Mediaeval and modern history . he prop and bulwark of the royal power; while thegreat ocean voyages of the times were rendered pos-sible only by the improvement of the mariners com-pass,^ whose trusty guidance emboldened the navigatorto quit the shore and push out upon hithertountraversed seas. 303. Maritime Explorations ; the Terrorsof the Ocean. —To appreciate the greatnessof the achievements of the navigators andexplorers of the age of geographical dis-covery, we need to bear in mind with whatterrors the mediaeval imagination had in-vested the unknown regions of the the popular con
Mediaeval and modern history . he prop and bulwark of the royal power; while thegreat ocean voyages of the times were rendered pos-sible only by the improvement of the mariners com-pass,^ whose trusty guidance emboldened the navigatorto quit the shore and push out upon hithertountraversed seas. 303. Maritime Explorations ; the Terrorsof the Ocean. —To appreciate the greatnessof the achievements of the navigators andexplorers of the age of geographical dis-covery, we need to bear in mind with whatterrors the mediaeval imagination had in-vested the unknown regions of the the popular conception these parts werehaunted by demons and dragons and mon-sters of every kind. The lands were shroudedin eternal mists and darkness. The seas werefilled with awful whirlpools and treacherouscurrents, and shallowed into vast in the Atlantic, so a popular superstition taught, was the mouthof hell; the red glow cast upon the sun at its setting was heldto be positive evidence of this. Away to the south, under the. Fig. 53. — A ChineseMagnet Figure(After Beazley) A rude form of the com-pass used by earlyChinese Thelittle wooden figure wasset on a pivot, and inthe outstretched armwas placed a bar ofmagnetized iron 2 It is a disputed question as to what people should be given the credit of the dis-covery of the properties of the magnetic needle. In a very primitive form the compasswas certainly in use among the Chinese as early as the eighth century of our is no reliable record of its use by European navigators before about the middleof the thirteenth century. It seems most probable that a knowledge of the instrumentwas gained in the East by the crusaders. 2/8 BEGINNINGS OF MODERN COLONIZATION equator, there was believed to be an impassable belt of fire. Thiswas a very persistent idea, and was not dispelled until men hadactually sailed beyond the equatorial regions. 304. Portuguese Explorations; Prince Henry the Navigator. —Many incentives con
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