Thule

For other uses, see Thule (disambiguation).

File:Thule (carta marina).PNG

Thule as Tile on the Carta Marina by Olaus Magnus.

Thule or Tile is in classic sources a place, usually an island, in the far north, often Scandinavia. Ultima Thule in medieval geographers may also denote any distant place located beyond the "borders of the known world".

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 six days north of Britain, and 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; other historians think it was the Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands or Iceland, however.

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 Iceland, such as by Bremen's Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church, where he probably cites old writers' usage of Thule.

Modern use

Nazi mystics hunted all over the world for a historical Thule, which they believed was the ancient homeland of the Aryan race.

A settlement in Greenland was named Thule after the old tradition. This led to the ironic and somewhat confusing naming of the Asiatic "Thule People," the proto-culture of the modern-day Eskimo/Inuit peoples. This town's name was later changed to Qaanaaq.

The name of Cthulhu, the tentacle-headed monster in H.P. Lovecraft's story The Call of Cthulhu, may also be derived from Thule.

Ultima Thule is also the name of a Estonian rock band.

Ultima Thule is also the name of a Swedish rock band. 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".

Vladimir Nabokov worked on a story entitled Ultima Thule, aspects of which eventually came to be essential parts of his novel Pale Fire.

See also

• Aristeas Another Greek voyage to the far north.
• Phantom island
• Thule Society