Part 9

There was a man named Gudleif, the son of Gudlaug the Rich, of Straumfiord and brother of Thorfinn, from whom the Sturlingers are descended. Gudleif was a great merchant. He had a trading vessel, and Thorolf Eyrar Loptson had another, when they fought with Gyrid, son of Sigvald Earl. Gyrid lost an eye in that fight. It took place near the end of the reign of King Olaf the Saint, that Gudleif went on a trading voyage to the west to Dublin. On his return to Iceland, sailing from the west of Ireland, he met with northeast winds, and was driven far into the ocean west, and southwest, so that no land was seen, the summer being now nearly gone. Many prayers were offered that they might escape from the sea. At length they saw land. It was of great extent, but they did not know what land it was. They took counsel and resolved to make for the land, thinking it unwise to contend with the violence of the sea. They found a good harbor, and soon after they went ashore, a number of men came down to them. They did not recognize the people, but thought that their language resembled the Irish.[243] In a short time such a number of men had gathered around them as numbered many hundred. These attacked them and bound them all and drove them inland. Afterwards they were brought before an assembly, and it was considered what should be done with them. They thought that some wished to kill and that others were for dividing them among the villages as slaves. While this was going on, they saw a great number of men riding[244] towards them with a banner conspicuously lifted up, whence they inferred that some great man was among them. And when the company drew near, they saw a man riding under the banner, tall and with a martial air, aged and grayhaired. All present treated this man with the utmost honor and deference. They soon saw that their case was referred to the decision of this man. He commanded Gudleif and his comrades to be brought before him, and coming into his presence he addressed them in the Northern tongue, and asked from what land they came. They replied that the chief part were Icelanders. The man asked which of them were Icelanders. Gudleif declared himself to be an Icelander, and saluted the old man, which he received kindly, and asked what part of Iceland he came from. He replied that he came from the district some called Bogafiord. He asked who lived in Bogafiord, to which Gudleif replied at some length. Afterwards this man inquired particularly about all the principal men of Bogafiord and Breidafiord; and of these he inquired with special interest into everything relating to Snorre the Priest, and of his sister Thurid, of Froda, and for the great Kiarten, her son. In the meanwhile the natives grew impatient about the disposition of the sailors. Afterwards the great man left him and took twelve of the natives apart, and conferred with them. Afterwards he returned. Then the old man spoke to Gudleif and his comrades, and said: "We have had some debate concerning you, and the people have left the matter to my decision; I now permit you to go where you will, and although summer is nearly gone, I advise you to leave at once; for these people are of bad faith, and hard to deal with, and now think they have been deprived of their right." Then Gudleif asked, "Who shall we say, if we reach our own country again, to have given us our liberty?" He replied: "That, I will not tell you, for I am not willing that any of my friends or kindred should come here, and meet with such a fate as you would have met, but for me. Age now comes on so fast, that I may almost expect any hour to be my last. Though I may live some time longer, there are other men of greater influence than myself, though now at some distance from this place, and these would not grant safety or peace to any strange men." Then he looked to the fitting out of their ship, and stayed at this place until a fair wind sprang up, so that they might leave the port. Before they went away, this man took a gold ring from his hand and gave it to Gudleif, and also a good sword. Then he said to Gudleif: "If fortune permits you to reach Iceland, give this sword to Kiarten, hero of Froda, and this ring to Thurid, his mother." Gudleif asked, "Who shall I say was the sender of this valuable gift?" He replied: "Say that he sent it who loved the lady of Froda, better than her brother, the Priest of Helgafell. And if any man desires to know who sent this valuable gift, repeat my words, that I forbid any one to seek me, for it is a dangerous voyage, unless others should meet with the same fortune as you. This region is large, but has few good ports, and danger threatens strangers on all sides from the people, unless it shall fall to others as yourselves." After this they separated. Gudleif, with his comrades, went to sea, and reached Ireland the same autumn, and passed the winter in Dublin. The next spring they sailed to Iceland, and Gudleif delivered the jewel into the hand of Thurid. It was commonly believed that there was no doubt but that the man seen, was Biörn Breidaviking Kappa. And there is no other reliable report to prove this.

