The Norse Discoverers of America

About this eBook

Author

Gathorne-Hardy, G. M. (Geoffrey Malcolm), 1878-1972

Title

The Norse discoverers of America : the Wineland sagas translated & discussed

Original Publication

Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1921.

Credits

Charlene Taylor, Robert Tonsing, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Language

English

LoC Class

E011: History: America: America

Subject

America -- Discovery and exploration -- Norse

Category

Text

Project Gutenberg

eBook-No. 76383

Release Date

June 26, 2025

Copyright

Public domain in the USA.

Contents

1. 1.THE NORSE Discoverers of AMERICA
2. 2.CONTENTS
3. 3.INTRODUCTION
4. 4.CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY
5. 5.GENEALOGICAL TABLE
6. 6.§1. ERIC THE RED AND THE COLONIZATION OF GREENLAND
7. 7.§2. THE ADVENTURE OF BJARNI HERJULFSON
8. 8.§3. OF THORBJÖRN VIFILSON
9. 9.§4. GUDRID COMES TO GREENLAND
10. 10.§5. GUDRID AND THE SIBYL
11. 11.§6. LEIF GOES TO NORWAY
12. 12.§7. LEIF DISCOVERS WINELAND
13. 13.§8. THORVALD’S VOYAGE AND DEATH
14. 14.§9. THORSTEIN’S UNSUCCESSFUL VENTURE
15. 15.§10. THE EXPEDITION OF THORFIN KARLSEFNI
16. 16.§11. FREYDIS
17. 17.APPENDIX — 1. Eric the Red. — Eyrbyggja Saga, chap. 24. — From Ari’s Íslendíngabók. — 2. Leif. — Saga of Olaf Tryggvason ( Fríssbók text ). — Kristni Saga ( Hauk’s Book ). — Flatey Book, chap. 352 ( in the body of the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason ). — Saga of Eric the Red and Hauk’s Book, the latter italicized. — Flatey Book. — 3. Thorvald’s Voyage. — Hauk’s Book: the companion text is here badly confused by the copyist. — 4. Thorstein’s Voyage. — Saga of Eric the Red and Hauk’s Book, the latter italicized. — 5. Thorfin Karlsefni. — Flatey Book Version. — 6. Karlsefni’s Descendants. — Saga of Eric the Red with Hauk’s Book. ( The latter italicized. ) — Ari’s Íslendíngabók.
18. 18.I. NATURE OF THE EVIDENCE — Oral Tradition in Iceland. — Ari the Learned. — The Landnámabók. — Adam of Bremen. — Date of the Existing Manuscripts. — Hauk’s Book and the Saga of Eric the Red. — Hauk’s Personal Authority. — Independence of the Flatey Version. — Date of the Flatey Book.
19. 19.II. THE DISCREPANCIES OF THE FLATEY BOOK — Bjarni Herjulfson. — Leif’s Voyage. — Thorvald. — Freydis. — Courses. — The Stranded Whale. — Thori Eastman. — Death of Eric the Red. — A Greenland Saga? — Direct Voyages to Norway.
20. 20.III. THE STORIES AS HISTORY — Admixture of the Supernatural. — Character of Early History. — Dr. Nansen’s Position. — Minor Objections. — Occurrence of Number Three. — The Wild Grapes. — The Corn. — Celtic Legends. — Correspondence with actual Facts.
21. 21.IV. SKRÆLINGS — Testimony of the Íslendíngabók. — The Skræling Canoes. — The Skræling Food. — Personal Appearance. — The Waving Staves. — Trading and Fighting. — The Markland Skrælings. — Hvítramannaland.
22. 22.V. THE ‘DÆGR’ AND ‘EYKTARSTAD’ QUESTIONS — The ‘eyktarstad’ problem.
23. 23.VI. THE VOYAGES. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS — Difficulties of the Task. — The Cardinal Points. — The Labrador Theory. — Storm’s theory—Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia. — Theories including New England. — Postscript on two recent theories.
24. 24.VII. THE VOYAGES IN DETAIL: BJARNI, LEIF, THORVALD — Bjarni Herjulfson. — Leif. — Thorvald.
25. 25.VIII. KARLSEFNI’S EXPEDITION — Date. — Greenland to Helluland. — Markland and Bjarney. — Furdustrands. — Mr. Babcock’s Theory. — Cape Cod as Keelness. — Straumsfjord. — The Situation of Hóp. — The Mountains at Hóp.
26. 26.IX. AFTERMATH AND CONCLUSION. — Entries in the Annals. — The New Land. — The Hönen Runes. — Voyage of Harald Haardraade. — Ideas of Icelandic Geography. — Early Maps. — Conclusion.
27. 27.BIBLIOGRAPHY
28. 28.INDEX

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