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Vinland, a name given to a
portion of North America discovered by the Scandinavian navigators,
because of the abundance of grapes found there. See
NORTHMEN IN AMERICA.
The famous Saga of Eric the Red, which gives the original accounts
of the Northmen's voyages to Vinland, exists in two different
versions, that known as the Hauksbok, written by Ralik Erlendsson
between 1305 and 1334, and that made about 1387 by the priest Jon
Thordharson, contained in the compilation known as the Flateyarbok,
or " Flat Island Book." Jon used parts of the original saga, and
added a considerable amount of material concerning the Vinland
voyages derived from other sources, to us unknown. It is this second
version which is reproduced, almost in its entirety.
The Vinland voyages belong to about the year 1000.
These Icelandic chronicles belong therefore to a date three
centuries later. They were doubtless based upon earlier writings
which had come down from the times of Leif and Thorfinn, subject to
the various influences which affected similar writings at that
period the world over. An interesting and valuable confirmation of
the simple fact of the visit of the Northmen to " Vinland " is given
us by Adam of Bremen, who visited Denmark between 1047 and 1073,
when the voyages would have been within the memory of living men and
natural subjects of conversation. In speaking of the Scandinavian
countries, in his book, Adam describes the colonies in Iceland and
Greenland, and says that there is another country or island beyond,
which is called Vinland, on account of the wild grapes that grow
there. He makes the assertion that corn also grows in Vinland
without cultivation; and, thinking this may seem strange to European
readers, he adds that his statement is based upon "trustworthy
reports of the Danes."
The great work of Professor Charles Christian Rafn,
of Copenhagen, Antiquitates Americanae, published in 1837,
first brought these Icelandic sagas prominently before modern
scholars. Professor Rafn's work was most elaborate and thorough, and
very little in the way of new material has been given us since his
time, although his theories and the general subject of the
Northmen's voyages and the whereabouts of Vinland have been
discussed in numberless volumes during the fifty years since he
wrote. Perhaps the most valuable work is that by Arthur Middleton
Reeves. The title of Mr. Reeves's work is The Finding of Wineland
the Good: The History of the Icelandic Discovery of America (London,
1890). This work contains phototype plates of the original Icelandic
vellums, English translations of the two sagas, and very thorough
historical accounts and critical discussions. The translation used
here is that of Mr. Reeves. De Costa's Precolumbian Discovery of
America by the Northmen and Slafter's Voyages of the Northmen to
America are earlier works of high authority, going over the
same ground and also containing translations of the sagas. Dr.
Slafter's book has an added value from its critical accounts of all
the important works on the subject which had appeared up to that
time (1877). A completer bibliography, now accessible, is that by
Justin Winsor, appended to his chapter on " Pre-Columbian
Explorations " in the Narrative and Critical History of America,
vol. i.
The best popular account of the Norsemen and their voyages is that
by Mr. Fiske, in his Discovery of America, vol. i., chap. ii. Mr.
Fiske is refreshingly sound and sane in his treatment of the whole
subject, which with so many writers has been a field for the wildest
speculations. He shows the absurdity of the earlier writers who used
to associate the Old Mill at Newport and the inscriptions on the
Dighton rock with the Northmen, and the slight grounds on which, at
the present time, enthusiasts like Professor Horsford have attempted
to determine details so exactly as to claim that Leif Erikson
settled on the banks of Charles River. " On the whole," concludes
Mr. Fiske, " we may say with some confidence that the place
described by our chroniclers as Vinland was situated somewhere
between Point Judith and Cape Breton; possibly we may narrow our
limits, and say that it was somewhere between Cape Cod and Cape Ann.
But the latter conclusion is much less secure than the former. In
such a case as this, the more we narrow our limits, the greater our
liability to error."
ROCK AT DIGHTON, MASS., BEARING A
SUPPOSED VIKING INSCRIPTION.
It should be said that many scholarly
investigators hold that all the conditions of the descriptions of
Vinland in the sagas are met by the shores of Labrador and
Newfoundland, although the weight of opinion is in favor of the New
England coast. The accounts themselves make any exacter
determination impossible; and no genuine Norse remains have ever
been discovered in New England.
