THE PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

BY

THE NORTHMEN,

WITH

TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ICELANDIC SAGAS.

BY

B.F. DE COSTA

Second Edition

Albany, N.Y.:

Joel Munsell's Sons, Publishers 1890

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PREFACE

The chief aim of this work is to place within the reach of the English-reading public every portion of the Icelandic Sagas relating to the Pre-Columbian Discovery of America by the Northmen, and to the steps by which that discovery was preceeded. The reader will, therefore, find in this volume material from the Sagas not to be found in any other work in an English form.

The Sagas have been left, in the main, to tell their own story, though the necessary notes and explanations have been added.

So long ago as the year 1838, a distinguished writer in the North American Review, in closing a valuable and appreciative article on the Sagas relating to America, said: "We trust that some zealous student of these subjects will be immediately found, who will put the Icelandic authorities into an English dress, and prepare then, with proper literary apparatus, for the perusal of the general reader."

More than twenty years ago this suggestion was acted upon by the writer. Availing himself of the studies of those who had preceeded him, he brought out a volume devoted to the subject. That work, however, owing to an unexpected demand, soon went out of print; while the progress of discussion, and the nearness of the propesed Columbian Celebration, seem to justify a new publication.

In treating the Sagas, the writer has not felt called upon to modify his views on any important point, and, substantially, his interpretation of these documents is the same as that undertaken in the original work. Time has only served to strengthen his belief in the historical character of the Sagas, while all his geographical studies point now as formerly to New England as the scene of the Northman's exploits, many of which have left no record, though valuable traces of Icelandic occupation may yet be found between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia.

The author is strengthened in his opinions, not only by his own studies, but by the growing favor with which the profoundest scholars in Europe regard the Icelandic historical literature. Everywhere societies, as well as distinguished students of history, are in one way or another expressing their belief in the authenticity of the Sagas relating to the Pre-Columbian Discovery of America. Speaking of the Icelandic voyagers, and their acquaintance with America, Professor Max Muller says: "I have not met with nothing to shake my belief in the fact that the Northmen possessed such knowledge."(1)*

This work is not issued with any intention of seeking to detract from the glory of the achievements of Columbus, though we should remember that the time is rapidly approaching when history will summon us to honor the Cabots, the great fellow countrymen of the Genoese, who saw the Continent of America before Columbus himself viewed it. The desire is to place before the reader the story which precedes that of 1492, and which is so interesting and important.

The author hopes that the text of the Sagas has not been misinterpreted, or left obscure, especially as the Sagas relating to the Pre-Columbian voyages are given in Professor Rafn's work on the Antiquities of America, accompanied by helpful notes and versions in Latin and Danish. In every thing relating to the latter tongue, the author has had the invaluable assistance and advice of one who has spoken it from childhood. He has also had most important and indispensable aid in connection with the Icelandic.

The grammatical structure of the Icelandic is simple, and the aim has been throughout to maintain this simplicity in the translations, so far as the genius of our own tongue would permit. This work being strictly historical, both in spirit and design, the poetical extracts which occur here and there are translated as literally as possible, without any attempt to garnish them with metre and rhyme. Nevertheless examples in rhyme are given in the Notes.

It will be seen that the author differs on some points from Professor Rafn; yet it is believed that if that great student of Northern Antiquities could have gone over the subject again, studying it on the ground, and amid the scenes in which so many of the exploits of the Northmen were performed, he would have modified some of his views.

On the other hand, the author has sought to strengthen several of the conclusions of that noble and laborious investigator, and particularly by bringing out more fully the truthfulness of the Icelandic descriptions of the coast of Cape Cod, which centuries ago presented an aspect that it does not now possess.

Let us remember, too, that in vindicating the Northmen we honor those who not ony gave us the first knowledge possessed of the American Continent, but to whom we are indebted for much beside that we esteem valuable. In reality we fable in a great measure when we speak of our "Saxon inheritance." It is rather from the Northmen that we have derived our vital energy, our freedom of thought, and, in a measure that we do not yet suspect, our strength of speech. Yet, happily, the people are fast becoming conscious of the indebtedness; so that it is to be hoped that the time is not far distant when the Northmen may be recognized in their right social, political and literary characters, and at the same time, as navigators, assume their true position in the Pre-Columbian Discovery of America.

____________________

1. Letter to the Author, August 14, 1889. (back)

PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERY

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GENERAL INTRODUCTION

HISTORIC FANCIES

Before the plains of Europe rose above the primeval seas, the Continent of America emerged from the watery waste that encircled the whole globe, and became the scene of animate life. The so-called New World is in reality the Old, and bears abundant proofs of hoary age. But at what period it became the abode of man we are unable even to conjecture. Down to the close of the tenth century of the Christian era it had no written history. Traces of a rude civilization that suggest a high antiquity are by no means wanting. Monuments and mounds remain that point to periods the contemplation of which would cause Chronos himself to grow giddy; yet among all these great and often impressive memorials there is no monument, inscription or sculptured frieze that satisfactorily explains their origin. Tradition itself is dumb, and the theme chiefly kindles when brought within the realm of imagination. We can only infer that age after age nations and tribes rose to greatness and then fell into decline, barbarism and a rude culture holding alternate sway. (1)

Nevertheless, men have enjoyed no small degree of satisfaction in conjuring up theories to explain the origin of the early races on the Western Continent. What a charm lingers around the supposed trans-Atlantic voyages of the hardy Phenician, the luxurious sailors of Tyre, and later, of the bold Basque. What stories might the lost picture-records of Mexico and the chronicles of Dieppe tell. Now we are presented with the splendid view of great fleets, the remnant of some conquered race, bearing across the ocean to re-create in new and unknown lands the cities and monuments they were forever leaving behind; and now it is simply the story of some storm-tossed mariner, who blindly drives across the sea to the western strand, and lays the foundation of empire. Again it is the devotee of mammon, in search of gainful traffic or golden fleece. How romantic is the picture of his little solitary bark setting out in the days of Roman greatness, or in the splendid age of Charlemagne, sailing trustingly away between the pillars of Hercules, and tossing toward the Isles of the Blessed and the Fountains of Eternal Youth. In time the Ultima Thule of the known world is passed, and favoring gales bear the merchant-sailor to new and wondrous lands. We see him coasting the unknown shores, passing from cape to cape, and from bay to inlet, gazing upon the marvels of the New World, trafficking with the bronzed Indian, bartering curious wares for barbaric gold; and then shaping his course again for the markets of the distant East, to pour strange tales into incredulous ears. Still this may not be all fancy. (2)

THE SEA OF DARKNESS

In early times the Atlantic ocean, like all things without known bounds, was viewed by man with mixed feelings of fear and awe. It was called the Sea of Darkness. Yet, nevertheless, there were those who professed to have some knowledge of its extent, and of what lay beyond. The earliest reference to this sea is that by Theopompus, in the fourth century before the Christian era, given in a fragment of Ælian, (3) where a vast island is described, lying far in the west, and peopled by strange races. To this we may add the reference of Plato (4) to the island called Atlantis, which lay west of the Pillars of Hercules, and which was estimated to be larger than Asia and Africa combined. Aristotle (5) also thought that many other lands existed beyond the Atlantic. Plato supposed that the Atlantis was sunk by an earthquake, and Crantor declares that he found the same account related by the Priests of Sais three hundred years after the time of Solon, from whom the grandfather of Critias had his information. Plato says, that after the Atlantis disappeared, navigation was rendered too difficult to be attempted on account of the slime which resulted from the sinking of the land. It is probable that he had in mind the immense fields of drifting sea-weed found in that locality, estimated by Humboldt to cover a portion of the Atlantic ocean six times as large as all Germany.

It is thought that Homer (6) obtained the idea of his Elysium in the Western ocean from the voyages of the Phenicians, who, as is well known, sailed regularly to the British Islands. They are also supposed by some to have pushed their discoveries as far as the Western Continent. Cadiz, situated on the shore of Andalusia, was established by the Tyrians twelve centuries before the birth of Christ; and when Cadiz, the ancient Gadir, was full five hundred years old, a Greek trader, Colæus, there bought rare merchandise, a long and severe gale having driven his ships beyond the Pillars of Hercules.

THE PHENICIANS

In the ninth century before the Christian era, the Phenicians had established colonies on the western coast of Africa; and three hundred years later, according to Herodotus, Pharaoh Necho, son of Psammitieus, sent an expedition, manned by Phenician sailors, around the entire coast of Africa. Vivien de St. Martin fixes the date of the expedition at 570 before Christ. St. Martin, inhis account of the voyage, improves slightly upon the views of Carl Muller, and is followed by Bougainville. (7) A notice of this voyage, performed by Hanno under the direction of Pharaoh, was inscribed in the Punic language on a Carthagenian temple, being afterward translated into Greek.

That the Canary Islands were discovered and colonized by the Phenicians, there need be no doubt. Tradition had always located islands in that vicinity. Strabo speaks of the Islands of the Blessed, as lying not far from Mauritania, opposite Gadir or Cadiz. He distinctly says, "That those who pointed out these things were the Phenicians, who, before the time of Homer, had possession of the best part of Africa and Spain."(8) When we remember the the Phenicians sought to monopolize trade, and hold the knowledge of their commercial resorts a secret, it is not surprising that we should hear no more of the Fortunate Isles until about eighty-two years before Christ, when the Roman Sertorius met some Lusitanian sailors on the coast of Spain who had just returned from the Fortunate Isles. They were described as two delightful islands, separated by a narrow strait, distant from Africa five hundred leagues. Twenty years after the death of Sertorius, Statius Sebosus drew up a chart of a group of five islands, each mentioned by name, and which Pliny calls the Hesperides, including the Fortunate Isles. This mention of the Canaries was sixty-three years before Christ.