IV. ALLUSIONS TO VOYAGES FOUND IN ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS.

Professor Rafn, in _Antiquitates Americanæ_, gives brief notices of numerous Icelandic voyages to America, and other lands at the west, of which there is now no record. The works in which they are found are of the highest respectability. It is only necessary here to give the facts, which have been collected with much care. They show that the pre-Columbian discovery of America has tinged nearly the whole body of Icelandic history, in which the subject is referred to, not as a matter of doubt, but as something perfectly well known. All these revelations combine to furnish indisputable proof of the positions maintained in this work, showing as they do, beyond all reasonable question, that the impression which so generally prevailed in regard to the discovery of this land, was not the result of a literary fraud. Some of the facts are given below:

1121. Eric, Bishop of Greenland,[245] went to search out Vinland.

Bishop Eric Upse sought Vinland.

1285. A new land is discovered west from Iceland.

New land is found....[246]

Adalbrand and Thorvald, the sons of Helge, found the new land.

Adalbrand and Thorvald found new land west of Iceland.

The Feather[247] Islands are discovered.

1288. Rolf is sent by King Eric to search out the new land, and called on people of Iceland to go with him.

1289. King Eric sends Rolf to Iceland to seek out the new land.

1290. Rolf traveled through Iceland, and called out men for a voyage to the new land.[248]

1295. Landa-Rolf died.

1357. There came thirteen large ships to Iceland. Eindridesuden was wrecked in East Borgafiord, near Langeness. The crew and the greater part of the cargo was saved. Bessalangen was wrecked outside of Sida. Of its crew, Haldor Magre and Gunthorm Stale, and nineteen men altogether, were drowned. The cargo suffered also. There were also six ships driven back. There came likewise a ship from Greenland,[249] smaller than the smallest of Iceland ships, that came in the outer bay. It had lost its anchor. There were seventeen men on board, who had gone to Markland,[250] and on their return were drifted here. But here altogether that winter, were eighteen large ships, besides the two that were wrecked in the summer.

There came a ship from Greenland that had sailed to Markland, and there were eight men on board.

V. GEOGRAPHICAL FRAGMENTS.

The first of these documents is from a work which professes to give a description of the earth in the middle age. From this it appears that the Icelanders had a correct idea of the location of Vinland in New England, though they did not comprehend the fact that they had discovered a new Continent. The document may be found in _Antiquitates Americanæ_, p. 283. In the appendix of that work may be seen a _fac simile_ of the original manuscript. The second document is from (_Antiquitates Americanæ_, p. 292). It was found originally in the miscellaneous collection called the _Gripla_.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE WHOLE EARTH.