The claim that
Columbus knew of these discoveries
of the Northmen is quite improbable. He simply set out to find a
western route to Asia. The course of his voyage was not such as he
would have taken had he had in mind the Vinland of the Northmen; and
he made no mention of Vinland in favor of his expedition at the
Spanish Court. Had he known of it, he certainly would have mentioned
it; for, as Colonel Higginson so well says (see his Larger History
of the United States), for the purpose of his argument, " an ounce
of Vinland would have been worth a pound of cosmography."
The Voyages to Vinland.
From the saga of Eric the Red.
Translated by Arthur
Middleton Reeves.
After that sixteen winters had elapsed, from the
time when Eric the Red went to colonize Greenland, Leif, Eric's son,
sailed out from Greenland to Norway. He arrived in Drontheim in the
autumn, when King Olaf Tryggvason was come down from the North, out
of Halagoland. Leif put into Nidaros with his ship, and set out at
once to visit the king. King Olaf expounded the faith to him, as he
did to other heathen men who came to visit him. It proved easy for
the king to persuade Leif, and he was accordingly baptized, together
with all of his shipmates. Leif remained throughout the winter with
the king, by whom he was well entertained.
Heriulf was a son of Bard Heriulfsson. He was a
kinsman of Ingolf, the first colonist. Ingolf allotted land to
Heriulf between Vag and Reykianess, and he dwelt at first at
Drepstokk. Heriulf's wife's name was Thorgerd, and their son, whose
name was Biarni, was a most promising man. He formed an inclination
for voyaging while he was still young, and he prospered both in
property and public esteem. It was his custom to pass his winters
alternately abroad and with his father. Biarni soon became the owner
of a trading-ship; and during the last winter that he spent in
Norway [his father] Heriulf determined to accompany Eric on his
voyage to Greenland, and made his preparations to give up his farm.
Upon the ship with Heriulf was a Christian man from the Hebrides, he
it was who composed the Sea - Roller's Song, which contains this
stave:
" Mine adventure to the Meek One,
Monk-heart-searcher, I commit now ; He, who heaven's halls
doth govern, Hold the hawk's-seat ever o'er me !"
Heriulf settled at Heriulfsness, and was a most
distinguished man. Eric the Red dwelt at Brattahlid, where he was
held in the highest esteem, and all men paid him homage. These were
Eric's children: Leif, Thorvald, and Thorstein, and a daughter whose
name was Freydis; she was wedded to a man named Thorvard, and they
dwelt at Gardar, where the episcopal seat now is. She was a very
haughty woman, while Thorvard was a man of little force of
character, and Freydis had been wedded to him chiefly because of his
wealth. At that time the people of Greenland were heathen.
VIKINGS' WAR-SHIP, ENGRAVED ON A
ROCK IN NORWAY.
Biarni arrived with his ship at Eyrar [in Iceland]
in the summer of the same year, in the spring of which his father
had sailed away. Biarni was much surprised when he heard this news,
and would not discharge his cargo. His shipmates inquired of him
what he intended to do, and he replied that it was his purpose to
keep to his custom, and make his home for the winter with his
father; " And I will take the ship to Greenland, if you will bear me
company." They all replied that they would abide by his decisien.
Then said Biarni, " Our voyage must be regarded as foolhardy, seeing
that no one of us has ever been in the Greenland Sea."