JUBA'S EXPEDITION

When King Juba II returned to Mauritania, he sent an expedition to the Fortunate Isles. A fragment of the narratives of this expedition is found in the works of Pliny. The islands are described as lying south-west, six hundred and twenty-five miles from Purpurariæ. To reach them from the latter place, they first sailed two hundred and fifty miles westward, and then three hundred and seventy-five miles eastward. Pliny says: "The first is called Ombrios, and affords no traces of buildings. It contains a pool in the midst of mountains, and trees like ferules, from which water may be pressed. It is bitter from the black kinds, but from the light kinds pleasant to drink. The second is called Junonia, and contains a small temple built entirely of stone. Near it is another smaller island having the same name. Then comes Capraria, which is full of large lizards. Within sight of these is Nivaria, named from the snow and fogs with which it is always covered. Not far from Nivaria is Canaria, called thus on account of the great number of large dogs therein, two of which were brought to King Juba. There were traces of buildings in these islands. All the islands abound in apples, and in birds of every kind, and in palms covered with dates, and in the pine nut. There is also plenty of fish. The papyrus grows there, and the silurus fish is found in the rivers."(9)

The author of Prince Henry the Navigator, (10) says that in Ombrios, we recognize the Pluvialia of Sebosus. Convallis of Sebosus, in Pliny, becomes Nivaria, the Peak of Teneriffe, which lifts itself up to the majestic height of nine thousand feet, its snow-capped pinnacle seeming to pierce the sky. Planaria is displaced by Canaria, which term, first applied to the great central island, now gives the name to the whole group. Ombrios or Pluvialia, evidently means the island of Palma, which had "a pool in the midst of mountains," now represented by the crater of an extinct volcano. This the sailors of King Juba evidently saw. Major says: "The distance of this island [Palma] from Fuerteventura, agrees with that of the two hundred and fifty miles indicated by Juba's navigators as existing between Ombrios and the Purpurariæ. It has already been seen that the latter agree with Lancerote and Fuerteventura, in respect of their distance from the Continent and from each other, as described by Plutarch. That the Purpurariæ are not, as M. Bory de St. Vincent supposed, the Madeira group, is not only shown by the want of inhabitants in the latter, but by the orchil, which supplies the purple dye, being derived from and sought for especially from the Canaries, and not from the Madeira group, although it is to be found there. "Junonia," he continues, "the nearest to Ombrios, will be Gomera. It may be presumed that the temple found therein was, like the island, dedicated to Juno. Capraria, which implies the island of goats, agrees correctly with the island of Ferro,......for these animals were found there in large numbers when the island was invaded by Jean de Bethencourt, in 1402. But a yet more striking proof of the identity of this island with Capraria, is the account of the great number of lizards found therein. Bethencourt's chaplains, describing their visit to the islands, in 1402, state: 'There are lizards in it as big as cats, but they are harmless, although very hideous to look at.' "(11)

We see, then, that the navigators of Juba visited the Canaries (12) at an early period, as did the Phenicians, who doubtless built the temple in the island of Junonia. For aught we know, early navigators may have passed over to the Western Continent and laid the foundation of those strange nations whose monuments still remain. Both Phenician and Tyrian voyages to the Western Continent have been advocated; while Lord Kingsborough published his magnificent volumes on the Mexican Antiquities, to show that the Jews settled this Continent at an early day. (13) If it is true that all the tribes of the earth sprang from one central Asiatic family, it is more than likely that the original inhabitants of the American Continent crossed the Atlantic, instead of piercing the frozen regions of the north, and coming in by the way of Behring Straits. From the Canaries to the coast of Florida, it is a short voyage, and the bold sailors of the Mediterranean, after touching at the Canaries, need only spread their sails before the steady-breathing monsoon, to find themselves wafted safely to the western shore.

TRADITIONS

There was even a tradition that America was visited by St. Columbia (14), and also by the Apostle St. Thomas, (15) who penetrated even as far as Peru. This opinion is founded on the resemblance existing between certain rites and doctrines which seem to have been held in common by Christians and the early inhabitants of Mexico. The first Spanish missionaries were surprised to find the Mexicans bowing in adoration before the figure of the cross, and inferred that these people were of a Christian origin. Yet the inference has no special value, when we remember that Christianity is far less ancient than the symbol of the cross, which existed among the Egyptians and other ancient people.

Claims have also been made for the Irish. Broughton brings forward a passage in which St. Patrick is represented as sending missionaries to the Isles of America. (16) Another claim has been urged of a more respectable character, which is supported by striking, though not conclusive allusions in the chronicles of the North, in which a distant land is spoken of as "Ireland the Great." The Irish, in the early times, might easily have passed over to the Western Continent, for which voyage they undoubtedly had the facilities. Professor Rafn, after alluding to the well-known fact that the Northmen were preceded in Iceland by the Irish, says, that it is by no means improbable that the Irish should also have anticipated them in America. The Irish were a sea-faring people, and have been assigned a Phenician origin by Moore and others who have examined the subject. (17) If this is so, the tradition would appear to be somewhat strengthened. Even as early as the year 296, the Irish are said to have invaded Denmark with a large fleet. In 396, Niall made a descent upon the coast of Lancashire with a considerable navy, where he was met by the Roman, Stilicho, whose achievements were celebrated by Claudian in the days of the Roman occupation of England. At that period the Irish were in most respects in advance of the Northemen, not yet having fallen into decline, and quite as likely as any people then existing to brave the dangers of an ocean voyage. (18) The Icelandic documents, clearly referring to the Irish, will be given in their proper place, and, in the meanwhile, it need only to be added, that the quotations given by the rather credulous Beamish from such an authority as the Turkish Spy will hardly tend to strengthen their claims, especially where its author, John Paul Marana, says that in Mexico "the British language is so prevalent," that "the very towns, bridges, beasts, birds, rivers, hills, etc., are called by the British or Welsh (19) names."(20) In truth, as the wish, is so often father to the thought, it would be an easy task to find resemblance in the languages of the aborigines to almost any language that is spoken in our day so far as mere sounds may be concerned.

But, notwithstanding the probabilities of the case, we have no solid reason for accepting any of these alleged voyages as facts. Much labor has been given to the subject, yet the early history of the American Continent is still veiled in mystery, and it is not until near the close of the tenth century of the present era that we can point to a genuine trans-Atlantic voyage.

THE NORTHMEN

The first voyage to America, of which we have any account, was performed by Northmen. But who were the Northmen?

The Northmen were the descendants of a race that in early times migrated from Asia and travelled toward the north, settling down in what is now the kingdom of Denmark. From thence they overran Norway and Sweden, and afterward colonized Iceland and Greenland. Their language was the old Danish (Dönsk túnga) once spoken all over the north, (21) but which is now preserved in Iceland alone, being called the Icelandic or old Northern, (22) upon which is founded the modern Swedish, Danish and Norse or Norwegian.

After the Northmen had pushed on from Denmark to Norway, the condition of public affairs gradually became such that a large portion of the better classes found their life intolerable. In the reign of Harold Harfagr (the Fair-haired), an attempt was made by the king to deprive the petty jarls of their ancient udol or feudal rights, and to usurp all authority for the crown. To this the proud jarls would not submit; and, feeling themselves degraded in the eyes of their retainers, they resolved to leave those lands and homes which they could now hardly call their own. Wither, then, should they go?

THE COLONIZATION OF ICELAND

In the cold North sea, a little below the Arctic circle, lay a great island. As early as the year 860, it had been made known to the Northmen by a Dane of Swedish descent named Gardar, who called it Gardar's Island, and four years later by the pirate Nadodd, who sailed thither in 864 and called it Snowland. Presenting in the main the form of an irregular ellipse, this island occupies an area of about one hundred and thirty-seven thousand square miles, affording the dull diversity of valleys without verdure and mountains without trees. (23) Desolation has there fixed its abode. It broods among the dells, and looks down upon the gloomy fiords. The country is threaded with streams and dotted with tarns, yet the geologist finds but little evidence in the structure of the earth to point to the action of water. On the other hand, every rock and hillside is covered with signs that prove their igneous origin, and indicate that the entire island, at some distant period, has already seethed and bubbled in the fervent heat, in anticipation of the long promised Palingenesia. Even now the ground trembles in the throes of the earthquake, the Geyser spouts scalding water, and the plain belches mud; while the great jokull, clad in white robes of eternal snow---true priest of Ormuzd---brandishes aloft its volcanic torch, and threatens to be the incendiary of the sky.

The greater portion of the land forms the homestead of the reindeer and the fox, who share their domain with the occasional white bear that may float over from Greenland on some berg. Only two quadrupeds, the fox and the moose, are indigenous. Life is here purchased with a struggle. Indeed the neighboring ocean is more hospitable than the dry land. Of the thirty four species of mammalia, twenty-four find their food in the roaring main. The same is true of the feathered tribes, fifty-four out of ninety being water-fowl. Here and there may be seen patches of meadow and a few sheep pastures and tracts of arable land warmed into fruitfulness by the brief summer's sun; yet, on the whole, so poor is the soil that man, like the lower orders, must eke out a scanty subsistence by resorting to the sea.

It was toward this land, which the settlers called Iceland, that the proud Norwegian jarl turned his eyes, and there he resolved to found a home. The first settler was Ingolf. He approached the coast in the year 875, threw overboard his sea-posts, (24) and waited to see them touch the land. But in this he was disappointed, and those sacred columns, carved with the images of the gods, drifted away from sight. He nevertheless landed on a pleasant promontory at the south-eastern extremity of the island, and built his habitation on the spot which is called Ingolfshofdi to this day. Three years after, his servants found the sea-posts in the south-western part of the island, and hither, in obedience to what was held to be the expressed wish of the gods, (25) he removed his household, laying the foundation of Reikiavik, the capital of this ice-bound isle. He was rapidly followed by others, and in a short time no inconsiderable population was gathered here.

But the first Scandinavian settlers did not find this barren country entirely destitute of human beings. Ari Frode, (26) than whom there is no higher authority, says: "Then were here Christian people whom the Northmen called papas, but they afterward went away, because they would not be here among heathens; and left behind them Irish books, and bells, and croziers, from which it could be seen that they were Irishmen." He repeats substantially the same thing in the Landanama Book, the authority of which, no one acquainted with the subject, will question, adding that books and other relics were found in the island of Papey and Papyle, and that the circumstance is also mentioned in English books. The English writings referred to are those of the venerable Bede. (27) This is also stated in an edition of King Olaf Tryggvesson's Saga, made near the end of the fourteenth century.

The monks or Culdees, who had come hither from Ireland and the Isles of Iona, to be alone with God, took their departure on the arrival of the heathen followers of Odin and Thor, and the Northmen were thus left in undisputed possession of the soil. In about twenty years the island became quite thickly settled, though the tide of immigration continued to flow in strongly for fifty years, so that at the beginning of the tenth century Iceland possessed a population variously estimated from sixty to seventy thousand souls. But few undertook the voyage who were not able to buy their own vessels, in which they carried over their own cattle, thralls, and household goods. So great was the number of people who left Norway, that King Harold tried to prevent emigration by royal authority, though, as might have been predicted, his efforts were altogether in vain. Here, in Iceland, therefore, was formed a large community, taking the shape of an aristocratic republic, which framed its own laws, and for a long time maintained a genuine independence, in opposition to all the assumptions and threats of the Norwegian king.