The earth is said to be divided into three parts. One of these is called Asia, and extends from northeast to southwest, and occupies the middle of the earth. In the eastern part are three separate regions, called Indialand. In the farthest India, the Apostle Bartholomew preached the faith; and where he likewise gave up his life (for the name of Christ). In the nearest India, the Apostle Thomas preached, and there also he suffered death for the cause of God. In that part of the earth called Asia, is the city of Nineveh, greatest of all cities. It is three days' journey in length and one day's journey in breadth. There is also the city of Babylon, ancient and very large. There King Nebuchadnezzar formerly reigned, but now that city is so thoroughly destroyed that it is not inhabited by men, on account of serpents and all manner of noxious creatures. In Asia is Jerusalem, and also Antioch; in this city Peter the Apostle founded an Episcopal seat, and where he, the first of all men, sang Mass. Asia Minor is a region of Great Asia. There the Apostle John preached, and there also, in the city Ephesus, is his tomb. They say that four rivers flow out of Paradise. One is called Pison or Ganges; this empties into the sea surrounding the world. Pison rises under a mountain called Orcobares. The second river flowing from Paradise, is called Tigris, and the third, Euphrates. Both empty into the Mediterranean (sea), near Antioch. The Nile, also called Geon, is the fourth river that runs from Paradise. It separates Asia from Africa, and flows through the whole of Egypt. In Egypt is New Babylon (Cairo), and the city called Alexandria. The second part of the earth is called Africa, which extends from the southwest to the northwest. There are Serkland, and three regions called Blaland (land of blackmen or negroes). The Mediterranean sea divides Europe from Africa. Europe is the third part of the earth, extended from west and northwest to the northeast. In the east of Europe is the kingdom of Russia. There are Holmgard, Palteskia and Smalenskia. South of Russia lies the kingdom of Greece. Of this kingdom, the chief city is Constantinople, which our people call Miklagard. In Miklagard is a church, which the people call St. Sophia, but the Northmen call it, Ægisif. This church exceeds all the other churches in the world, both as respects its structure and size. Bulgaria and a great many islands, called the Greek islands, belong to the kingdom of Greece. Crete and Cyprus are the most noted of the Greek islands. Sicily is a great kingdom in that part of the earth called Europe. Italy is a country south of the great ridge of mountains, called by us Mundia [Alps]. In the remotest part of Italy is Apulia, called by the Northmen, Pulsland. In the middle of Italy is Rome. In the north of Italy is Lombardy, which we call Lombardland. North of the mountains on the east, is Germany, and on the southwest is France. Hispania, which we call Spainland, is a great kingdom that extends south to the Mediterranean, between Lombardy and France. The Rhine is a great river that runs north from Mundia, between Germany and France. Near the outlets of the Rhine is Friesland, northward from the sea. North of Germany is Denmark. The ocean runs into the Baltic sea, near Denmark. Sweden lies east of Denmark, and Norway at the north. North of Norway is Finnmark. The coast bends thence to the northeast, and then towards the east, until it reaches Permia, which is tributary to Russia. From Permia, desert tracts extend to the north, reaching as far as Greenland. Beyond Greenland, southward, is Helluland; beyond that is Markland; from thence it is not far to Vinland, which some men are of the opinion, extends to Africa.[251] England and Scotland are one island; but each is a separate kingdom. Ireland is a great island. Iceland is also a great island north of Ireland. All these countries are situated in that part of the world called Europe. Next to Denmark is Lesser Sweden; then is Oeland, then Gottland, then Helsingeland, then Vermeland, and the two Kvendlands, which lie north of Biarmeland. From Biarmeland stretches desert land towards the north, until Greenland begins. South of Greenland is Helluland; next is Markland, from thence it is not far to Vinland the Good, which some think goes out to Africa; and if this is so, the sea must extend between Vinland and Markland. It is told that Thorfinn Karlsefne cut wood here to ornament his house,[252] went afterwards to seek out Vinland the Good, and came there where they thought the land was, but did not reach it, and got none of the wealth of the land.[253] Leif the Lucky first discovered Vinland, and then he met some merchants in distress at sea, and by God's grace, saved their lives; and he introduced Christianity into Greenland, and it flourished so there that an Episcopal seat was set up in the place, called Gardar. England and Scotland are an island, and yet each is a separate kingdom. Ireland is a great island. These countries are all in that part of the world called Europe.

FROM GRIPLA.

Bavaria is bounded by Saxony; Saxony is bounded by Holstein, and next is Denmark. The sea runs between the eastern countries. Sweden is east of Denmark. Norway is to the north; Finmark is east of Norway; from thence the land extends to the northeast and east, until you come to Biarmeland; this land is under tribute to Gardaridge. From Biarmeland lie desert places all northward to the land which is called Greenland, [which, however, the Greenlanders do not affirm, but believe to have seen it otherwise, both from drift timber, that is known and cut down by men, and also from reindeer which have marks upon their ears, or bands upon their horns, likewise from sheep which stray here, of which there are some remaining in Norway, for one head hangs in Throndheim, and another in Bergen, and many others are to be found.][254] But there are bays, and the land stretches out towards the southwest; there are ice mountains, and bays, and islands lie out in front of the ice mountains; one of the ice mountains cannot be explored, and the other is half a month's sail, to the third, a week's sail. This is nearest to the settlement called Hvidserk. Thence the land trends north; but he who desires to go by the settlement, steers to the southwest. Gardar, the bishop's seat, is at the bottom of Ericsfiord; there is a church consecrated to holy Nicholas. There are twelve churches in the eastern settlement, and four in the western.

Now it should be told what is opposite Greenland, out from the bay, which was before named. Furdustrandur[255] is the name of the land; the cold is so severe that it is not habitable, so far as is known. South from thence is Helluland, which is called Skrællings land. Thence it is not far to Vinland the Good, which some think goes out to Africa.[256] Between Vinland and Greenland, is Ginnungagah, which runs from the sea called _Mare Oceanum_, and surrounds the whole earth.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] See Jones on _The Tyrian Period of America_.

