Thule
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Thule (disambiguation).
Image:Thule (carta marina).jpg
Thule or Tile is in classic sources a place, usually an island, in the far north, often Scandinavia. Ultima Thule in medieval geographies may also denote any distant place located beyond the "borders of the known world".
Contents |
Pytheas
It was first mentioned by the Greek geographer and explorer Pytheas of Massalía (present-day Marseille) in the 4th century BC. Pytheas claimed that Thule was the northernmost country, six days north of the island of Great Britain. He also claimed that the midsummer sun never set there. Thule is sometimes seen to have some commonality with Atlantis. The most likely locale for Thule is nowadays considered to be the coast of Norway; however other historians think it was the Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands, Iceland, or Saaremaa.
Procopius
In Procopius, Thule was a large island in the north inhabited by 25 tribes. It is clearly Scandinavia since several tribes are easily identified, such as the Geats (Gautoi) and the Saami (Scrithiphini). He also wrote that when the Heruls returned, they passed the Varni and the Danes and then crossed the sea to Thule, where they settled beside the Geats.
Middle ages
In the Middle Ages, the name was sometimes used to denote Greenland, Svalbard or Iceland, such as by Bremen's Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church, where he probably cites old writers' usage of Thule.
Modern use
A municipality in North Greenland was formerly named Thule after the mythical place. The Thule People, a paleo-Eskimo culture and a predecessor of modern Inuit Greenlanders, was named after the Thule region. In 1953, Thule became Thule Air Base, operated by United States Air Force. The population was forced to resettle to Qaanaaq, 67 miles to the north. Hunting activities here are described in the January 2006 National Geographic. (76 31'50.21"N, 68 42'36.13"W only 840 NM from the North Pole)
Southern Thule is a collection of the three southernmost islands in the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The island group is overseas territory of the United Kingdom and uninhabited.
"Aryan Thule"
Nazi mystics searched all over the world for a historical Thule, which they believed was the ancient homeland of the Aryan race.
References in popular culture
- Ultima Thule is also the name of a Swedish rock band, as well as the name of a 1971 single by the German rock band Tangerine Dream.
- British "epic barbarian war metal" band Bal-Sagoth recorded an album entitled Starfire upon the Ice-Veiled Throne of Ultima Thule in 1996.
- Thule is a company that manufactures Roof Boxes, Cycle & Ski Carriers etc.
- In the comic strip Prince Valiant, the title character is said to be the "Prince of Thule".
- In the Spanish comic strip Capitán Trueno, the girlfriend of the protagonist is a Viking princess born in Thule.
- Vladimir Nabokov worked on a story entitled Ultima Thule, aspects of which eventually came to be essential parts of his novel Pale Fire.
- In Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa, the antagonists are members of the Thule Society.
- In a poem Dream-Land by Edgar Allan Poe, protagonist (poet) comes "from an ultimate dim Thule".
British punk band The Fall are sometimes referred to as "The Thule Group", derived from the lyrics of their 1985 track "Gut of the Quantifier".
See also
- Aristeas Another Greek voyage to the far north.
- Phantom island
- Thule Society
- Mythical place
- Southern Thule
- Baltiade:Thule (Insel)
el:Θούλη eo:Thule it:Thule (mito) nl:Thule no:Thule fi:Thule sv:Thule (mytologi)