It is undisputed that the most famous ‘lost island’ is Atlantis. But there is another island which is just as mysterious called Hy-Brasil.
The island is said to be located to the west of Ireland and is known as Hy-Brasil in Irish mythology.
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.
The mysterious island of Hy-Brasil: The ‘other’ Atlantis
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