a-l-ancien-regime: Heart-shaped map of Terra Australis the “unknown land of the South&
a-l-ancien-regime: Heart-shaped map of Terra Australis the “unknown land of the South" Recens et integra orbis descriptio, Oroncio Phineas (1536) Paris, 1536. Woodcut and watercolor BNF Terra Australis, Terra Australis Ignota, Terra Australis Incognita (“The unknown land of the South”) or Terra Australis Nondum Cognita (“The Southern Land Not Yet Known”) was a hypothesized continent appearing on European maps from the 15th to the 18th century. Other names for the continent include Magallanica or Magellanica (“the land of Magellan”), La Australia del Espíritu Santo (Spanish: “the southern land of the Holy Spirit”), and La grande isle de Java (French: “the great island of Java”). Terra Australis was one of several names applied to the largest landmass of what is now known as the continent of Oceania, after its European discovery; it is the root of the modern name of Australia. -- source link