THE SETTLEMENT OF GREENLAND

But as time passed on, the people of Iceland felt a new impulse for colonization in strange lands, and the tide of emigration began to tend toward Greenland in the west. This was chiefly inaugurated by a man named Eric the Red, born in Norway in the year 935. On account of manslaughter, he was obliged to flee from Jardar and take up his abode in Iceland. The date of removal to Iceland is not given, though it is said that at that time the island was very generally inhabited. Here, however, he could not live in peace, and early in the year 982, he was again outlawed for manslaughter by the Thing, and condemned to banishment. He accordingly fitted out a ship, and announced his determination to go in search of the land lying in the ocean at the west, which it was said, Gunnbiorn, (28) Ulf Krage's son, saw when, in the year 876, he was driven out to sea by a storm. Eric sailed westward and found land, where he remained and explored the country for three years. At the end of this period he returned to Iceland, giving the newly discovered land the name of Greenland, (29) in order, as he said, to attract settlers, who would be favorably impressed by so pleasing a name, which, however, did not originate with him.

The summer after his return to Iceland, he sailed once more for Greenland, taking with him a fleet of thirty-five ships, only fourteen of which reached their destination, the rest being either driven back or lost. This event took place, as the Saga says, fifteen winters (30) before the introduction of Christianity into Iceland, which we know was accomplished in the year A.D. 1000. The date of Eric's second voyage must, therefore, be set down as 985. (31)

But, before proceeding to the next step in Icelandic adventure, it will be necessary to give a brief sketch of the progress of the Greenland colony, together with a relation of the circumstances which led to its final extinction.

THE PROGRESS OF THE GREENLAND COLONIES

There is but little continuity in the history of the Icelandic occupation of Greenland. We have already seen that the second voyage of Eric the Red took place in the year 985. Colonists appear to have followed him in considerable numbers, and the best portions of the land were soon appropriated by the principal men, who gave the chief bays and capes names that indicated the occupants, following the example of Eric, who dwelt in Brattahlid, in Ericsfjord.

In the year 999, Leif, son of Eric, sailed out of Greenland to Norway, and passed the winter at the court of King Olaf Tryggvesson, where he accepted the Christian faith, which was then being zealously propagated by the king. He was accordingly baptized, and, when the spring returned, the king requested him to undertake the introduction of Christianity in Greenland, urging the consideration that no man was better qualified for the task. Accordingly he set sail from Norway, with a priest and several members of a religious order, arriving at Brattahlid, in Greenland, without any accident (32) His pagan father was incensed by the bringing in of the Christian priest, which act he regarded as pregnant with evil; yet after some persuasion on the part of Leif, he renounced heathenism and nominally accepted Christianity, being baptized by the priest. His wife Thorhild made less opposition, and appears to have received the new faith with much willingness. One of her first acts was to build a church, which was known far and wide as Thorhild's church. These examples appear to have been adopted in both Iceland and Greenland at about the same period, (33) though its acceptance did not immediately produce any very radical change in the spiritual life of the people. In course of time a number of churches were built, the ruins of which remain down to our day. (34)

In the year 1003, the Greenlanders became tributary to Norway. The principle settlement was formed on the western coast. What was known as the eastern district did not extend farther than the southern extremity toward Cape Farewell. For a long time it was supposed that the east district was located on the eastern coast of Greenland; but the researches of Captian Graah, whose expedition went out under the auspices of the Danish government, proved very conclusively that no settlement ever existed on the eastern shore, which for centuries has remained blocked up by vast accumulations of ice that floated down from the Artic seas. In early times, as we are informed by the Sagas, the eastern coast was more accessible, yet the western shores were so superior in their attractions that the colonist fixed his habitation there. The site of the eastern settlement is that included in the modern district of Julian's Hope, now occupied by a Danish colony. The western settlement is represented by the habitation of Frederikshab, Godthaab, Sukkertoppen and Holsteinborg.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH

In process of time the Christians in Greenland multiplied to such an extent, both by conversions and by the immigration from Iceland, that it was found necessary, in the beginning of the twelfth century, to take some measures for the better government of the church, especially as they could not hope much for regular visits from the bishops of Iceland. They, therefore, resolved to make an effort to secure a bishop of their own. Eric Gnupson, of Iceland, was selected for the office, and proceeded to Greenland about the year 1112, without being regularly consecrated. He returned to Iceland in 1120, and afterward went to Denmark, where he was consecrated in Lund, by Archbishop Adzer. Yet he probably never returned to his duties in Greenland, but soon after resigned that bishopric and accepted another, (35) thus leaving Greenland without a spiritual director.

In the year 1123, Sokke, one of the principal men of Greenland, assembled the people and represented to them that both the welfare of the Christian faith and their own honor demanded that they should follow the example of other nations and maintain a bishop. To this view they gave their unanimous approval; and Einar, son of Sokke, was appointed a delegate to the court of King Sigurd, of Norway. He carried a present of ivory and fur, and a petition for the appointment of a bishop. His mission was successful, and in the year 1126 Arnald, the successor of Eric, (36) came into Greenland, and set up the Episcopal seat at Gardar. (37) Torfæus and Baron Holberg (38) give a list of seventeen bishops who ruled in Greenland, ending with Andrew. The latter was consecrated and went thither in 1408, being never heard of afterward.

The history of Old Greenland is found in the Ecclesiastical Annals, and consists of a mere skeleton of facts. As in Iceland and Norway there was no end of broils and bloodshed. A very considerable trade was evidently carried on between that country and Norway, which is the case at the present time with Denmark. As the land afforded no materials for ships, they depended in a great measure upon others for communication with the mother countries, which finally proved disastrous.

MONUMENTS AND RUINS IN GREENLAND

The villages and farms of the Northmen in Greenland were numerous. They probably numbered several hundred, the ruins now left being both abundant and extensive. Near Igaliko, supposed to be the same as the ancient Einarsfiord, are the ruins of a church, probably the Cathedral of Gardar. It is called the Kakortok Church. It was of simple but massive architecture, and the material was taken from the neighboring cliffs. The stone is rough hewn, and but few signs of mortar are visible. It is fifty-one feet long and twenty-five wide. The north and south walls are over four feet thick, while the end walls are still more massive.

Nor are other monuments wanting. At Igaliko, nine miles from Julian's Hope, a Greenlander being one day employed in obtaining stones to repair his house, found among a pile of fragments a smooth stone that bore, what seemed to him, written characters. He mentioned the circumstance to Mr. Mathieson, the colonial director at Julian's Hope, who inferred that it must be a runic stone. The man was so fortunate to find it afterward, and Mr. Mathieson accordingly sent it to Copenhagen, where it arrived in the year 1830. The runes which were perfectly distinct, showed that it was a tombstone. The inscription was translated as follows:

"Vigdis Mars Daughter Rests Here.

May God Gladden Her Soul."

Another, found in 1831, by the Rev. Mr. De Fries, principal of the Moravian Mission, bore the following inscription in the runic letter:

"Here Rests Hroar Kolgrimsson."

This stone, now in the museum at Copenhagen, was found built into the wall over the entrance of a Greenland house, having been taken for that purpose from a heap of ruins, about two miles north of Friederichsthal. The stone is more than three feet long, being eighteen inches wide in the narrowest part, and about five inches thick. It bears every sign of a high antiquity.

One of the most interesting remains proving the Icelandic occupation of Greenland, is the runic stone found by Parry, in 1824, in the island of Kingiktorsoak, lying in 72 degrees 55' N. and 56 degrees 51' W. It contained a somewhat lengthy inscription. Copies of it were sent to three of the first scholars of the age, Finn Magnusson, Professor Rask, and Dr. Bryniulfson, who, without consulting one another, at once arrived at the same conclusion, and united in giving the following translation:

"Erling Sighvatson and Biorn Thordarson and

Eindrid Oddson, on Saturday Before

Ascension Week, Raised These

Marks and Cleared

Ground. 1135. (39)

The Icelandic colonists in Greenland do not appear to have been confined to a small portion of territory. We find considerable relating to this subject in the chronicle attributed to Ivar Bardsen, (40) the steward of one of the bishops of Greenland; yet, though used extensively by Torfæus in his "Greenlandia" (41) modern researches in the country prove that it is in some minor respects faulty. In this chronicle, as in the Sagas, the colonists are spoken of as possessing horses, sheep and oxen; and their churches and religious houses appear to have been well supported.

EXPLORATION OF GREENLAND

Much was done, it appears, in the way of exploring the extreme northern portions of the country known as Nordrsetur. In the year 1266, a voyage was made under the auspices of some of the priests, and the adventurers penetrated north of Lancaster Sound, reaching about the same latitude that was attained by Parry in 1827. This expedition was of sufficient importance to justify some notice of it here. The account is found in Antiquitates Americanæ (p. 269), and it sets out with the statement, that the narrative of the expedition was sent by Haldor, a priest, to Arnald, the Chaplain of King Magnus of Norway. They sailed out of Kroksfiardarheidi in an open boat, and met with southerly winds and thick weather, which forced them to let the boat drive before the wind. When the weather cleared, they saw a number of islands, together with whales and seals and bears. They made their way into the most distant portion of the sea, and observed glaciers south of them as far as the eye could reach. They also saw indications of the natives, who were called Skrællings, but they did not land, on account of the number of bears. They, therefore, put about, and laid their course southward for nearly three days, finding more islands, with traces of the natives. They saw a mountain which they called Snæfell, and on St. James' day, July 25, they had a severe weather, being obliged to row much and very hard. It froze during the night in that region, but the sun was above the horizon both day and night. When the sun was on the southern meridian, and a man lay down crosswise in a six-oared boat, the shadow of the gunwale toward the sun would reach as far as his feet, which, of course, indicates that the sun was very low. Afterward they all returned in safety to Gardar.(42) Rafn fixes the position of the point attained by the expedition in the parallel of 75 degrees 46'. Such an achievement at that day indicates a degree of boldness quite surprising.

THE DECLINE OF GREENLAND

Of the reality and importance of the Greenland colony there exists no doubt, notwithstanding, the records are so meagre and fragmentary. (43) It maintained its connection with the mother countries for a period of not less than four hundred years; yet it finally disappeared and was almost forgotten.