 Nevertheless,
they put out to sea when they were equipped for the voyage, and
sailed for three days, until the land was hidden by the water, and
then the fair wind died out, and north winds arose, and fogs, and
they knew not whither they were drifting, and thus it lasted for
many " doegr." Then they saw the sun again, and were able to
determine the quarters of the heavens ; they hoisted sail, and
sailed that " doegr " through before they saw land. They discussed
among themselves what land it could be, and Biarni said that he did
not believe that it could be Greenland. They asked whether he wished
to sail to this land or not. " it is my counsel " [said he] " to
sail close to the land." They did so, and soon saw that the land was
level, and covered with woods, and that there were small hillocks
upon it. They left the land on their larboard, and let the sheet
turn toward the land. They sailed for two " doegr " before they saw
another land. They asked whether Biarni thought this was Greenland
yet. He replied that he did not think this any more like Greenland
than the former, because in Greenland there are said to be many
great ice mountains." They soon approached this Iand, and saw that
it was a flat and wooded country. The fair wind failed them then,
and the crew took counsel together, and concluded that it would be
wise to land there, but Biarni would not consent to this. They
alleged that they were in need of both wood and water. " Ye have no
lack of either of these," says Biarni, a course, forsooth, which won
him blame among his shipmates. He bade them hoist sail, which they
did, and turning the prow from the land, they sailed out upon the
high seas, with south-westerly gales, for three " doegr," when they
saw the third land; this land was high and mountainous, with ice
mountains upon it. They asked Biarni then whether he would land
there, and he replied that he was not disposed to do so, " because
this land does not appear to me to offer any attractions." Nor did
they lower their sail, but held their course off the land, and saw
that it was an island. They left this land astern, and held out to
sea with the same fair wind. The wind waxed amain, and Biarni
directed them to reef, and not to sail at a speed unbefitting their
ship and rigging. They sailed now for four " doegr," when they saw
the fourth land. Again they asked Biarni whether he thought this
could be Greenland or not. Biarni answers, " This is likest
Greenland, according to that which has been reported to me
concerning it, and here we will steer to the land." They directed
their course thither, and landed in the evening, below a cape upon
which there was a boat, and there, upon this cape, dwelt Heriulf,
Biarni's father, whence the cape took its name, and was afterwards
called Heriulfsness. Biarni now went to his father, gave up his
voyaging, and remained with his father while Heriulf lived, and
continued to live there after his father.
Next to this is now to be told how Biarni
Heriulfsson came out from Greenland on a visit to Earl Eric, by whom
he was well received. Biarni gave an account of his travels [upon
the occasion] when he saw the lands, and the people thought that he
had been lacking in enterprise, since he had no report to give
concerning these countries; and the fact brought him reproach.
Biarni was appointed one of the Earl's men, and went out to
Greenland the following summer. There was now much talk about
voyages of discovery. Leif, the son of Eric the Red, of Brattahlid,
visited Biarni Heriulfsson and bought a ship of him, and collected a
crew, until they formed altogether a company of thirty-five men.
Leif invited his father, Eric, to become the leader of the
expedition, but Eric declined, saying that he was then stricken in
years, and adding that he was less able to endure the exposure of
sea life than he had been. Leif replied that he would nevertheless
be the one who would be most apt to bring good luck, and Eric
yielded to Leif's solicitation, and rode from home when they were
ready to sail. When he was but a short distance from the ship, the
horse which Eric was riding stumbled, and he was thrown from his
back and wounded his foot, whereupon he exclaimed, " It is not
designed for me to discover more lands than the one in which we are
now living, nor can we now continue longer together." Eric returned
home to Brattahlid, and Leif pursued his way to the ship with his
companions, thirty-five men. One of the company was a German, named
Tyrker. They put the ship in order; and, when they were ready, they
sailed out to sea, and found first that land which Biarni and his
shipmates found last. They sailed up to the land, and cast anchor,
and launched a boat, and went ashore, and saw no grass there. Great
ice mountains lay inland back from the sea, and it was as a
[tableland of] flat rock all the way from the sea to the ice
mountains; and the country seemed to them to be entirely devoid of
good qualities. Then said Leif, " It has not come to pass with us in
regard to this land as with Biarni, that we have not gone upon it.
