Thule

For the settlement in Greenland historically named Thule, see Qaanaaq. For other uses, see Thule (disambiguation).
Thule
On the Ocean location
Thule as Tile on the Carta marina of 1539 by Olaus Magnus, where it is shown located to the northwest of the Orkney islands, with a "monster, seen in 1537", a whale ("balena"), and an orca nearby.
Created byPytheas
GenreClassical literature
In-universe information
TypeUnidentified historical island
A local stamp of Greenland 1936, inscribed Thule

Thule (/ˈθjuːliː/[1] ‹See Tfd›Greek: Θούλη, translit. Thúlē; Latin: Thūlē also spelled as Thylē[2]) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shetland, Northern Scotland, the island of Saaremaa (Ösel) in Estonia,[3][4] and the Norwegian island of Smøla.[5]

In classical and medieval literature, ultima Thule (Latin "farthest Thule") acquired a metaphorical meaning of any distant place located beyond the "borders of the known world".[6]

By the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period, the Greco-Roman Thule was often identified with the real Iceland or Greenland. Sometimes Ultima Thule was a Latin name for Greenland, when Thule was used for Iceland. By the late 19th century, however, Thule was frequently identified with Norway.[7][8]

In 1910, the explorer Knud Rasmussen established a missionary and trading post in north-western Greenland, which he named "Thule" (later Qaanaaq).

Thule formerly gave its name to the northernmost United States Air Force base, Thule Air Base in northwest Greenland. With the transfer of the base to the US Space Force, its name was changed to Pituffik Space Base on April 6, 2023.

  1. ^ "Thule". Oxford English Dictionary second edition. Oxford University Press. 1989. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ Ampelius, Lucius (c. 217). Liber Memorialis. p. 6.
  3. ^ "Raamat: Saaremaa ongi Ultima Thule". 2015-10-16.
  4. ^ "Saaremaal arutati, kuidas Ultima Thule müüti turundamisel ära kasutada". 2015-12-12.
  5. ^ Andreas Kleineberg, Christian Marx, Eberhard Knobloch und Dieter Lelgemann: Germania und die Insel Thule. Die Entschlüsselung von Ptolemaios' "Atlas der Oikumene". Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2010.
  6. ^ Herrero, Nieves; Roseman, Sharon R. (2015). The Tourism Imaginary and Pilgrimages to the Edges of the World. Channel View Publications. p. 122. ISBN 9781845415235.
  7. ^ "English Dictionary, Thesaurus, & grammar help | Oxford Dictionaries".[dead link‍]
  8. ^ Bostock & Riley (1893) page 352 (on "Chapter 30 (16) – Britannia") assert: "Opinions as to the identity of ancient Thule have been numerous in the extreme." The notes on Book IV of Pliny in an 1829 translation into French by Ajasson de Grandsagne mention six, which are taken word-for-word in translation by Bostock & Riley (their words in quotes): ―
    • "That Thule is the island of Iceland." Burton (1875) pages 1, 25.
    • "That it is either the Ferroe Group, or one of those islands." Burton pages 22–23.
    • "The notion of Ortelius, Farnaby, and Schœnning, that it is identical with Thylemark in Norway." Burton page 25.
    • "The opinion of Malte Brun, that the continental portion of Denmark is meant thereby, a part of which is to the present day called Thy or Thyland." Fotheringham (1862) page 497.
    • "The opinion of Rudbeck and of Calstron, borrowed originally from Procopius, that this is a general name for the whole of Scandinavia." Grandsagne (1829) page 338: "L'idée de Rudbeck ... et de Calstron ... due originairement à Procope, qui ... a prononcé nettement que sous ce nom était comprise toute la Scandinavie." The reference is to Procopius Book III No. 4.
    • "That of Gosselin, who thinks that under this name [[Mainland, Shetland|]], the principal of the Shetland Islands, is meant. The reference to "Gosselin" or elsewhere "M. Gosselin" and his monumental work dating from the time of the French Revolution is much copied even though miscited. ("M." stands for Monsieur.) The Library of Congress catalog cites the work as: Gossellin, Pascal François Joseph (1813) [1798]. Recherches sur la géographie systématique et positive anciens; pour servir de base à l'histoire de la géographie ancienne. Paris: L'imprimerie de la république [etc.] an VI. LCCN 02007793.
    The Thule reference is to be found here Vol 4 page 162 Bostock and Riley continue: "It is by no means impossible that under the name of Thule two or more of these localities may have been meant, by different authors writing at distant periods and under different states of geographical knowledge. It is also pretty generally acknowledged, as Parisot remarks, that the Thule mentioned by Ptolemy is identical with Thylemark in Norway."