Many causes led to the suspension of communication, though it is difficult to account for the extinction of the colony, if it actually became extinct. It does not appear ever to have been in much danger from the Skrællings, though, on one occasion, in 1349 or later, the natives attacked the western settlement, it is said, and killed eighteen Greenlanders of Icelandic lineage, carrying away two boys captives. (44)

We hear from the eastern colony as late as the middle of the fifteenth century. Trade was carried on with Denmark until nearly the end of the fourteenth century, although the voyages were not regular. The last bishop, Andreas, was sent out in 1406, and Professor Finn Magnussen has established the fact that he officiated in the cathedral at Gardar in 1409. (45)

From this time the trade between Norway and Greenland appears to have been given up, though Wormius told Peyrere of his having read in a Danish manuscript, that down to the year 1484, there was a company of more than forty sailors at Bergen, in Norway, who still traded with Greenland. (46) But as the revenue at that time belonged to Queen Margaret of Denmark, no one could go to Greenland without the royal permission. One company of sailors who were driven upon the Greenland coast, came near suffering the penalty of the law on their return. Crantz (47) says, that "about the year 1530, Bishop Amund of Skalholt in Iceland is said to have been driven by a storm, on his return from Norway, so near the coast of Greenland by Heriulfness, that he could see the people driving in their cattle. But he did not land, because just then a good wind arose, which carried the ship the same night to Iceland. The Icelander, Biærnvon Skardfa, who relates this, also says further, that a Hamburgh mariner, Jon Greenlander by name, was driven three times on the Greenland island, where he saw such fisher's huts for drying fish as they have in Iceland, but saw no men; further, that pieces of shattered boats, nay, in the year 1625, an entire boat, fastened together with sinews and wooden pegs, and pitched with seal blubber, have been driven ashore at Iceland from time to time; and since then they found once an oar with a sentence written in Runic letters: 'Oft var ek dasa, dur elk drothik,' that is, 'Oft was I tired when I drew thee.'"(48)

LOST GREENLAND FOUND

But, whatever may be the value of the preceding statements of Skardfa, it is clear that Greenland was never wholly forgotten. The first person who proposed to reopen communication was Eric Walkendorf, Archbishop of Drontheim, who familiarized himself with the subject, and made every preparation necessary in order to re-establish the colony; but, having fallen under the displeasure of King Christian II, he left the country and went to Rome, where he died in the year 1521. Thus his plans came to nothing. (49) Christian III abrogated the decree of Queen Margaret, prohibiting trade with Greenland without the royal permission, and encouraged voyages by fitting out a vessel to search for Greenland, which, however, was not found. In 1578, Frederic II sent out Magnus Henningsen. He came into sight of the land, but does not appear to have had the courage to proceed further. Crantz, in his work on Greenland, gives an account of a number of voyages undertaken to the coast, but says that "at last Greenland was so buried in oblivion that one hardly would believe that such a land as Greenland was inhabited by Christian Norwegians." (50)

It remained, therefore, for Hans Egede, (51) in 1721, to re-open communication. Columbus himself did not endure much greater mortification than did this good man for the space of eleven years, during which period he labored to persuade the Danish and Norwegian authorities to undertake the re-discovery. But his faith and zeal finally overcame all hostility and ridicule. On the 2nd day of May, 1721, he went on board the Hope, with his wife and four young children, and landed at Ball's river in Greenland on the third of the following month. Here he spent the best portion of his life in teaching the natives Christianity, which had been first introduced seven centuries before, and in making those explorations the results of which filled the mind of Europe with surprise, and afforded a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Icelandic Sagas.

THE CHARACTER AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NORTHMEN

Let us now return to the consideration of the Icelandic voyages to the American Continent, though not without first seeking a better acquaintance with the men by whome they were performed.

We have already seen that the Northmen were a people of no inferior attainments. Indeed, they constituted the most enterprising portion of the race, and, on general principles, we should, therefore, view them as fitted, even above all the men of their time, for the important work of exploration beyond the seas. They had made themselves known in every part of the civilized world (52) by their daring as soldiers and navigators. Straying away into the distant east whence they originally came, we see them laying the foundation of the Russian empire, swinging thier battle-axes in the streets of Constantinople, carving their mystic runes upon the Lions of the Areopagus, and filling the heart of even the great Charlemagne with dismay. Says Dasent, when summing up their achievements: "In Byzantium they are the leaders of the Greek emperor's body guard, and the main support of his tottering throne. From France, led by Rollo, they tear away her fairest province and found a long line of kings. In Saxon England they are the bosom friends of such kings as Athelstane, and the sworn foes of Ethelred the Unready. In Danish England they are the foremost among the thanes of Canute, Swein and Hardicanute, and keep down the native population with an iron heel. In Norman England," he continues, "the most serious opposition the conqueror meets with is from the colonists of his own race settled in Northumbria. He wastes their lands with fire and sword, and drives them across the border, where we still find their energy, their perseverance, and their speech existing in the lowland Scotch. In Norway they dive into the river with King Olaf Tryggvesson, the best and strongest champion of his age, and hold him down beneath the waves so long that the bystanders wonder whether either king or Icelander will ever reappear on the surface. (53) Some follow Saint Olaf in his crusades against the old [pagan] faith. (54) Some are his obstinate foes and assist at his martyrdom. Many follow Harold the Stern to England, and almost to a man they get their portion of the same soil, while their names grow bright in song and story." Finally, "From Iceland as a base, they push on to Greenland and colonize it: nay, they discover America in those half-decked barks." (55)

THE SHIPS OF THE NORTHMEN

The Northmen were excellent navigators. They were, moreover, it has been claimed, the first to learn the art of sailing on the wind. They had good sea-going vessels, some of which were of large size. We have an account in the Saga of Olaf Tryggvesson of one that in some respects was remarkable. It is said that "the winter after King Olaf Tryggvesson came from Halegoland, he had a great ship built at Ledehammer, (56) which was larger than any ship in the country, and of which the beam-knees are still to be seen. The length of the keel that rested upon the grass was seventy-four ells. Thorberg Skafting was the man's name who was the master builder of the ship, but there were many others besides; some to fell the wood, some to shape it, some to make nails, some to carry timber, and all that was used was the best. The ship was both long and broad and high sided, and strongly timbered.......The ship was a dragon, built after the one that the king had captured in Halegoland, but it was far longer and more carefully put together in all her parts. The Long Serpent [her name] had thirty-four benches for rowers. The head and arched tail were both gilt, and the bulwarks were as high as in sea-going ships. This ship was the best and most costly ever built in Norway." (57)

Laing computes the tonnage of this ship at about nine hundred and forty-two tons, thus giving a length of about one hundred feet, which is nearly the size of a forty-two gun ship. By steam tonnage it would give one a capacity of a little less than three hundred tons, and one hundred and twenty horse power. We apprehend, however, that the estimate is sufficiently large; yet we are not concerned to show any great capacity for the Icelandic ships. All the vessels employed in the early times on the American coasts were small. The Anna Pink, a craft that accompanied Lord Anson in his expedition around the world, measured only sixteen tons. (58) The vessels of the Northmen were every way adapted for ocean voyages.

In nautical knowledge, also, they were not behind the age. The importance of cultivating the study of navigation was fully understood. The Raudulf of Oesterdal, in Norway, taught his son to calculate the course of the sun and moon, and how to measure time by the stars. In 1520 Olaus Magnus complained that the knowledge of the people in this respect had been diminished. In that noble work called Speculum regale, the Icelander is taught to make an especial study of commerce and navigation, of the divisions of time and the movements of the heavenly bodies, together with arithmetic, the rigging of vessels and morals (59). Without a high degree of knowledge they could never have achieved their many voyages.

THE SAGAS AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

We find that the Northmen were well acquainted with other parts of the world, and that they possessed all the means of reaching the Continent in the west. We come, therefore, to the question: Did the Northmen actually discover and explore the coast of the country now known as America?

No one can say that the idea wears any appearance of improbability; for there is certainly nothing wonderful in the exploit. After conceding the fact that colonies of the Northmen existed in Greenland for at least three hundred years, we must prepare ourselves for something of this kind. Indeed it is well nigh, if not altogether unreasonable, to suppose that a sea faring people like the Northmen could live for three centuries within a short voyage of this Continent, and never become aware of its existence. A supposition like this implies a rare credulity, and whoever is capable of believing it must be capable of believing almost anything.

But on this point we are not left to conjecture. The decision, in the absence of proofs like those furnished by Greenland, turns upon a question of fact. The point is this: Do the manuscripts which describe these voyages belong to the pre-Columbian age? If so, then the Northmen are entitled to the credit of the prior discovery of America. That these manuscrips belong to the pre-Columbian age is as capable of demonstration as the fact that the writings of Homer existed prior to the age of Christ. Before intelligent persons deny either of these points they must first succeed in blotting out numberless pages of well-known history. The manuscript in which we have versions of all the Sagas relating to America is found in the celebrated Codex Flatöiensis, a work that was finished in the year 1387, or 1395 at the latest. This collection, made with great care and executed in the highest style of art, is now preserved in its integrity (60) in the archives of Copenhagen. These manuscripts were for a time supposed to be lost, but were ultimately found safely lodged in their repository in the monastery library of the island of Flatö, from whence they were transferred to Copenhagen with a large quantity of other literary material collected from various localities. If these Sagas which refer to America were interpolations, it would have early become apparent, as abundant means exist for detecting frauds; yet those who have examined the whole question do not find any evidence that invalidates their historical statements. In the absence, therefore, of respectable testimony to the contrary, we accept it as a fact that the Sagas relating to America are the productions of the men who gave them in their present form nearly, if not quite, an entire century before the age of Columbus.

It might also be argued, if it were at all necessary, that, if these Sagas were post-Columbian compositions drawn up by Icelanders who were jealous of the fame of the Genoese navigator, we should certainly be able to point out something either in their structure, bearing, or style by which it would be indicated. Yet such is not the case. These writings reveal no anxiety to show the connection of the Northmen with the great land lying at the west. The authors do not see any thing remarkable or meritorious in the explorations, which were conducted simply for the purpose of gain. Those marks which would certainly have been impressed by a more modern writer forging a historical composition designed to show an occupation of the country before the time of Columbus, are wholly wanting. There is no special pleading or rivalry, and no desire to show prior and superior knowledge of the country to which the navigators had from time to time sailed. We only discover a straightforward, honest endeavor to tell the story of certain men's lives. This is done in a simple, artless way, and with every indication of a desire to mete out even-handed justice to all. Candid readers who come to the subject with minds free from prejudice will be powerfully impressed with the belief that they are reading authentic histories written by honest men. (61)

THE LITERATURE OF ICELAND

Before speaking particularly of the substance of the Sagas it will be necessary to trace briefly the origin and history of Icelandic literature in general.

