Compass-Based Sea Routes

Regular long-distance maritime routes planned with compass bearings, portolan charts, seasonal winds, and accumulated pilot knowledge.

Core metadata

ID: marine_compass_routes
Era: Medieval
First known date: 1300 (century)
Region: Mediterranean and Atlantic maritime routes
Review status: source_checked
Maturity: N/A

Prerequisites

Dependents

None.

Fields

None.

Node sources

Magnetic compass (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2026, textbook) • Supports: node
Portolan Charts (Library of Congress, 2026, official_agency) • Supports: node

Prerequisite edge evidence

Edge/source evidence summary:

Prerequisite edges: 3
Average edge confidence: 68%
Prerequisite sources: 3
expert_inference: 3

Prerequisite	Type	Confidence	Evidence level	Note	Sources
Dry Compass Navigation (dry_compass_navigation)	enabling	68%	expert_inference	Dry Compass Navigation provides a capability that enables this technology without being the only possible path.	A History of the Ship's Compass (U.S. Naval Institute, 2022, review) • Supports: edge
Portolan Charts & Maritime Navigation (portolan_charts_maritime_navigation)	enabling	68%	expert_inference	Portolan Charts & Maritime Navigation provides a capability that enables this technology without being the only possible path.	Portolan Charts (Library of Congress, 2026, official_agency) • Supports: edge
Navigation (navigation)	enabling	68%	expert_inference	Navigation provides a capability that enables this technology without being the only possible path.	Magnetic compass (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2026, textbook) • Supports: edge

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