The idea that there must be a large mountain of lodestone called Rupes Nigra at the North Pole to account for the earth's magnetism goes back to at least the 13th century, not long after the invention of the compass. It was held to be surrounded by four islands with inward- flowing rivers, great mountains and inhabited by Pygmies. The source of this mythical polar geography is a lost work by an unknown author of the 14th century. The book was called the 'Inventio fortunata'. The geography attributed to it described bear remarkable resemblances to Hindu, Islamic and Buddhist cosmologies.<br /><br />Sources: <br />Wikipedia: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupes_Nigra" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupes_Nigra</a>, <a href="http://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/878370" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/878370</a> <br />Chet Van Duzer - <a href="https://stanford.academia.edu/ChetVanDuzer" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://stanford.academia.edu/ChetVanDuzer</a> <br />'The Mythic Geography of the Northern Polar Regions: Inventio fortunata and Buddhist Cosmology'<br /><br />If you'd like to contribute a transcription in your language, please submit it via this link <a href="http://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?c=UCe7wDjqjIVyFDS9bxm1esBA&tab=2" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?c=UCe7wDjqjIVyFDS9bxm1esBA&tab=2</a><br />...<br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJZ-BABShFI" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJZ-BABShFI</a>