We have already mentioned the fact that Iceland was mainly settled by Norwegians of superior qualities. This superiority was always maintained, though it was somewhat slow in manifesting itself in the form of literature. Prior to the year 1000, the Runic alphabet had existed in Iceland, but it was generally used for the simplest purposes. (62) History and literature derived no advantage, as the runes were used chiefly for monumental inscriptions, and for mottoes and charms on such things as drinking cups, sacrificial vessels and swords. Yet the people were not without a kind of intellectual stimulus. It had long been the custom to preserve family and general histories, and recite them from memory as occasion seemed to warrant. This was done with a wonderful degree of accuracy and fidelity, by men more or less trained for the purpose, and whose performances at times were altogether surprising. They also had their scalds or poets, who were accustomed both to repeat the old songs and poems and extemporize new ones. Every good fighter was expected to prove himself a poet when the emergency required it. The poet was strongly encouraged. When Eyvind Skialdespilder sang his great song in praise of Iceland every peasant in the island, it is said, contributed three pieces of silver to buy a clasp for his mantel of fifty marks weight. These scalds were sometimes employed by the politicians, and on one occasion a satire so nettled Harold, king of Denmark, that he sent a fleet to ravage Iceland, and made the repetition an offense punishable with death. The Icelandic poets also went to England, to the Orkneys and to Norway, where, at the king's court, they were held in the highest estimation, furnishing poetical effusions on every public or private occasion which demanded the exercise of their gifts. The degree to which they had cultivated their memories was surprising. Old Blind Skald Stuf could repeat between two and three hundred poems. The Saga-men had the same power of memory. This we know may be improved to almost any extent by cultivation. But with the advent of Christianity came the Roman alphabet, which proved an easy method of expressing thought. Christianity, however, did not stop here. Its services was a reasonable service, and demanded of its votaries a high intelligence. The priest of Odin need do no more than to recite a short vow, or mutter a brief prayer. He had no divine records to read and to explain. But the minister of the new religion came with a system that demanded broader learning and culture than that implied in extemporaneous songs. His calling required the aid of books, and the very sight of such things proved a mental stimulus to this hard-brained race. Besides, Christianity opened to the minds of the people new fields of thought. These rude sons of war soon began to understand that there were certain victories, not to be despised, that might be gained through peace, and erelong letters came to be somewhat familiar to the public mind. The earliest written efforts very naturally related to the lives of the Saints, which on Sundays and holy days were read in public for the edification of the people. During the eleventh century these exercises shared the public attention with those of the professional Saga-man, who still labored to hand down the oral versions of the national history and traditions. In the beginning of the twelfth century the use of letters was extended, and at last the Saga-man found his occupation gone, the national history now being diligently gathered up by zealous students and scribes and committed to the more lasting custody of the written page. Among the writers was Ari Frode, who began the compilation of the Icelandic Dooms-day Book, which contained a record of the early settlers. Scarcely less useful was Sæmund the Wise, who collected the poetical literature of the North and arranged it in a goodly tome. The example of these great men was followed, and by the end of the twelfth century all the Sagas relating to the pagan period of the country had been reduced to writing. This was an era of great literary activity, and the century following showed the same zeal. Finally Iceland possessed a body of prose literature superior in quantity and value to that of any other modern nation of its time. (63) Indeed, the natives of Europe at this period had no prose or other species of literature hardly worthy of the name; and, taken altogether, the Sagas formed the first prose literature in any modern language spoken by the people. (64) Says Sir Edmund Head, "No doubt there were translations in Anglo-Saxon from the Latin, by Alfred, or an earlier date, but there was in truth no vernacular literature. I cannot name," he says, "any work in high or low German prose which can be carried back to this period. In France, prose writing cannot be said to have begun before the time of Villehardouin (1204), and Joinville (1202). Castilian prose certainly did not commence before the time of Alfonso X (1252). Don Juan Manvel, the author of the Conde Lucanor, was not born till 1282. The Cronica General de Espana was not composed till at least the middle of the thirteenth century. About the same time the language of Italy was acquiring that softness and strength which was destined to appear so conspicuously in the prose of Boccaccio, and the writers of the next century. (65)

Thus, while other nations were without a literature, the intellect of Iceland was in active exercise, and works were produced like the Eddas and the Heimskringla, works inspired by a lofty genius and which will rank with the writings of Homer and Herodotus while time endures.

In the beginning of the sixteenth century, however, the literature of Iceland reached the period of its greatest excellence, and began to decline. Books continued to be written, but works of positive genius were wanting. Yet in Iceland there has never been an absence of literary industry, while during the recent period the national reputation has been sustained by Finn Magnussen and similar great names. One hundred years before the Plymouth colonists, following in the track of Thorwald Ericson, landed on the sands of Cape Cod, the people of Iceland had set up the printing press, and produced numerous works in the native language and the Latin tongue.

It is to this people, whom Saxo Grammaticus points out as a people distinguished for their devotion to letters, that we are indeted for the narratives of the pre-Columbian voyages to America. Though first arranged for oral recitation, the Sagas, as we have seen, were afterward committed to manuscript, the earliest of which do not now exist, while the latest were those preserved in the celebrated Flatö collection nearly a century before the re-discovery of America by Columbus.

It is no longer necessary to spend much time in this connection, since the character and value of the Icelandic writings have come to be generally acknowledged, and especially since scholars and antiquaries like Humboldt and Max Muller have fully acknowledged their authenticity and authority.

COLUMBUS AND THE NORTH

It is proper to notice here the fact not a few have imagined that the claims of the Northmen have been brought forward to detract from the fame of Columbus; yet, nothing could be farther from the truth, since no one denies that it was by the discovery of America by Columbus that the Continent became of great value to the Old World, though we must always remember that North America is chiefly indebted to the Cabots, who led the way for English supremacy.

EARLY ENGLISH VOYAGES TO ICELAND

But nothing should deter us from inquiring into the relation held by Columbus to the pilots and geographers of the North, (66) especially since so many fancy that the northern regions were little visited at the period of his activity. Still we find that in the fourteenth century the fisheries were commonly pursued around Iceland, whose people were in regular communciation with Greenland. The English also must have known of Greenland at the time, though, in common with the people of Iceland and Norway, they did not appreciate the importance of this knowledge. In the fourteenth century, proof is found both in the Icelandic and English annals, of the connection between the two countries. The Icelandic contains indications of the arrival of English ships, but it is clear that their coming was so well known as to gain only a casual allusion, the interest standing connected with the news brought. The entries were made at the time, and are now set down in chronological order in accordance with the language of the original. Let us, therefore, notice these entries.

In 1348, news reached Iceland that in England the mortality was so great that 200,000 persons had died. (67) The next year the death of English sailors at Bergen, in Norway, opposite Iceland, was reported, and recorded in the Sagas. (68) This is all that we find at present in connection with the fourteenth century in Iceland; but the reference of the Saga to the great mortality in England is confirmed by Stow's "Annales," which state that the plague reached England in 1348, touching the seaports first. Thence, no doubt, the news was at once carried by fishermen to Iceland. (69) If the voyages of the English to Iceland had possessed greater interest, there would have been some more definite notice in the Sagas. We are free, however, to admire that, early in this century, the merchant trade may have been small, as in 1328 Edward III does not mention Iceland in his "Pro Mercatoribus Extraneis." Nor does he mention Denmark or Norway, but these are included in the general language, "Omnium aliarum Terrarum et locorum extranorunt." (70) Nevertheless, the mandate of Edward III, dated March 18, 1354, recognizes the fact that the king maintained a fleet for service in the "parts Boreal," John de Haddon being the Admiral. (71) It was probably designed to protect the fishermen and merchants from pirates around the north of Britain.

In the Icelandic annals of the fifteenth century, the first clear entry is that of 1407, when news was received of the death of the Archbishop of York. (72) In 1412, it was recorded that five English sailors had separated from their ship and wintered in the island. (73) In 1413, "thirty more fishing vessels came from England." Some of them were blown to the northern part of Iceland, and possibly to the Greenland coast. (74)

In 1415, six English ships sailed to Iceland, and made their port in the Westmann Islands (75) In 1416, six ships anchored in Hafnafiord, in the south-west of Iceland. (76) In 1419, many English ships were wrecked on the coast of Iceland, and a large number of lives were lost. (77) The "Annals," in the present compilation, end with the year 1430, and these six entries are all that we find. If carefully considered, however, it will appear that these mentions really form memorabilia. This will be seen by turning to the English annals for the corresponding period. The first reference to Iceland in the Fædera is that of 1415, when Henry V, for the satisfaction of the King of Denmark, ordered that during the year none of his subjects should presume to visit any of "the coasts of the islands belonging to Denmark and Norway, and especially to the island of Iceland," for the purpose of fishing or trading, "otherwise than according to the ancient custom" (aliter quam antiquitus fieri consuevit.") (78) This notice was served upon the authorities of the various seaports of England. Here, then, we learn, in connection with 1415, that in the ancient times voyages to Iceland had become frequent. It is clear from the complaint of the Danish king that the old rules respecting traffic had been broken habitually, and that they were now to be observed, at least for one year. Of the exact nature of the ancient law we cannot speak, but it would appear as though the prohibition related to the shore fisheries, which they were not to intrude upon, and hence, when the English went to Iceland, in 1415, they harbored off the coast of the Westmann Islands. The arrival of the ships, under the circumstances, formed a noticeable event, and for this reason it was recorded. The Icelandic Annals add, immediately after mentioning their arrival, that "the ships brought letters from the King of England to the people and chief men of Iceland."