To this country I will now give a name, and call it Helluland." They
returned to the ship, put out to sea, and found a second land. They
sailed again to the land, and came to anchor, and launched the boat,
and went ashore. This was a level wooded land; and there were broad
stretches of white sand where they went, and the land was level by
the sea. Then said Leif, " This land shall have a name after its
nature; and we will call it Markland." They returned to the ship
forthwith, and sailed away upon the main with northeast winds, and
were out two " doegr " before they sighted land. They sailed toward
this land, and came to an island which lay to the northward off the
land. There they went ashore and looked about them, the weather
being fine, and they observed that there was dew upon the grass, and
it so happened that they touched the dew with their hands, and
touched their hands to their mouths, and it seemed to them that they
had never before tasted anything so sweet as this. They went aboard
their ship again and sailed into a certain sound, which lay between
the island and a cape, which jutted out from the land on the north,
and they stood in westering past the cape. At ebb-tide there were
broad reaches of shallow water there, and they ran their ship
aground there, and it was a long distance from the ship to the
ocean; yet were they so anxious to go ashore that they could not
wait until the tide should rise under their ship, but hastened to
the land, where a certain river flows out from the lake. As soon as
the tide rose beneath their ship, however, they took the boat and
rowed to the ship, which they conveyed up the river, and so into the
lake, where they cast anchor and carried their hammocks ashore from
the ship, and built themselves booths there. They afterward
deter-mined to establish themselves there for the winter, and they
accordingly built a large house. There was no lack of salmon there
either in the river or in the lake, and larger salmon than they had
ever seen before. The country thereabouts seemed to be possessed of
such good qualities that cattle would need no fodder there during
the winters. There was no frost there in the winters, and the grass
withered but little. The days and nights there were of more equal
length than in Greenland or Iceland. On the shortest day of winter
the sun was up between " eyktarstad " and " dagmalastad." When they
had completed their house, Leif said to his companions, " I propose
now to divide our company into two groups, and to set about an
exploration of the country. One-half of our party shall remain at
home at the house, while the other half shall investigate the land;
and they must not go beyond a point from which they can return home
the same evening, and are not to separate [from each other]. Thus
they did for a time. Leif, himself, by turns joined the exploring
party, or remained behind at the house. Leif was a large and
powerful man, and of a most imposing bearing, a man of sagacity, and
a very just man in all things.
It was discovered one evening that one of their
company was missing; and this proved to be Tyrker, the German. Leif
was sorely troubled by this, for Tyrker had lived with Leif and his
father for a long time, and had been very devoted to Leif when he
was a child. Leif severely reprimanded his companions, and prepared
to go in search of him, taking twelve men with him. They had
proceeded but a short distance from the house, when they were met by
Tyrker, whom they received most cordially. Leif observed at once
that his foster-father was in lively spirits. Tyrker had a prominent
forehead, restless eyes, small features, was diminutive in stature,
and rather a sorry-looking individual withal, but was, nevertheless,
a most capable handicraftsman. Leif addressed him, and asked, "
Wherefore art thou so belated, foster-father mine, and astray from
the others ?" In the beginning Tyrker spoke for some time in German,
rolling his eyes and grinning, and they could not understand him;
but after a time he addressed them in the Northern tongue: " I did
not go much further [than you], and yet I have something of novelty
to relate. I have found vines and grapes." " Is this indeed true,
foster-father ?" said Leif. " Of a certainty it is true," quoth he,
" for I was born where there is no lack of either grapes or vines."
They slept the night through, and on the morrow Leif said to his
shipmates, " We will now divide our labors, and each day will either
gather grapes or cut vines and fell trees, so as to obtain a cargo
of these for my ship." They acted upon this advice, and it is said
that their after-boat was filled with grapes. A cargo sufficient for
the ship was cut, and when the spring came they made their ship
ready, and sailed away ; and from its products Leif gave the land a
name, and called it Wineland. They sailed out to sea, and had fair
winds until they sighted Greenland, and the fellsbelow the glaciers.
Then one of the men spoke up and said, " Why do you steer the ship
so much into the wind?" Leif answers: " I have my mind upon my
steering, but on other matters as well. Do ye not see anything out
of the common ?" They replied that they saw nothing strange. " I do
not know," says Leif, " whether it is a ship or a skerry that I
see." Now they saw it, and said that it must be a skerry; but he was
so much keener of sight than they that he was able to discern men
upon the skerry. " I think it best to tack," says Leif, " so that we
may draw near to them, that we may be able to render them assistance
if they should stand in need of it; and, if they should not be
peaceably disposed, we shall still have better command of the
situation than they." They approached the skerry, and, lowering
their sail, cast anchor, and launched a second small boat, which
they had brought with them. Tyrker inquired who was the leader of
the party. He replied that his name was Thori, and that he was a
Norseman; " but what is thy name ?" Leif gave his name. " Art thou a
son of Eric the Red of Brattahlid?" says he. Leif responded that he
was: " It is now my wish," says Leif, " to take you all into my
ship, and likewise so much of your possessions as the ship will
hold." This offer was accepted, and [with their ship] thus laden
they held away to Ericsfirth, and sailed until they arrived at
Brattahlid. Having discharged the cargo, Leif invited Thori, with
his wife, Gudrid, and three others, to make their home with him, and
procured quarters for the other members of the crew, both for his
own and Thori's men. Leif rescued fifteen persons from the skerry.
