Legend of Machin and the possible discovery of Madeira

[aukepalmhof]

Once upon a time, in the mid fourteenth century, an English nobleman, Sir Robert Machin (or Machyn) breaks the rules of etiquette by falling in love with Ana d’Erfert, a “most exquisite” young lady from a wealthy and noble family. Ana’s father has pledged her to a nobleman of much higher rank; through he is fully aware that Ana had fallen “madly” in love with Machin. Her father has the wedding date brought forward, and Machin is thrown into prison.

Machin somehow escapes and the young lovers flee and board a ship for France. Their voyage to France is met by a storm that sends their ship drifting at sea. After fourteen days, and only by Good Graces of God, they come ashore in a beautiful bay surrounded by woods on an uninhabited island.
The lovers accompanied by members of the crew and loyal servants, spend three “happy” days on the island. Then when they decided to return to the ship, another storm appears and the ship is destroyed. A frail and weary Ana despairs, and dies in the arms of her lover of a broke heart. Machin, grief-stricken buries his beloved Ana and places wreaths of flowers on her grave.

Legend continues this version of the tale by noting that the remaining surviving members of the crew and servants bury Machin next to his beloved Ana.
They build a makeshift raft and attempt to sail back to England, only to crash on the Moroccan coast, where they are captured and imprisoned. Their accounting of the events as told to fellow prisoners reaches the ears of nobles in Portugal. It is these accounts that “ignite” Portugal’s interest in future exploration of this region.
It is further noted that the wooden island mentioned in this version is said to have been the Island of Madeira, and the area where Ana and Robert were buried is the coastal village known today as Machico.

Conflicting details surround the information as to when and who discovered the Archipelago of Madeira. In early Roman writings, mention is made of “The Purple Islands”, there geographical description suggest them to be the Madeira group. Further documentation records that the Castilians as early as 1342 had taken part in expeditions to the Canary Islands. All that would be needed to bring these expeditions into waters from which Madeira, Porto Santo or the Desertas might be seen.

Madeira 1997 100e sg?, scott?

Source: Various web-sites and down loaded from http://www.geocities.com/papagaia2/legend.htm