There is, then, a complete agreement between the English and the Icelandic Annals, both showing that an English fleet visited Iceland in 1415---a circumstance which should go very far to establish the general value and credibility of those records of a distant age. (79)

In 1416, the English were again in Iceland, but the Fædera does not mention voyages until 1436, when Henry VI issued a license to John, the Icelandic Bishop of Holem, then in London, authorizing him to engage John May, with his ship "Catherine," for a voyage to Iceland, where May, evidently an old voyager, was to act as his attorney, and transact certain business for him, the Bishop himself not wishing to undertake the voyage. (80) In 1436, Richard Weston, of London, a "stockfishmonger," was well known by the Icelanders (81) In 1440, Henry VI sent two ships to Iceland, with supplies. It was feared that without this aid from England, the sacraments even would be omitted, there being neither wine nor salt in the country, and only milk and water (lac et aquam). (82)

In connection with the year 1445, another voyage is indicated by the Admiralty "Black Book," action having been taken against William Byggeman, and two men of Lynn, who visited Iceland in a "dogger," called the "Trinity." They kidnapped a boy whom they brought to Swetesham and held in servitude, contrary to law. (83)

In 1450, a treaty was made between the Kings of Denmark and England, which prohibited trading in Iceland; but a special provision of Parliament exempted Thomas Canynges, Mayor of Bristol, from the prohibition, in consideration of his great services to Iceland. He was accordingly allowed to send two ships thither to load with fish or other commodities. His trade with Iceland was a matter of general knowledge, and thrown additional light upon a certain remark by Columbus.

It should be remembered also, that the Zeno Brothers made their voyage to Greenland, and a part of the American coast called Estotiland, and Drogeo, in 1400; but it is not desirable to dwell upon such a familiar theme here. It suffices to say: The Zeno Map, published with the narrative in 1558, shows that the Zeno family had a knowledge of Greenland that could have been obtained only during the pre-Columbian times. (84)

In this connection the investigator must not overlook the voyage of Skolnus the Pole, which took place in 1476. Hakluyt says that this voyage is mentioned by Gemma Frisius and Girava. (85) It is certainly referred to on an ancient globe of about 1540, preserved in Paris, and known as "The Rouen Globe," whereon, near the north-west coast of Greenland, is a legend declaring that Skolnus reached that point in 1476. This globe seems to antedate Gomara (1553), the earliest author that the writer has been able to consult.

Next, attention should be directed to the voyage of Columbus, of which the Genoese himself gives the following account:

"In the month of February, 1477, I sailed a hundred leagues beyond the island of Thyle, the southern part of which is distant from the equinoctial 73 degrees, and not 63 as some wish it to be; nor does it lie upon the line where Ptolemy's west begins, but much more toward the west. And to this island, which is as large as England, the English come for traffic, and especially those of Bristol. And at the time I was there the sea was not frozen, but in some places the tide rose 26 fathoms (feet), and fell the same." (86) Whoever wrote the life of the Admiral, there is no question but that he made the voyage. Finn Magnussen has pointed out an interesting confirmation of the statement of Columbus respecting the mild weather in 1477, where he shows from the "Annals," the remarkable fact, that, in 1477, snow had not been seen at Eyafjord, in the north of Iceland, as late as March (87).

To this period belongs the voyage of Robert Alcock, of Hull, who, in 1478, was commissioned by Edward IV to send a ship of 240 tons to Iceland, which was "to reload with fish or other goods." (88) He was licensed again in 1483.

Chaucer in the prologue to the Canterbury Tales, shows by his "shipman" something of the activity of the British sailor at this period.

An indication more to our present purpose is found in the poem on "The Policie of Keeping the Sea," which belongs to the middle of the fifteenth century. At that time the northern region was so well known that the author of the poem disposes of the subject briefly:

"Of Island to write is little nede,

Save of stockfish; yet forsooth, indeed,

Out of Bristowe, and costes many one,

Men have practiced the needle and stone

Thider twelve yere, and without perill

Gon and come, as men were wont of old

Of Scarborough unto the costes cold." (89)

Thus, at the time when the poet wrote, Bristol had revived her old enterprise. The maritime enterprise of this period is greatly underrated by Mr. Froude. The sketch now given of voyages toward the north, especially during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, is quite general. It would be easy to swell the citations from various sources, among which may be mentioned the voyages to the west of Ireland so well known to Columbus, as his biography proves. Yet enough has been said to show the real character of the period. The times, both before and after the general date assigned to the voyage of Columbus, were marked by great activity, and expeditions to the north were so common that neither the English nor the Icelanders took the trouble to mention them, except when they stood connected with circumstances of particular interest. The intercourse between Iceland and England was so frequent, that sailors like John May, who served as the representative of the Bishop of Holem, must have acquired a fair knowledge of the language spoken in that distant isle. Indeed, at one time, under the Normans, the Icelandic tongue gave a person the advantage at the courts of both England and France. (90)

But enough has been said to prove that the voyage of Columbus, in 1477, formed no novelty. His actions take their place with entire naturalness in the annals of his age, there being nothing in the nature of the voyage to challenge belief.

Columbus had the most ample opportunities for learning of the voyages of the Northmen. He could not associate with the English sailors without hearing more or less about Iceland, and presumably of Greenland. He must have known that voyages were made to the west, though it is probable that he did not appreciate the importance of the information and failed to put it to use in the traditional connections. He argued, no doubt, that the land at the west visited by the Icelanders, was not the Indies, of which he was in search. (91) This led him to take the Southern route across the Atlantic. (92) In this connection, however, the author has no interest in the work of lessening the deserved fame of Columbus. That Columbus knew of the westward voyages of the Icelanders is sufficiently evident. He clearly believed, as the Northmen did, namely, that Greenland was an extension of Norway, and that Vinland lay contiguous, while what he desired was to reach the eastern coast of Asia. (93)

THE PRESENT STATE OF THE DISCUSSION

About fifty years have passed since the publication of Rafn's work on the antiquities of America, which gives the Icelandic text of the Sagas, accompanied translations in Latin and Danish. The appearance of that remarkable work excited surprise in many intelligent circles, though a general knowledge of the Icelandic voyages had long been in the possession of scholars, especially through the writings of Torfæus. The volume was favorably reviewed by Edward Everett, and, both in America and Europe, at once commanded the attention of historians and antiquaries. (94) While some of the more enthusiastic conclusions of Prof. Rafn have been disallowed, his main proposition has steadily gained favor, it being conceded that voyages were made by the Northmen to New England in the eleventh century.

On this subject Humboldt speaks most emphatically, saying with regard to "the undoubted first discovery of America, in its northern portion by the Northmen," that, "whilst the Caliphate was under the dominion of Samanides, whose age was so favorable to poetry, America was discovered in the year 1000 by Leif, son of Eric the Red, by the northern route as far 41 degrees 30' north latitude." (95)

Turning to our own country we have the testimony of a laborious and painstaking investigator like Palfrey, who examined the whole subject, and gives us as his final conclusion respecting the Sagas, that "their antiquity and genuineness appear to be well established, nor is there any thing to bring their credibility into question beyond the general doubt which always attaches to what is new or strange." (96)

As the result, historical writers in general accept the Sagas as authority, and usually locate Leif Ericson's settlement in New England. (97)

A large proportion of the American school histories give the voyages of the Northmen to America, and there is now being raised up a generation that will be free from that old bias, which formerly gave Columbus the field, to the exclusion not only of the Northmen, but of the Cabots, who saw the American Continent before Columbus could possibly have done so. (98)

In New England the study of the Icelandic Sagas has resulted in the erection of a statue to Leif Ericson in the City of Boston. This was not accomplished without opposition, the movement having been opposed by a class of men, small in numbers, but whose general attainments and devotion to the study of historical subjects entitle any opinion they may present to respectful consideration. They represent what, in some respects, may, perhaps, be regarded as a conservative element, an element of value in connection with historical study, even as when joined to politics, theology and sociology. It often, however, misses its aim, and helps forward, rather than hinders, the progress of a new line of thought. Certain it is in the present case, that opposition has stimulated investigation and advanced the influence of the Sagas as historical documents. It is, therefore, in vain that those to whom reference is made undertake to declare, that "There is the same sort of reason for believing in the existence of Leif Ericson that there is for believing in the existence of Agamemnon; they are both traditions accepted by later writers."

It is sufficiently evident that local feeling, which often vitiates the studies of the most accomplished men, enters into this singular declaration. It serves no special purpose, beyond proving a feeling of irritation on the part of men accustomed to have every utterance received with deference, but who have discovered a certain inability to control public opinion in connection with historical monuments. The people have moved on, and left them behind. But, notwithstanding their opposition, the study of the whole subject of Pre-Columbian Discovery is indebted to their efforts, and the student of the Sagas should regard it as fortunate, that the opposition has come from so influential a source, since, in the future, when these compositions shall have gained unanimous belief, it may prove a source of satisfaction to know that the veracity of the old Icelandic chronicler was established in the face of preserving and determined organized opposition. (99) The future of the Icelandic Sagas relating to America is plain. Their simple, unaffected statements, all uncolored either by personal vanity or national ambition, will find in these statements, committed to writing, as all the testimony proves, in Pre-Columbian times, convincing and unanswerable proof of the fact that Leif Ericson and other adventurers found America and visited New England during the times and under the circumstances described. (100)

THE ICELANDIC NARRATIVES

It now remains to give the reader some general account of the contents of the narratives which relate more or less to the discovery of the Western continent. It may be well first, however, to notice an attempt at criticism made in the North American Review, (101) which assumes that the Sagas are simply reductions of old ballads, because Sturleson admits that a part of his "Heimskringla" was so produced. As it happens, however, the Vinland Sagas contain only four poetical fragments, while in the Heimskringla they abound. A few verses are also found in Landanama, in its second part, the origin of which is absolutely known. The first part was composed in the eleventh century and the second in the fourteenth, when the ballad theory becomes positively absurd. This work likewise contains two more extracts from the poem "Havgerdinger," which is also quoted in the Saga relating to the first voyage of Biarne to America, proving clearly that it was a well-known and popular song, quoted by the different writers just as Shakespere is quoted today. Sometime, too, these quotations have no real relation to the subject, having been introduced on the principle which governs the introductions of songs and hymns on oratorical occasions in our times.

Nevertheless empty theories like this one are devised, showing that the critic has no proper conception of the nature of the Icelandic literature, either in prose or verse. (102)

In speaking of these records the order followed will be that which is indicated by the table of contents at the beginning of the volume.

The first extracts given are very brief. They are taken from the Landanama Book, and relate to the report in general circulation, indicating one Gunnbiorn as the discoverer of Greenland, an event which has been fixed at the year 876. These fragments also give an account of a voyage to what was called Gunnbiorn's Rocks, where the adventurers passed the winter, and found in a hole, or excavation, a sum of money, which indicated that others had frequented the place before them.

The next narrative relates to the re-discovery of Greenland by the outlaw, Eric the Red, in 983, who there passed three years in exile, and afterwards returned to Iceland. About the year 986, he brought out to Greenland a considerable colony of settlers, who fixed their abode at Brattahlid, in Ericsfiord.

