]s. It was said to be cloaked in [[mist]], except for one day each seven years, when it became visible but could still not be reached. It probably has similar roots to [[St Brendan's Island]]. Another basis may be [[Helluland]] (probably [[Labrador]]), discovered by the [[Vikings]]. The names '''Brazil''' and '''Hy-Brazil''' are thought to come from the Irish ''Uí Breasail'' (meaning "descendants (i.e., clan) of [[Breasal]]"), one of the ancient [[clan]]s of northeastern Ireland. ==Searches for the island== It appears that as the north Atlantic was explored, the name of Brazil may have been attached to a real place. A Catalan map of about 1480 labels two islands "Illa de brasil", one to the south west of Ireland (where the mythical place was supposed to be) and one south of "Illa verde" or [[Greenland]]. Expeditions left Bristol in 1480 and 1481 to search for it, and a letter written shortly after the return of [[John Cabot]] from his expedition in 1497 reports that land found by Cabot had been "discovered in the past by the men from Bristol who found Brasil".<ref>Seaver, K.A.(1995) ''The Frozen Echo'' Stanford University Press ISBN 0 8047 3161 6 p.212ff</ref> Some historians claim{{Fact|date=April 2007}} that the navigator [[Pedro Álvares Cabral]] thought that he had reached this island in [[1500]], thus naming the country of [[Brazil]]. However, Cabral didn't choose the name 'Brazil'. The country was at first named [[Ilha de Vera Cruz]] (''Island of the True Cross''), later [[Terra de Santa Cruz]] (''Land of the Holy Cross'') and still later 'Brazil'. The generally accepted theory states that it was renamed for the [[brazilwood]], which has an extreme red color (so "brasil" derivated from "brasa": ''[[ember]]''), a plant very valuable in [[Portugal|Portuguese]] commerce and abundant in the new-found land. The island has also been identified with [[Terceira Island|Terceira]] in the [[Azores]], which was at one time named ''Brazil'', while another phantom island sometimes known as ''Brazil'' was the [[Isle of Mam]]. Others claimed to have seen the island, or even landed on it, the last supposed sighting being in [[1872]]. Roderick O’Flaherty in ''A Chorographical Description of West or H-Iar Connaught'' (1684) tells us "There is now living, Morogh O'Ley, who immagins he was himself personally on O'Brasil for two days, and saw out of it the iles of Aran, Golamhead, Irrosbeghill, and other places of the west continent he was acquainted with." On maps, the island was shown as being [[circular]], soon with a central [[strait]] or [[river]] running east-west across its diameter. Despite the failure of attempts to find it, it appeared regularly on maps lying south west of [[Galway Bay]] from [[1325]] until [[1865]], by which time it was called '''Brazil Rock'''. ==In popular culture== {{Prose|date=November 2007}} The characters of the movie ''[[Erik the Viking]]'' visit the island (spelled Hy-Brasil in the film's literature) during their quest to find [[Valhalla]] and end [[Ragnarok]]. [[Jack Vance]]'s [[Lyonesse Trilogy]] of fantasy novels is set in the mythical Elder Isles a generation or two before the birth of King Arthur. Situated southwest of Cornwall and west of Brittany, the Elder Isles consist of a large island called Hybras, "the Hy-Brasil of ancient Irish legend," surrounded by numerous smaller islands of various sizes. ''[[Hy-Brasil (book)|Hy-Brasil]]'' is the title of the [[2002]] novel by Scottish writer [[Margaret Elphinstone]]. She creates an island-nation somewhere between Newfoundland and Ireland as a thought-experiment. Hy Brasil is featured in the [[Promethea]] books by [[Alan Moore]]. In the novel ''Engelbrecht Again!'' by [[Rhys Hughes]] the main characters meet a mermaid on the (mythical) island of Brasil while on their way to the (real) country of Brazil. A location in the online game Dragon Court is named Hie-Brasil. In the Thessaliad (a spin-off of the more popular Sandman comics written by Bill Willingham) a Fetch, or a supernatural bounty hunter, disguised as a taxi driver had his claim to fame by hunting down all thirty-nine forgotten gods of Hy Brasil. [[Hybrasil]] is the name of an Indie band from [[County Wicklow]], [[Ireland]]. Hy Brasail is a Lost Ground in the [[.hack Conglomerate]]. It is a Lost Ground only accessible during official events. The island lies right outside the harbor of Mac Anu, and the skyline of the city can be seen from its shores. In the [[Saga of Pliocene Exile]], a series of science-fiction novels by [[Julian May]], "High Vrazel" is the seat of the Firvulag, an alien race based on the [[Fir Bolg]] of [[Irish mythology]]. {{Reflist}} [[Category:Mythological islands]] [[Category:Phantom islands]] [[Category:Irish mythology]] [[de:Brasilinsel]] [[eo:Hi-Brazilo]] [[it:Hy-Brazil]] [[pt:Ilha do Brasil]]