[2] _Var. Hist._, lib. III, cap. xviii.

[3] See Plato's _Critias and Timæas_.

[4] _De Mundo_, cap. III. See _Prince Henry the Navigator_, chap. VII, by Major: London, 1868.

[5] _Odyssey_, book IV, l. 765.

[6] See _Prince Henry the Navigator_, p. 90.

[7] Strobo. lib. III.--_Plutarch._

[8] Pliny's _Natural History_, lib. VI, cap. 37.

[9] See p. 137.

[10] _Prince Henry the Navigator_, p. 137.

[11] After this mention by Pliny, the Canaries, or Fortunate Isles, are lost sight of for a period of thirteen hundred years. In the reign of Edward III of England, at the beginning of the fourteenth century, one Robert Machin sailed from Bristol for France, carrying away a lady of rank, who had eloped with him, and was driven by a storm to the Canaries, where he landed, and thus rediscovered the lost Fortunate Isles. This fact is curiously established by Major, in the _Life of Prince Henry_, so that it can no longer be regarded as an idle tale (see pp. 66-77). In 1341, a voyage was also made to the Canaries, under the auspices of King Henry of Portugal. The report, so widely circulated by De Barros, that the islands were rediscovered by Prince Henry is therefore incorrect. His expedition reached Porto Santo and Madeira in 1418-20.

[12] He also speculates upon the probability of this continent having been visited by Christian missionaries. See vol. VI, p. 410.

[13] Kingsborough's _Mexican Antiquities_, vol. VI, p. 285.

[14] Ibid., p. 332.

[15] _Monastikon Britannicum_, pp. 131-2-187-8. The fact that the word _America_ is here used, seems quite sufficient to upset the legend.

[16] The Irish were early known as Scots, and O'Halloran derives the name from Scota, high priest of Phoenius, and ancestor of Mileseuis.

Me quoque vicins pereuntem gentibus, inquit, Munivit Stilicho. Totam cum Scotus Iernem, Movit et infesto spumavit remige Thetys.

By him defended, when the neighboring hosts Of warlike nations spread along our coasts; When Scots came thundering from the Irish shores, And the wide ocean foamed with hostile oars.

[17] Speaking of Britain and Ireland, Tacitus says of the latter, that "the approaches and harbors are better known, by reason of commerce and the merchants."--_Vit. Agri._, c. 24. The Irish, doubtless, mingled with the Carthagenians in mercantile transactions, and from them they not unlikely received the rites of Druidism.

[18] As the tradition of a Welch voyage to America under Prince Madoc, relates to a period _following_ the Icelandic voyages, the author does not deem it necessary to discuss the subject. This voyage by the son of Owen Gwyneth, is fixed for the year 1170, and is based on a Welch chronicle of no authority. See _Hackluyt_, vol. III, p. 1.

[19] _Turkish Spy_, vol. VIII, p. 159.

[20] See "Northmen in Iceland," _Sociètà des Antiquaires du Nord, Seance du 14 Mai_, 1859, pp. 12-14.

[21] It is sometimes, though improperly, called the _Norse_.

[22] In the time when the Irish monks occupied the island, it is said that it was "covered with woods between the mountains and the shores."

[23] _Setstakkar._ These were wooden pillars carved with images usually of Thor and Odin. In selecting a place for a settlement these were flung overboard, and wherever they were thrown up on the beach, there the settlement was to be formed. Ingolf, the first Norse settler of Iceland, lost sight of the seat-posts after they were thrown into the water, and was obliged to live for the space of three years at Ingolfshofdi. In another case a settler did not find his posts for _twelve_ years, nevertheless he changed his abode then. In Frithiof's Saga (American edition) chap. III, p. 18, we find the following allusion:

"Through the whole length of the hall shone forth the table of oak wood, Brighter than steel, and polished; the pillars twain of the high seats Stood on each side thereof; two gods deep carved out of elm wood: Odin with glance of a king, and Frey with the sun on his forhead."

