What did European mapmakers in the middle ages sometimes leave empty spots on their maps?
The map makers didn’t know what was there. People didn’t travel long distances in the middle ages and the trade routes were along the coastlines so they hadn’t gone across vast oceans. Not only didn’t they have the ability, but there were superstitions that kept them close to home. One was that there were islands in the oceans that were made of magnets and if a ship got too close it would pull out all the nails sinking the boat. There was also no real need to want to explore.
