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Ocean Sea

Ancient name
Oceanus
Europeans of this period believed that the three known continents of the Earth (Africa, Asia, and Europe) only covered about a third of the globe, and the other two-thirds was entirely water, a single sea to which they gave the name “Ocean”.
This toponym does not appear in the poem, only on the maps accompanying it.

Variant spellings of Ocean Sea in Sfera manuscripts

Variant Manuscripts
M[ARE] DINDIA E OCCEANO Pnc5
mare indi[a]no over occeano Par1
Mare magiore Luc2, Med1
MARE OCCEANO Luc2, Med1
Mccieano Yale4
Meo rano He3
Occeano Ashb4, Clas2, Magl2, Marc1, Parm2
occeano Fo, Laur5
OCCEANO Fn9, He2, Laur3, NB, To2
Occiano Bal
occieano Pal8, Ricc15
OCCIEANO Ricc8
Suggested citation
Beneš, Carrie. “Ocean Sea.” Gregorio Dati’s La sfera = The Globe: A Digital Edition, February 10, 2026. https://la-sfera-staging-a8db029690a6.herokuapp.com/toponyms/ocean-sea/.