Mayda (variously known as Maida, Mayd, Mayde, Brazir, Mam, Asmaida, Asmayda, Bentusle, Las Maidas Bolunda and Vlaanderen) is a non-existent island in the North Atlantic that has been shown on several published maps at various points in history. It was most often represented as being crescent-shaped and its position has varied widely over time. Early maps drew the island west of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and southwest of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, but it later moved towards the

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(

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

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History

The island first appeared under the name of Brazir, on the Pizigani brothers' 1367 map. It was crescent-shaped and sited southwest of the island of

Brasil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, on the same latitude of southern

.Babcock, p. 83 It appeared as Asmaidas on a map of the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

accompanying Waldseemüller's 1513 edition of Ptolemy's ''Geography''. Ortelius (in ''

Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (, "Theatre of the Lands of the World") is considered to be the first true modern atlas. Written by Abraham Ortelius, strongly encouraged by Gillis Hooftman and originally printed on 20 May 1570 in Antwerp, it consisted of a collection of un ...

'') placed a crescent-shaped island in the traditional location of Mayda with the name "Vlaenderen" ("Flanders").Ramsay, p. 219 The island is the namesake of Mayda Insula, an island in the Kraken Mare on

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

's moon

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

Appearances on maps

* Pizigani brothers map (1367) as Brazir * Catalan map (1375) as MamRamsay, p. 217 * Pinelli map (1384) as Jonzele/I.Onzele * Pizzigano Map (1424) either as Ventura or Ymana. * Bianco world map (1448) as Bentusla *

Waldseemüller map The Waldseemüller map or ''Universalis Cosmographia'' ("Universal Cosmography") is a printed wall map of the world by the German cartography, cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, originally published in April 1507. It is known as the first ma ...

(1513) as Asmaidas * Prunes map (1553) as MaydaRamsay, p. 218 * Nicolay map (1560) as I man orbolunda

In popular culture

*The island of Mayda is a principal location in the novel '' A Web of Air'' by Philip Reeve.

Notes

References

* * *{{cite book , last = Ramsay , first = Raymond , title = No Longer on the Map: discovering places that never were , publisher = Viking Press , location = New York , year = 1972 , isbn = 0-670-51433-0 , chapter = The Maybe of Mayda Phantom islands of the Atlantic Ocean Islands of the North Atlantic Ocean