This quote from Beowulf (975-1025) is representative of the fears that mankind held for centuries regarding the oceans. Such long-held trepidation regarding water make it no surprise that images of sea monsters found their way onto some of the earliest maps mankind created.
In Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), the Inuit people are known for carving portable maps out of driftwood to be used while navigating coastal waters. These pieces, which are small enough to be carried in a mitten, represent coastlines in a continuous line, up one side of the wood and down the other.