An inveterate daydreamer, I’m excited by
names bearing magic. “The Seven Seas” is a phrase which has been used by numerous cultures to
signify different locations both geographical and imaginary, the first recorded
use being Sumerian in 2300 BC. Since
then the sailing of various seven seas has been documented by voyagers
worldwide. Some authors diligently
recorded their experiences, fraught with pirates, wars, wild animals and
strange customs. Others used high
imagination to embellish their tales.
Sources I have read are medieval European and Islamic. I travelled down my own voyage of discovery,
uncovering beautifully shaped sailing vessels, intricate sailors’ maps, and
legends which shape shift from one location to another.
In the ninth century AD al-Ya’qubi listed the seven seas which formed
the maritime trade route from the Persian Gulf to the South China Seas, and I
took the names and characteristics of these waterways as the impetus for this
series. In the 1300s Ibn Battuta, a
Moroccan Berber best known for his book of travels, spent thirty years
wandering the globe from Africa to China.
He wrote copious observations on his 75,000 mile journey throughout the
Muslim world, laden with adventures.
John Mandeville was purported to be an English knight, whose remarkable
collection of anecdotes was probably a potpourri of tales embellished by his vivid imagination. The book was originally
published in French in 1356, and was hugely popular throughout Europe, being
treated as a work of reference. It
appeared in English in 1375.
Plants which sprout tiny lambs, dog-headed men wearing rubies, castles
which vanish at sunrise, dragons, cockodrills and basilisks. Giants, fairies, djinn and devils. Women with eyes of diamond who burn their
babies. Great birds that carry off
elephants, and trees which bear beautiful but ephemeral women; speaking puppets
and oracular snakes.
What more could a daydreamer want?