Then follow two versions of the voyage of Biarne Heriulfson, who, in the same year, 986, when sailing for Greenland, was driven away during a storm, and saw a new land at the southward, which he did not visit. He was complained of because he did not describe it carefully, so that Leif had only the most vague reports for his guidance.

Next follows three accounts of the voyage of Leif, son of Eric the Red, who, in the year 1000, sailed fro Brattahlid to find the land which Biarne saw. Two of these accounts are hardly more than notices of the voyage, but the third is of considerable length, and details the successes of Leif, who found and explored this new land, where he spent the winter, returning to Greenland the following spring. With his descriptions we find ourselves on solider ground than the voyage of Biarne.

After this follows the voyage of Thorvald Ericson, brother of Leif, who sailed to Vinland from Greenland, which was the point of departure in all these voyages. This expedition was begun in 1002, and it cost him his life, as an arrow from one of the natives pierced his side.

Thorstein, his brother, went to seek Vinland, with the intention of bringing home his body, but failed in the attempt, and was driven back, passing the winter in a part of Greenland remote from Brattahlid, where he died before the spring fully opened.

The most distinguished explorer was the great Thorfinn Karlsefne, an Icelander whose genealogy runs back in the old Northern annals, through Danish, Swedish, and even Scotch and Irish ancestors, some of whom were of royal blood. In the year 1006 he went to Greenland, where he met Gudrid, widow of Thorstein, whom he married. Accompanied by his wife, who urged him to the undertaking, he sailed for Vinland in the spring of 1007, with three vessels and one hundred and sixty men. He remained in Vinland three years. Here his son Snorre was born. This Snorre afterwards became the founder of a great family in Iceland, which gave the island several of its earlier bishops. Thorfinn finally left Vinland because he found it difficult to sustain himself against the attacks of the natives. He seems to have spent the most of the time in the vicinity of Mount Hope Bay in Rhode Island. Of this expedition we have three narratives, all of which are given.

The next to undertake a voyage was a wicked woman named Freydis, sister of Leif Ericson, who went to Vinland in 1011, where she lived for a time with her two ships' crews in the same places occupied by Leif and Thorfinn. Before she returned, she caused the crew of one ship to be cruelly murdered, assisting in the butchery with her own hands.

After this we have what are called the Minor Narratives, which are not essential, yet they are given, that the reader may be in the possession of all that relates to the subject. The first of these refers to a voyage of Are Marson to a land south-west of Ireland, called Hvitrammana-land, or Great Ireland. This was prior to Leif's voyage to Vinland, or New England, taking place in the year 983. Biorn Asbrandson is supposed to have gone to the same place in 999. The voyage of Gudleif, who went thither, is assigned to the year 1027. The narrative of Asbrandson is given for the sake of the allusion at the close.

Finally we have a few scraps of history which speak of a voyage of Bishop Eric to Vinland in 1121, of the re-discovery of Helluland (Newfoundland) in 1285, and of a voyage to Markland (Nova Scotia) in 1347, whither the Northmen came to cut timber. With such brief notices the accounts come to an end.

THE TRUTHFULNESS OF THE NARRATIVES

The reader will occasionally find in these narratives instances of a marvelous and supernatural character, but there is nothing at all mythological, as persons ignorant of narratives have supposed. Besides there are multitudes of narratives of a later date, to be found in all languages, which contain as many statements of a marvelous nature as these Sagas, which, nevertheless, contain a substantial ground-work of truth. All early histories abound in the supernatural, and these things are so well known that illustrations are hardly needed here. The relation of prodigies in nowise destroys the credibility of historical statement. If this were not so, we should be obliged to discard the greater portion of well-known history, and even suspect plain matters of fact in the writings of such men as Dr. Johnson, because that great scholar fully believed in the reality of an apparition known in London as the Cock-Lane Ghost. The Sagas are as free from superstition and imagination as most other narratives of that age, and are just as much entitled to belief.

There will also, in certain cases, be found contraditions. The statements of the different narratives do not always coincide. The disagreements are, however, neither very numerous nor remarkable. The discrepancies are exactly what we should expect to find in a series of narratives written at different tmes and by different lands. The men who recorded the various expeditions to New England in the eleventh century agree, on the whole, quite as well as the writers of our own day, who, with vastly greater advantages, undertake to narrate the events of the colonization of America in the seventeenth century. (103)

Therefore these marvelous statements and occasional contradictions in nowise detract from the historic value of the documents themselves, which, even in their very truthfulness to the times, give every evidence of authenticity and great worth. To this general appearance of truthfulness we may, however, add the force of those undesigned coincidences between writers widely separated and destitute of all means of knowing what had been already said. The same argument may be used with the Sagas which had been so powerfully employed by Paley and others in vindicating the historical character of the New Testament. (104) In thse narratives, as in those of SS. Paul and John, it may be used with overwhelming effect. Yet we should not fear to dispense with all auxiliary aids. We are willing to rest the whole question of the value of these narratives upon their age; for if the Sagas date back to a period long prior to the voyage of Columbus, then the Northmen are entitled to the credit of having been the first Europeans to land upon these shores. But the date of these narratives has now been settled beyond reasonable question. The doubts of the ablest critical minds, both in Europe and America, have been effectually laid to rest, and at the end of all the years that have passed since the first edition of this work came from the press, we are obliged to repeat that the reply now given to the Northern Antiquary is often "some feeble paragraphs pointed with a sneer."

We need not, therefore, appear before the public to cry, "Place for the Northmen!" They can win their own place, as of old. They are as strong today in ideas, as anciently in arms.

MONUMENTS AND REMAINS

That the Northmen left no pronounced architectural remains in New England may be true. Professor Rafn supposed that he found in the celebrated Dighton Rock (105) and the stone mill at Newport, evidences of the Icelandic occupation. Any serious effort to identify the Dighton inscription and the Newport Mill with the age of the Northmen can only serve to injure a good cause. If Professor Rafn could have seen these memorials himself, he would doubtless have been among the first to question the truth of the theory which he set forth.

In regard to the structure at Newport, Professor Rafn says that he is inclined to believe "that it had a sacred destination, and that it belonged to some monastery or Christian place of worship of one of the chief parishes in Vinland. In Greenland," he says, "there are to be found ruins of several round buildings in the vicinity of the churches. One of this description, in diameter about twenty-six feet, is situated at the distance of three hundred feet to the eastward of the great church in Igalliko; another of forty-four feet to the eastward of the church in Karkortok;........a third, of thirty-two feet in diameter amongst the ruins of sixteen buildings at Kanitsok." (106) He supposes that all these ancient remains of the Icelanders, which are to be seen in Greenland today, are baptisteries, similar to those of Italy.

According to this view, there must have been a considerable ecclesiastical establishment in Vinland, which is not clearly indicated by the Sagas, from which we learn no more than the simple fact that Bishop Eric sailed on a voyage to this place in the year 1121. But it is probable that the Northmen would have erected a baptistery like this, and, at the same time, left no other monument? It seems hardly reasonable. Besides, whoever examines this ancient structure must be impressed by its modern aspect, so especially apparent in the mortar, which has been analyzed and found to be substantially the same as the mortar used in some of the early structures of Newport. The displacement of a portion of the masonry might perhaps reveal some peculiarity that would effectually settle the question of its antiquity to the satisfaction of all if any question remains. (107)

In Greenland the evidences of the Northmen's occupation are abundant, because they were regularly established on the ground for generations, and formed their public and private edifices of the only material at hand, which was well nigh imperishable. But their visits to New England were comparatively few, and were scattered over many years. Owing to the weakness of their numbers, they found permanent colonies impracticable. Thorfinn Karlsefne deliberately gave up the attempt at the end of a three years' experiment, saying that it would be impossible to maintain themselves against the more numerous bands of natives. Their habitations were temporary. The various companies that came into Vinlind, instead of building stone houses occupied temporary huts or booths, like Leif's booths, and simply added others similar to them when they afforded insufficient quarters. To ask for monumental proofs of the occupation of the Northmen is, therefore, unreasonable, since their wooden huts and timber crosses must soon have disappeared. The memorial we have a right to expect is some relic, a coin or amulet, perhaps, that chance may yet throw in the antiquary's way,(108) or some excavation, it may be a trench, conduit, cellar, or incipient fortress. In the meanwhile, among scholars, the Icelandic narratives are steadily winning their way to unquestioned belief. This is all the more gratifying in an age like the present, in which large portions of history are being dismissed to the realms of hoary fable, and all the annals of the past are being studied in a critical spirit, with true aims and a pure zeal.

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1*. Of course we must not overlook the recent researches into the history of Central America, and especially the studies in connection with Yucatan. (back)

2. Proceedings of "The United States Catholic Historical Society," 1886, for October 29, 1885. The Rev. Joshua P. Bodfish has a paper on "The Discovery of America by the Northmen," in which (pp.2-3-4-5) he helps himself to the author's Introduction without giving due credit. (back)

3. Var. Hist.lib. III, cap. XVIII. (back)

4. See Plato's "Critias and Timæas." (back)

5. De Mundo, cap. III. See "Prince Henry the Navigator," chap. VII, by Major, London, 1868. (back)

6. "Odyssey," book IV, 1. 765. (back)

7. See "Prince Henry the Navigator," p.90. (back)

8. Strabo, lib. III. (back)

9. Pliny's "Natural History," lib. VI cap. XXXVII. (back)

10. See p.137 (back)

11. "Prince Henry the Navigator," p. 137 (back)

12. 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 re-discovered 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 re-discovered by Prince Henry is, therefore, incorrect. His expedition reached Porto Santo and Madeira in 1418-1420. (back)

13. He also speculates upon the probability of this Continent having been visited by Christian missionaries. The Hebrew theory is hardly tenable, and must be classed with the speculations of the famous Major Noah. See vol. VI, p. 410 (back)

14. Kingsborough's "Mexican Antiquities," vol. VI, p. 285. (back)

15. Ibid, p. 332. (back)

16. "Monastikon Britannicum," pp. 131-132, 187-188. The fact that the word America is here used, seems quite sufficient to upset the legend. Speaking of the claims to Pre-Columbian discovery at the west by the various eastern peoples, Mr. Winsor admits that "there is no good reason why any one of them may not have done all that is claimed." "Narrative and Critical History of America," vol. I, p. 59. (back)

17. The Irish were early known as Scots, and O'Halloran derives the name from Scota, high priest of Phænius, and ancestor Mileseuis. (back)

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 wilde ocean foamed with hostile oars.

