The Story of North American Discovery and Exploration. Julius E. Olson
rel="nofollow" href="#ulink_d02e2366-8c5c-5961-accd-ed4cfd152a69">1 Adam of Bremen was a prebendary and writer on ecclesiastical history. The Descriptio Insularum Aquilonis is an appendix to his Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum. For the preparation of his work on the “Northern Islands,” Adam spent some time at the Danish court, where he obtained much information from the king, Svend Estridson (1047-1076), an unusually well informed monarch. Adam’s work was undoubtedly completed before the king’s death, which occurred in 1076. The Descriptio was first printed in Lindenbrog’s edition of Adam’s work, published in 1595, which thus contains the first printed allusions to Vinland. Rafn gives a facsimile of one of the manuscripts, for part of the passage.
2 Svend Estridson, king of Denmark.
3 Immediately before this extract, the author describes the islands in the northern seas — among them Iceland — and then proceeds to speak of newer lands “deeper in the ocean,” first of all Greenland, “far up towards the Swedish or Riphaean mountains,” distant five or seven days’ sailing from Norway, then Halagland, somewhat nearer, where the sun is above the horizon fourteen days in summer, and lastly Vinland. That is, according to Adam, Vinland was in a northern region.
4 The reference to the “unsown grain,” and vines in the preceding sentence, are sufficiently characteristic to have enabled any one familiar with the “Saga of Eric the Red” to identify the new land as Vinland, even though it had not been named. It is interesting to note that the reference to “unsown grain” does not appear in the Flat Island Book saga.
5 Evidently a reference to Harold the Stern-ruler (Haardraade). He was a contemporary of Svend Estridson, and ruler in Norway from 1047 to 1066. The saga of Harold Haardraade in Snorri Sturlason’s “Saga of the Kings of Norway” contains no reference to any such expedition. Yet it would be quite in keeping with the other adventures of this much-travelled king to have undertaken such an expedition. It is to be noted that he did not, according to Adam, go in search of Vinland.
From the Icelandic Annals1
ANNALES REGII
A.D. 1121. Bishop Eric2 of Greenland went in search of Vinland.
FROM THE ELDER SKALHOLT3 ANNALS
A.D. 1347. There came also a ship from Greenland, less in size than small Icelandic trading vessels. It came into the outer Stream-firth.4 It was without an anchor. There were seventeen men on board, and they had sailed to Markland,5 but had afterwards been driven hither by storms at sea.
1 Besides the Annales Regii, which are the most important, there are several other Icelandic annals. All have, under the year 1121, the entry given here, (facsimile in Rafn). It is the only information that they give concerning Vinland, and is the last surviving mention of Vinland in the older Icelandic records. It must be remarked, however, that there were no contemporary annals as early as 1121; the earliest entries on Scandinavian events are gleaned from various sources, especially the early historians.
2 According to the Landnama-bok he was an Icelander, his full name being Eric Gnupson. He is also known as Eric Uppsi. He was, according to some accounts, the first bishop of Greenland. The exact date of his consecration is not known; but the Lawman’s Annals have, under date of 1112, these words: “Bishop Eric’s expedition,” referring no doubt to his departure from Iceland. There is no record of his consecration at Lund (Sweden), the seat of the primate at that time, as in the case of his successor, Bishop Arnold. In regard to Bishop Eric’s seeking Vinland, there is no indication anywhere why he went, or whether he ever returned. At any rate, the Greenlanders applied for a new bishop, and, according to the annals, one was consecrated in 1124; this was Bishop Arnold, and he reached Greenland the following year. See “The Tale of the Greenlanders,” in Origines Islandicae, II. 748.
3 So called because the manuscript was found at Skalholt, in southern Iceland. This entry (facsimile in Rafn) is corroborated, in abbreviated form, by the Annals of Gottskalk, in these words: “A ship came then from Greenland, which had sailed to Markland, and there were eighteen men on board.”
4 Stream-firth is on the western coast of Iceland.
5 One of the new lands mentioned in the sagas of the Vinland voyages.
Papal Letters Concerning the Bishopric of Gardar in Greenland During the Fifteenth Century1
LETTER OF NICHOLAS V., September 20, 1448
Called by a command from on high to preside over all the churches in the exercise of our apostolic duty, with the Lord’s help we employ all our solicitude in laboring for the salvation of souls redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, and we strive earnestly to restore to a state of peace and tranquillity, not only those who are frequently tossed about by the storms of impiety and error, but also those who are involved in the hardships and whirlwinds of persecution. Profoundly impressed therefore with the responsibility of our position, it is not difficult to understand how our mind was filled with bitterness by the tearful lamentations2 which have reached our ears from our beloved children, the native and other inhabitants of the island of Greenland, a region situated at the uttermost end of the earth. The island, belonging3 to the kingdom of Norway, and under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Drontheim,4 received the faith of Christ almost six5 centuries ago, through the piety of blessed King Olaf, and preserved it steadfastly and inviolably in accordance with the tradition of the Roman Church, and the Apostolic See. After their conversion, the people of this island, with untiring and characteristic devotion, erected many temples6 to the worship of God and his saints, as well as a magnificent cathedral,7 in which divine worship was diligently celebrated, until about thirty8 years ago, when God permitting it, a barbarous and pagan fleet from neighboring shores9 invaded the island, laying waste the land with fire and sword, and destroying the sacred temples. Just nine parish churches were left standing. To these are attached, it is said, parishes of very great extent. These churches are left intact, because being situated in the mountain