He was afterwards called Leif the Lucky. Leif had now goodly store
both of property and honor. There was serious illness that winter in
Thori's party, and Thori and a great number of his people died. Eric
the Red also died that winter. There was now much talk about Leif's
Wineland journey; and his brother, Thorvald, held that the country
had not been sufficiently explored. Thereupon Leif said to Thorvald,
" If it be thy will, brother, thou mayest go to Wineland with my
ship; but I wish the ship first to fetch the wood which Thori had
upon the skerry." And so it was done.
Now Thorvald, with the advice of his brother,
Leif, prepared to make this voyage with thirty men. They put their
ship in order, and sailed out to sea; and there is no account of
their voyage before their arrival at Leifs-booths in Wineland. They
laid up their ship there, and remained there quietly during the
winter, supplying themselves with food by fishing. In the spring,
however, Thorvald said that they should put their ship in order, and
that a few men should take the after-boat, and proceed along the
western coast, and explore [the region] thereabouts during the
summer. They found it a fair, well-wooded country. It was but a
short distance from the woods to the sea, and [there were] white
sands, as well as great numbers of islands and shallows. They found
neither dwelling of man nor lair of beast; but in one of the
westerly islands they found a wooden building for the shelter of
grain. They found no other trace of human handiwork; and they turned
back, and arrived at Leifs-booths in the autumn. The following
summer Thorvald set out toward the east with the ship, and along the
northern coast. They were met by a high wind off a certain
promontory, and were driven ashore there, and damaged the keel of
their ship, and were compelled to remain there for a long time and
repair the injury to their vessel. Then said Thorvald to his
companions, " I propose that we raise the keel upon this cape, and
call it Keelness "; and so they did. Then they sailed away to the
eastward off the land and into the mouth of the adjoining firth and
to a headland, which projected into the sea there, and which was
entirely covered with woods. They found an anchorage for their ship,
and put out the gangway to the land; and Thorvald and all of his
companions went ashore. " It is a fair region here," said he; " and
here I should like to make my home." They then returned to the ship,
and discovered on the sands, in beyond the headland, three mounds:
they went up to these, and saw that they were three skin canoes with
three men under each. They thereupon divided their party, and
succeeded in seizing all of the men but one, who escaped with his
canoe. They killed the eight men, and then ascended the headland
again, and looked about them, and discovered within the firth
certain hillocks, which they concluded must be habitations. They
were then so overpowered with sleep that they could not keep awake,
and all fell into a [heavy] slumber from which they were awakened by
the sound of a cry uttered above them; and the words of the cry were
these: " Awake, Thorvald, thou and all thy company, if thou wouldst
save thy life; and board thy ship with all thy men, and sail with
all speed from the land!" A countless number of skin canoes then
advanced toward them from the inner part of the firth, whereupon
Thorvald exclaimed, " We must put out the warboards on both sides of
the ship, and defend ourselves to the best of our ability, but offer
little attack." This they did; and the Skrellings, after they had
shot at them for a time, fled precipitately, each as best he could.
Thorvald then inquired of his men whether any of them had been
wounded, and they informed him that no one of them had received a
wound. " I have been wounded in my armpit," says he. " An arrow flew
in between the gunwale and the shield, below my arm. Here is the
shaft, and it will bring me to my end. I counsel you now to retrace
your way with the utmost speed. But me ye shall convey to that
headland which seemed to me to offer so pleasant a dwelling-place:
thus it may be fulfilled that the truth sprang to my lips when I
expressed the wish to abide there for a time. Ye shall bury me
there, and place a cross at my head, and another at my feet, and
call it Crossness forever after." At that time Christianity had
obtained in Greenland: Eric the Red died, however, before [the
introduction of] Christianity.
Thorvald died: and, when they had carried out his
injunctions, they took their departure and rejoined their
companions, and they told each other of the experiences which had
befallen them. They remained there during the winter, and gathered
grapes and wood with which to freight the ship. In the following
spring they returned to Greenland, and arrived with their ship in
Ericsfirth, where they were able to recount great tidings to Leif. |