[24] Ari Hinn Frode, or the Wise. The chief compiler of the famous _Landnama Book_, which contains a full account of all the early settlers in Iceland. It is of the same character, though vastly superior to the English _Doomsday Book_, and is probably the most complete record of the kind ever made by any nation.

It contains the names of 3000 persons, and 1,400 places. It gives a correct account of the genealogies of the families, and brief notices of personal achievements. It was begun by Frode (born 1067, died 1148), and was continued by Kalstegg, Styrmer and Thordsen, and completed by Hauk Erlandson, Lagman, or Governor of Iceland, who died in the year 1334.

[25] "Thus saith the holy priest Bede.... Therefore learned men think that it is Iceland which is called Thule.... But the holy priest Bede died DCCXXXV. years after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, more than a hundred years before Iceland was inhabited by the Northmen."--_Antiquitates Americanæ_, p. 202. This extract is followed by the statement of Ari Frode, and shows that the Irish Christians retired to Iceland at a very early day. The Irish monk Dicuil also refers to this solitary island, which, about the year 795, was visited by some monks with whom he had conversed.

[26] All the information which we possess relating to the discovery by Gunnbiorn is given in the body of this work, in extracts from _Landanamabok_.

[27] Claudius Christophessen, the author of some Danish verses relating to the history of Greenland, supposes that Greenland was discovered in the year 770, though he gave no real reason for his belief. _M. Peyrere_ also tells us of a Papal Bull, issued in 835, by Gregory IV, which refers to the conversion of the Icelanders and Greenlanders. Yet this is beyond question fraud. Gunnbiorn was undoubtedly the first to gain a glimpse of Greenland.

[28] The Northmen reckoned by _winters_.

[29] See the Saga of Eric the Red.

[30] The statement, found in several places, that he discovered Vinland while on his way to Greenland, is incorrect. The full account of his voyages shows that his Vinland voyage was an entirely separate thing.

[31] The author designs shortly to give some full account of the early Christianity on the Western Continent in a separate work, now well advanced towards completion. It will include both the _Pre_ and _Post_-Columbian eras.

[32] Gissur the White and Hialte, went on the same errand to Iceland in the year 1000, when the new religion was formally adopted at the public Thnig.

[33] It will be seen hereafter that he went and established himself in Vinland.

[34] See _Memoires des Antiquaires du Nord_, p. 383.

[35] The location of Gardar is now uncertain. At one time it was supposed to have been situated on the eastern coast; but since it became so clear that the east coast was never inhabited, that view has been abandoned, though the name appears in old maps.

[36] See Crantz's _Greenland_, vol. I, p. 252.

[37] These inscriptions are all in fair runic letters, about which there can be no mistake, and are totally unlike the imaginary runes, among which we may finally feel obliged to class those of the Dighton rock.

[38] See Egede's _Greenland_, p. xxv; Crantz's _Greenland_, vol. I, pp. 247-8; Purchas, _His Pilgrimes_, vol. III, p. 518; _Antiquitates Americanæ_, p. 300.

[39] _Antiquitates Americanæ_, p. xxxix.

[40] For the account of the manuscripts upon which our knowledge of Greenland is founded, see _Antiquitates Americanæ_, p. 255.

[41] In that year parties are known to have contracted marriage at Gardar, from whom Finn Magnussen and other distinguished men owe their descent.

[42] Egede's _Greenland_, p. xlvii.

[43] Ibid., xlviii.

[44] Crantz's _Greenland_, vol. I, p. 264.

[45] Crantz's _Greenland_, p. 274.

[46] Ibid., p. 279.

[47] Hans Egede was a clergyman in priest's orders, and minister of the congregation at Vogen in the northern part of Norway, where he was highly esteemed and beloved. He spent fifteen years as a missionary in Greenland, and died at Copenhagen, 1758.

[48] The motto on the sword of Roger Guiscard was:

"_Appulus et Calaber Siculus mihi Servit et Afer._"

[49] See Laing's _Heimskringla_, vol. II, p. 450. This refers to his swimming match with Kiarten the Icelander, in which the king was beaten.

[50] See Saga of Saint (not king) Olaf.

[51] _Des Antiquaires du Nord_, 1859.

[52] Ledehammer. The point of land near the house of Lede, just below Drontheim.