IN NORTHERN MISTS 



all was uninhabited on account of the cold and snow. Edrisi de- 

 scribes in his great work the countries of the earth in these cli- 

 mates, which again are divided each into ten sections, so that the 

 book contains in all seventy sections.^ 



On the outside of all is the Dark Sea (i.e., Oceanus, the ut- 

 termost encircling ocean), which thus forms the limit of the 

 world, and no one knows what is beyond it. After describing 

 Angiltara (England) with its towns, Edrisi continues : 



"Between the end of Sqosia [Scotland], a desert island [i.e., peninsula] 2 

 and the end of the island of Irlanda is reckoned two days' sail to the west. 

 Ireland is a very large island. Between its upper [i.e., southern, as the maps 

 of the Arabs had the south at the top] end and Brittany is reckoned three and 

 a half days' sail. From the end of England to the island of Wales (?) ^ one 

 day. From the end of Sqosia to the island of Islanda two-thirds of a day's sail 

 in a northern direction. From the end of Islanda to the great island of 

 Irlanda one day. From the end of Islanda eastward to the island of Norwaga 

 [Norway] twelve miles (?).* Iceland extends 400 miles in length and 150 in 

 breadth." 



Danamarkha is described as an island, round in shape and 

 with a sandy soil ; on the map it is connected with the continent 

 by a narrow isthmus. There are *' four chief towns, many 

 inhabitants, villages, well protected and well populated ports 

 surrounded by walls." The following towns are named: 

 "Alsia" (Als?), "Tordira," or "Tondira" (Tender), 

 "Haun" (Copenhagen), "Horsnes" (Horsens), " Lunduna " 

 (Lund), "Slisbuli" (Sliaswiq?). From " Wendilskada," 

 written " Wadi Lesqada " (Vendelskagen) it is a half-day's sail 

 to the island of "Norwaga" (Norway). An island to the east 

 of Denmark and near Lund is called on the map " Derlanem " 

 (Bornholm?). 



1 Cf. Jaubert's translation [Edrisi, 1836], where, however, the geographical 

 names must be used with caution. See also Dozy and De Goeje [Edrisi, 1866]. 



- The Arabs have the same word for island and peninsula. 



3 Professor Seippel considers this the probable interpretation of the name 

 and not " the island of the Danes " as in Jaubert. 



■* Edrisi reckoned a degree at the equator as 100 Arabic miles, according to 

 which his mile would be fully a kilometer. According to other Arab geogra- 

 phers the degree at the equator has been reckoned as 66s Arabic miles, in 

 which case the mile would be about 1.7 km., or nearly a statute mile. 

 204 



