Vikings in America
VIKINGS IN AMERICA? who am I?
Voyage to a new land
The Vikings loved their stories – “sagas” – good to fill in the time in those long, dark winters. For a long time historians have known of stories which appear to describe Vikings traveling to America, although not everyone was convinced it really happened. We are going to take a closer look at the evidence, and investigate this for ourselves. Let’s start with a primary source, an extract from one of those ancient sagas:
We join Leif Eriksson as he leads his crew from Labrador - which he named "Woodland" - to Newfoundland.
"Now sailed they thence into the open sea with a northeast wind, and were two days at sea before they saw land, and they sailed thither and came to an island which lay to the eastward of the land, and went up there and looked round them in good weather, and observed that there was dew upon the grass. And it so happened that they touched the dew with their hands, and raised the fingers to the mouth, and they thought that they had never before tasted anything so sweet.
After that they went to the ship and sailed into a sound which lay between the island and a promontory which ran out to the eastward of the land, and then steered westward past the promontory.
It was very shallow at ebb tide, and their ship stood up so that it was far to see from the ship to the water. But so much did they desire to land that they did not give themselves time to wait until the water again rose under their ship, but ran at once on shore at a place where a river flows out of a lake. But so soon as the waters rose up under the ship, then took they boats, and rowed to the ship, and floated it up the river, and thence into the lake, and there cast anchor, and brought up from the ship their bedding, and set up tents.
After this they discussed their plans and formed the resolution of remaining there for the winter, and built there large houses. There was salmon in the river and in the lake, and larger salmon than
Voyage to a new land
The Vikings loved their stories – “sagas” – good to fill in the time in those long, dark winters. For a long time historians have known of stories which appear to describe Vikings traveling to America, although not everyone was convinced it really happened. We are going to take a closer look at the evidence, and investigate this for ourselves. Let’s start with a primary source, an extract from one of those ancient sagas:
We join Leif Eriksson as he leads his crew from Labrador - which he named "Woodland" - to Newfoundland.
"Now sailed they thence into the open sea with a northeast wind, and were two days at sea before they saw land, and they sailed thither and came to an island which lay to the eastward of the land, and went up there and looked round them in good weather, and observed that there was dew upon the grass. And it so happened that they touched the dew with their hands, and raised the fingers to the mouth, and they thought that they had never before tasted anything so sweet.
After that they went to the ship and sailed into a sound which lay between the island and a promontory which ran out to the eastward of the land, and then steered westward past the promontory.
It was very shallow at ebb tide, and their ship stood up so that it was far to see from the ship to the water. But so much did they desire to land that they did not give themselves time to wait until the water again rose under their ship, but ran at once on shore at a place where a river flows out of a lake. But so soon as the waters rose up under the ship, then took they boats, and rowed to the ship, and floated it up the river, and thence into the lake, and there cast anchor, and brought up from the ship their bedding, and set up tents.
After this they discussed their plans and formed the resolution of remaining there for the winter, and built there large houses. There was salmon in the river and in the lake, and larger salmon than