Vinland is the name of the territory of North America given by the Icelandic viking Leif Eriksson approximately in 986. In 1960, in the town of L’Ans-o-Meadows on the island of Newfoundland, archaeological evidence of an early Viking settlement was discovered. Currently, this territory belongs to the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Although the hypothesis that the Vikings of the territory of North America long before Christopher Columbus’s travels is considered to be a definitively proven fact, the exact place of their settlement is still the subject of scientific debate. Admittedly, the Vikings did not distinguish between exploration and settlement in Greenland and Vinland. It was simply a continuation of their homeland, and the concept of a different world appeared only after meeting with local tribes, significantly different from the Irish monks in Iceland.
At the moment, it was agreed among scientists that the Vikings among Europeans were indeed the first to discover North America, although this continent was inhabited by indigenous peoples for more than 11 thousand years before. In addition, the first genetic contact between Europeans and North Americans was also due to the Vikings who brought an American woman to Iceland at the turn of the first and second millennia, and whose genotype is still traced in this country.
Documents
The first mentions of Vinland are contained in the book Descriptio insularum Aquilonis, written around 1075, by Adam of Bremen. Before writing his work, he visited the Danish king Sven II Estridsen, aware of the northern territories.
The main source of information about the travels of the Vikings to the shores of North America is contained in two Icelandic sagas, the Saga of Eric Redhead and the Saga of Greenlanders. These sagas were written about 250 years after the colonization of Greenland and are a significant interpretation of past events. Taken together, these two sagas give an idea that there were several attempts to establish a settlement in Vinland, including one under the leadership of Torffin Karlsefni, none of which lasted more than two years. The abandonment of the settlements probably has several reasons, among which are disagreements among male colonists regarding several women accompanying the journey and armed clashes with local residents, both of these factors are indicated in written sources.
The sagas say that after the Vikings established a settlement in Greenland, a merchant named Bjarni Herjólfsson sailed from Iceland towards Greenland to see his father who settled there. His ship strayed off course as a result of a storm, and thus he happened to be on the east coast of America in 985 or 986. It was the end of summer, and Bjarni did not want to stay for the winter on the ground, which, according to him, was covered with forest. He did not go ashore, but instead headed for Greenland. He later talked about this journey and sold his ships to Leif Ericson, who, according to records, went back to these shores. Since Greenland was very poor in forest resources, the settlers sought to explore the richness of this new land for them. A few years later, Leif Ericson explored the shores and founded a short settlement on the land, which he called Vinland.
On his first journey, he visited the land he called Helluland, translated into “the land of flat stones.” This is believed to be the modern Baffin Land. As a result of the next journey, he descended on the bank of the land, which he named Markland, literally “forest country”. This is supposed to be a modern Labrador. There is evidence that the northern boundary of the forest in this area was reduced by about 1000. And finally, he visited the so-called Vinland, modern Newfoundland. During the last expedition, people brought with them livestock and tools to establish a settlement. Two settlements were built, the northern one of which was called Straumfjörðr, and the southern one was Hóp. According to records, only two Viking leaders remained for wintering on the new land, the second of which was Leif’s brother Thorvald Eiríksson, who was killed next summer. However, the settlements were soon abandoned due to conflicts with the Indians of the Beuotuk tribe. Subsequent journeys beyond the forest may have continued until the 1300s.
Up until the 19th century, historians viewed the idea of Viking settlements in North America exclusively in the context of the national folklore of the Scandinavian peoples. The first scientific theory appeared in 1837 thanks to the Danish historian and antiquary Carl Christian Rafnu in his book Antiquitates Americanæ Rafn he conducted a comprehensive examination of the sagas and explored possible sites on the American coast, concluding that the country Vinland, discovered by the Vikings, really existed.
Disputes
Among historians there are disagreements regarding the geographical location of Vinland. Rafn and Erik Wahlgren thought that Vinland was somewhere in New England. In the 1960s, a Viking settlement was discovered as a result of excavations in the town of L’Ans-o-Meadows in Newfoundland, and some scientists think that this was the place Leif chose. Others still believe that Vinland should be located to the south, and the open settlement was an unknown attempt by the Vikings to settle in America.
Proponents of Newfoundland argue their point that support for the more southerly location of Vinland was quite problematic at that time, because of the far distance from the main lands of the northern peoples, iron and other vital resources had to be imported from Europe. Another danger was the loss of clashes with local people far from possible reinforcements and supplies.
The argument of the southern location is presented in the writings of Adam of Bremen. In his book Descriptio insularum Aquilonis, he pointed out that the name Vinland comes from the huge amount of wild grapes found there, but the grapes do not grow in possible places of settlement.
There are several theories explaining this discrepancy:
- This was an “advertising” ploy to encourage other researchers to visit these lands. Similarly, Greenland (“green land”) got its name.
- The theory of misinterpretation is that the short sound “ i ” was replaced by a long “ i ” and that the name actually comes from an Old Norse word with a short “ i ” vin , meaning meadow or pasture. The disadvantage of this theory is that the sagas also, like the work of Adam of Bremen, refer to the word with a long “i”. However, supporters of this theory admit that the later sagas somehow obtained information directly from the work of Adam of Bremen.
- Similarly, King Sven II Estridsen could joke, lie or simply refer to the consonant Wendland , which was later interpreted as Vinland.
- Pope Gregory appoints Balduin de Aln a diploma of 1232 as Bishop of Semigale and the Legate in Livonia, Gothlandia, Vinlandia, Hestonia, Semigallia, Curlandia
- Another theory is that Vinland could be located much further south where grapes grow, but this place was not found.
- There is a theory that some of the settlers of Vinland sailed farther south and saw concord grapes there, and their stories intertwined with the stories about Vinland itself.
- Perhaps they referred to the abundance of gooseberry and blueberry in Newfoundland, from which wine was subsequently made.
- There are supporters of the theory that in those years, grapes did grow in Newfoundland, but since then the climate has changed. The events described refer to the period of the medieval warm period (X-XIV century), when the water temperature in the northern seas was 1 ° C higher.
- For grapes could be taken plants of the genus girlish grapes , outwardly similar to the grapes.
Sources:
“Was Vinland in Newfoundland?” – Paper by Einar Haugen