Hy Brasil (site) | celtic

Ireland / Kerry / Dingle /
 celtic, invisible, draw only border, historical layer / disappeared object

Hy-Brasil (also spelled Hy-Breasal, Hy-Brazil, Hy-Breasil, Brazir) may also be responsible for the naming of the country we know today as Brazil.

According to legends of long ago, Hy-Brasil was a secret land once ruled by priests. These priests held the secrets to the universe and had access to ancient, but powerful knowledge. In folklore, this island country takes its name from Breasal, the High King of the World, in Celtic history.

The island is said to be cloaked in mist, except for one day each seven years, when it became visible but could still not easily be reached.

Over the centuries a number of maps have charted the position of the island. On maps, the island was shown as being circular, often with a central strait or river running east-west across its diameter.

A Catalan map from around 1480 labels two islands “Illa de brasil”, one to the south west of Ireland and the other south of “Illa verde” or what is now known as Greenland.

There have been numerous expeditions in the past to search for this mythical land. One expedition in 1497 was led by John Cabot. He reported that he had found the land and it had been “discovered in the past by the men from Bristol who found Brasil”.

Some historians note that the renowned navigator Pedro Alvarez Cabral also claimed to have reached the island during his voyages in the 1500′s.

The 1600′s had a wealth of reports about the island. In 1674 a Captain John Nisbet and his crew were in familiar waters off the west coast of Ireland. They were enshrouded in fog.

As the fog lifted, they saw that they were close to an island, so anchored in three fathoms of water.

According to reports, four crew members took a small boat and landed on the island. They spent a day there before returning laden with gold and silver. They claimed that an old man who lived on the island had given it to them as a gift.

When they returned to Ireland, a second ship under the command of Alexander Johnson set out to find the island. According to reports of the time, they too found an hospitable island and returned to confirm the previous report.

In 1684, in a book called ‘A Chorographical Description of West or H-Iar Connaught’ mentions an encounter with the island:

“There is now living, Morogh O’Ley (Murrough O Laoi), who imagins he was 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.”

The last sighting of the island occured in 1872. Author T. J. Westropp and several companions claim to have seen the island appear and then vanish. According to reports this was the third time that the author had seen Hy-Brasil and had brought his mother and companions to witness it for themselves.
Coordinates:   51°49'51"N   12°59'1"W

Comments

  • Watch out for that Lute-playing giant dragon-fish guy with the grass clippings on his head! He's huge!
  • LMAO!
This article was last modified 8 years ago