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Gerardus Mercator writing in his 1595 atlas stated: Only two habitations in the extreme North, namely in Greenland, are known to us, Alba (11°W, 74°45'N) and St Thomas monastery (16°W 75°12'N).

The monastery likely stems from a legendary miracle recounted in the 14th-century travelogue of Sir John Mandeville. The story is set in Tile (Thule) - the furthest isle of the world inhabited by men.

When the Christian king of this isle fell sick and was on his deathbed, St. Thomas of Canterbury appeared to him in a vision, instructing the king to build a church dedicated to him. As soon as the first stone was laid, the king's illness lifted.