Speaker 1: Welcome to Unexplained Extra with me Richard McClain smith. For
Speaker 1: the weeks in between episodes, we look at the stories that,
Speaker 1: for one reason or other, didn't make it into the show.
Speaker 1: In last week's episode, When the Light Fades, we looked
Speaker 1: at the haunting tale of the Lightkeepers of Island More.
Speaker 1: The island is one of seven small rocky outcrops known
Speaker 1: collectively as the Flannin Isles, located seventy miles to the
Speaker 1: west of the Isle of Lewis in the Scottish Outer Hebrides.
Speaker 1: The island was often referred to as the Other Country,
Speaker 1: a place where a mysterious other world had touched with
Speaker 1: our own mortal world. It is a sentiment reserved for
Speaker 1: a number of mythical and remote islands from around the globe.
Speaker 1: Though many will be familiar with the fantastical Atlantis or
Speaker 1: the lost land of Limuria, there is one island, once
Speaker 1: thought to be hated, a few hundred miles off the
Speaker 1: south coast of Ireland that may yet prove to be
Speaker 1: the strangest of them all. The island is believed to
Speaker 1: have first been charted by famed Italian mayorcan cartographer Angelina
Speaker 1: Dulcet in thirteen twenty five. It would appear again in
Speaker 1: his later map of thirteen thirty nine. Widely considered his
Speaker 1: greatest achievement, the thirteen thirty nine Portland Chart now resides
Speaker 1: in Paris in the National Library of France. Looking at
Speaker 1: it today, it is a masterpiece of composition and geometry,
Speaker 1: considered the finest map of the known world from a
Speaker 1: European perspective for its time, It covers a region of
Speaker 1: land encompassing northern Africa, West Asia, and the majority of Europe.
Speaker 1: Despite some notable inaccuracies of scale, it nonetheless depicts a
Speaker 1: clear picture of the various lands record, cognizable from any
Speaker 1: modern day atlas. And yet if you look to the
Speaker 1: left hand side of the map you will see something
Speaker 1: fairly unexpected. Clearly marked just off the coast of Ireland
Speaker 1: is a small landmass that over time has become commonly
Speaker 1: known as High Brazil. The exact origins of the name
Speaker 1: Brazil is unknown, and it is not thought to be
Speaker 1: linked to the nation of Brazil, which instead derives its
Speaker 1: name from the Pernambuco tree, otherwise known as brazil wood.
Speaker 1: The likely providence is to be found in Celtic and
Speaker 1: Irish folklore. Irish historians will be familiar with the Clan
Speaker 1: Ay Brazil, whose iron Age chief, the eponymous Brazil, is
Speaker 1: said to have lost his daughter in the River Gailem,
Speaker 1: which flows into Gorway Bay on the west coast of Ireland. However,
Speaker 1: it's most likely that the name is derived from another Brazil,
Speaker 1: known in Celtic folklore as the High King of the World.
Speaker 1: The immortal monarch was said to whole court on a
Speaker 1: strange mythical island known as High Brazil, a place of
Speaker 1: great and eternal happiness. The island was said to be
Speaker 1: nothing less than the embodiment of the other world. As
Speaker 1: the myth goes, the strange land was believed to only
Speaker 1: appear every seven years, when it would rise from the
Speaker 1: waters shrouded in mist. Any attempt by a mortal to
Speaker 1: reach the island, however, would reveal it to be nothing
Speaker 1: but a strange mirage, forever out of reach. What could
Speaker 1: possibly have compelled to such a reputable cartographer as Angelino
Speaker 1: Dulcert to include a mythical island on his most prestigious
Speaker 1: of maps. Had this island in fact been discovered, Are
Speaker 1: you always taking care of your family. Do you often
Speaker 1: take care of others and not yourself. Now it's time
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Speaker 1: slash Unexplained Podcast. In fourteen ninety seven, famed explorer Giovanni
Speaker 1: Caboto made his name leading the first to European expedition
Speaker 1: to the mainland of North America since the Vikings. Eighty,
Speaker 1: Caboto launched the first of eight expeditions in search of
Speaker 1: the mythical Celtic land of High Brazil. There is no
Speaker 1: known proof that Caboto reached the island, except for the
Speaker 1: report of one Spanish diplomat who traveled with Caboto to
Speaker 1: North America in fourteen ninety seven. The diplomat, named Pedro Deayala,
Speaker 1: maintained that he had made his journey with the men
Speaker 1: who had found High Brazil. Controversial historian and Irish mythologizer
Speaker 1: Roderick o'flahati also claimed sometime in the seventeenth century that
Speaker 1: he had encountered a man named Mora o'lee who had
Speaker 1: visited the island for a period of two days. The
Speaker 1: claim remains unsubstantiated. Many have pointed to a sixteen seventy
Speaker 1: four expedition taken by the mariner Captain john Nisbitt as
Speaker 1: proof that the island had indeed been discovered. The claim
Speaker 1: is now known to be the invention of Irish author
Speaker 1: Richard Head. Regardless, the island of High Brazil continued to
Speaker 1: feature in many charts, appearing again in seventeen seventy six
Speaker 1: as a rock six degrees west of the southern point
Speaker 1: of Ireland. The last non map to include the land
Speaker 1: was a British Admiralty chart drawn up in eighteen sixty five,
Speaker 1: after which the island appears to have vanished from the records.
Speaker 1: When thinking of such places, it is hard not to
Speaker 1: be reminded of Thomas Moore's own fictional land of Utopia,
Speaker 1: perhaps the most symbolically fictitious of them all. And whatever
Speaker 1: you believe, whether there be a truth to the existence
Speaker 1: of High Brazil or any of the other mythical lands,
Speaker 1: it is a curious myth that somewhere out there lies paradise,
Speaker 1: if only we could discover it, when, after all, do
Speaker 1: we not have everything we need to make it ourselves.
Speaker 1: All elements of Unexplained are produced by me Richard McClain smith.
Speaker 1: Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes, and feel
Speaker 1: free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas
Speaker 1: regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you
Speaker 1: have an explanation of your own you'd like to share.
Speaker 1: You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com
Speaker 1: or on Twitter at Unexplained Pod. Now it's time to
Speaker 1: take care of yourself, to make time for you. Teledoc
Speaker 1: gives you access to a licensed therapist to help you
Speaker 1: get back to feeling your best. Speak to a licensed
Speaker 1: therapist by phone or video anytime between seven am to
Speaker 1: nine pm local time, seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy
Speaker 1: is available through most insurance or employers. Download the app,
Speaker 1: or visit telldoc dot com Forward slash Unexplained podcast today
Speaker 1: to get started. That's t e l a d oc
Speaker 1: dot com slash Unexplained podcast