18. 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. (back)

19. There is a tradition of a Welsh voyage to America under Prince Madoc, which relates to a period following the Icelandic voyages. This voyage by the son of Owen Gwyneth is fixed for the year 1170, and is based on a Welsh chronicle of no authority. See Hackluyt, vol. III, p. 1. See, also, "America Discovered by the Welsh in 1170," by Bowen, Philadelphia, 1876; "An Enquiry into the Truth of the Tradition, concerning the Discovery of America by Prince Madog ab Owen Gwyneth, about the year 1170 by John Williams," etc., London, 1791, p. 85; and "Farther Observations on the Discovery of America by Prince Madog ab Owen Gwyneth," etc., 1792, p. 51. The following from the London Standard, September 6, 1888, is timely: "Great interest was excited yesterday in North Wales by the announcement that the tomb of Madoc ap Gryffyddmaelor, a great Welsh warrior in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, grandson of Owen Gwynedd, Prince of Wales, had been discovered in the ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey, Llangollen. The Rev. H. T. Owen, warden of the abbey, who is now engaged upon some excavations, was searching for old stained glass in the dormitory, when he disinterred a large stone slab, bearing the name of Madoc, and an inscription, which has not yet been fully deciphered. Down the center of the stone is an incised sword in sheath. Further excavations led to the discovery of four other stones, each about five feet by eighteen inches; two bear floriated crosses, one an inscribed spear, and the other a Grecian ornament. The stones form part of the vaulting of the corridor leading to the old burial ground of the monks. Madoc ap Gryffydd founded the abbey, which was a Cistercian Monastery, about the year 1200. After the venerable building became a ruin, the chapter-house and scriptorium were used for several generations as a farmstead, and were practically destroyed by fire. During the repairs it is conjectured that the stones of Madoc's tomb were used to complete the vaulting. In 1851 the debris covering the area of the abbey was removed by Lord Dungannon, and the tombs of benefactors buried in front of the high altar, the figure of a knight in chain armour, and a stone coffin were laid bare. During the excavations of last year the monk's well and spring were discovered. Sir Theodore and Lady Martin and many others visited the ruins yesterday." (back)

20. Turkish Spy, vol. VIII, p. 159. (back)

21. See "Northmen in Iceland," Societe des Antiquaries du Nord, Seance du 14 Mai, 1859, pp. 12-14. (back)

22. It is sometimes, though improperly, called the Norse. Societe des Antiquaries, etc., 1840-44, p. 165. (back)

23. 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." (back)

24. 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. (back)

25. 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 forehead." (back)

26. Ari Hinn Frode, or the Wise. The chief compiler of the famous landanama 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 3,000 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 Thorsden, and completed by Hauk Erlandson, Lagman, or Governor of Iceland, who died in the year 1334. (back)

27. "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 Americanae, 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.

The earliest known movement northward from England was that inaugurated by King Arthur, about the year 505. The authority on this subject is Geoffrey of Monmouth, who was bishop of Saint Asaph in 1152, and who wrote the Historia Britonum, a work which afforded a basis for the fables and romances of the "Knights of the Round Table." Nevertheless, whoever inclines to turn from all the statements of Geoffrey, for the reason that they contain much that is untrue, should ponder the well-considered words of Hume ("England," I, 38, ed. 1822), who says of the Prince of Silures: "This is that Arthur so much celebrated in the songs of Thaliessin and the other British bards, and whose military achievements have been blended with so many fables as even to give occasion for entertaining a doubt of his real existence. But poets," he continues, "though they disfigure the most certain history of their fictions, and use strange liberties with truth, where they are the sole historians, as among the Britons, have commonly some foundation for their wildest exaggerations." The Bishop of Saint Asaph, who was not a poet, may be credited, therefore, when he states such simple facts as that, about the year 505, King Arthur, after the conquest of Ireland, received the submission of the Orkneys and sailed to Iceland, "which he also subdued;" at a subsequent period overcoming his foes in Norway. (B. IX, c. 10) The conquest of Ireland cost much bloodshed, but that of Iceland, if he went there, must have been made without a struggle, since at that period there could not have been men enough to make any great resistance.

Hakluyt (I, 1), treating this matter, quotes from Galfridus Monumetensis, who says that, after subduing Ireland, Arthur went to Iceland, and "brought it and the people thereof under his subjection." The same author mentions "Maluasius" as "King" of Iceland, and tells of soldiers that he furnished.

The "King," however, may be reduced to a figure of speech, while there could have been no soldiers, unless, indeed, Arthur, as elsewhere stated, transported people to the north. See "Inventio Fortunata. Artic Exploration, with an account of Nicholas of Lynn," etc. By B. F. De Costa, New York, 1861, p. 5. (back)

28. All the information which we possess relating to the discovery by Gunnbiorn is given in the body of this work, in extracts from Landanama Book. (back)

29. 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. (back)

30. The Northmen reckoned by winters. (back)

31. See the Saga of Eric the Red. (back)

32. 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 seperate thing. (back)

33. 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 Thing. (back)

34. See Bradford's work on Greenland with an introduction by the present writer. (back)

35. It will be seen hereafter that he went and established himself in Vinland. (back)

36. See "Memoires des Antiquaires du Nord," p. 383. (back)

37. 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. (back)

38. See Crantz's "Greenland," vol. I, p. 252. (back)

39. These inscriptions are all in fair runic letters, about which there can be no mistake, and are totally unlike the imaginary runes. (back)

40. See Egede's "Greenland," p. XXV; Crantz's "Greenland," vol I, pp. 247-88; Purchas, "His Pilgrimes," vol. III, p. 518; "Antiquitates Americanae," p. 300. See the Chronicle in "Sailing Directions of Henry Hudson," Munsell, 1869. (back)

41. Historia Vinlandiæ Antiquæ seu Partes Americæ Septentrionalis, ubi Nominis ratio recenfetur situs terræ ex dierumbiu malium Spatio expenditur, Soli fertilatis & nicolarum barbaries, peregrinorum temporarius incolatus & gesta, vicinarum terrarum nomina and facies Antiquitatibus Islandicis in lucem producta exponunta per Thormodum Torfæum Rerum Norvegicarum Historiographum Regium. Havniæ Ex Typographeo Regiæ Magist, and Universit 1705. Impensis Authoris.

Gronlandia Antiqua seu Gronlandiæ descriptio, ubi coeli marisqve natura, terræ, locorum & villarum situs, animalum terrestrium aqvatilivmqve varia genera, Gentis origo & incrementa, status Politicus & Ecclesiasticus, gesta memorabilia & vicissitudines, ex antiqvis memoriis, præcipue Islandicis qva fieri potuit industria collecta exponuntur, authore Thormo Torfæo, Rerum Norvegicarum Historiographo Regio, Haviæ iapud Hieron: Christ: Paulli Reg: Universit: Bibliopolam. Anno 1715. (back)

42. "Antiquitates Americanæ," p. xxxix. (back)

43. For the account of the manuscripts upon which our knowledge of Greenland is founded, see "Antiquitates Americanæ," p. 255. (back)

44. "Islenzkir Annaler." (back)

45. In that year parties are known to have contracted marriage at Gardar, from whom Finn Magnussen and other distinguished men owe their descent. Hakluyt quotes Lambord, to the effect that Arthur made his way to Greenland; but we can understand how the statement originated, since the map of Ptolemy made Greenland a western extension of Norway, the position of the country being misunderstood. The Icelandic chronicles distinctly say that, half a century before the voyage of Eric, a great country was known at the west, being called "Ireland the Great." It would seem that this country was first reached by the Irish, whose prior discovery was conceded by the Icelanders. The Irish had described it, evidently, as a land of verdure, while the Saga says that Eric applied the name of "Greenland" to the part he visited, not from any peculiar fitness but from motives of policy, saying that "men would be persuaded to go to a land with so good a name." Possibly the term "Greenland" was originally applied to the whole of North America, as were other names that finally came to have a local meaning. See "Verranzano the Explorer." (back)

46. Egede's "Greenland," p. xlvii. (back)

47. Ibid., xlviii. (back)

48. Crantz's "Greenland," vol. I, p. 264 (back)

49. Crantz's "Greenland," p. 274. (back)

50. Ibid., p. 279. (back)

51. 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. Reference here is exclusively to the Scandinavians, as we remember voyages like those of Davis and Frobisher from England. (back)

52. The motto on the sword of Roger Guiscard was: "Appulus et Calaber Siculus mihi Servit et Afer." (back)

53. See Laing's Heimskringla, vol. II, p. 450. This refers to his swimming match with Kiarten the Icelander, in which the king was beaten. (back)

54. See Saga of Saint (not king) Olaf. (back)

55. Des Antiquaires du Nord, 1859. (back)

56. Ledehammer. The point of land near the house of Lede, just below Drontheim. (back)

57. Laing's Heimskringla, vol. I, p. 457. It is related that while they were planking the ship, "it happened that Thorberg had to go home to his farm upon some urgent business; and as he stayed there a long time, the ship was planked upon both sides when he came back. In the evening the king went out and Thorberg with him, to see how the ship looked, and all said that never was seen so large and fine a ship of war. Then the king went back to the town. Early the next morning the king came back again to the ship, and Thorberg with him. The carpenters were there before them, but all were standing idle with their hands across. The king asked, 'What is the matter?' They said the ship was ruined; for somebody had gone from stem to stern, and cut one deep notch after another down one side of the planking. When the king came nearer he saw that it was so, and said with an oath, 'The man shall die who has thus ruined the ship out of malice, if he can be found, and I will give a great reward to him who finds him out.' 'I can tell you, king,' says Thorber, 'who has done this piece of work.' 'I don't think that any one is so likely to find it out as thou art.' Thorberg says: 'I will tell you, king, who did it, I did it myself.' The king says, 'Thou must restore it all to the same condition as before, or thy life shall pay for it.' Then Thorberg went and chipped the planks until the deep notches were all smoothed and made even with the rest; and the king and all present declared that the ship was much handsomer on the side of the hull which Thorberg had chipped, and bade him shape the other side in the same way and gave him great thanks for the improvement."  (back)

58. A few years ago two very ancient vessels which probably belonged to the seventh century, were exhumed on the coast of Denmark, seven thousand feet from the sea, where they were scuttled and sunk. The changes in the coast finally left them imbedded in the sand. One vessel was seventy-two feet long, and nine feet wide amidships. The other was forty-two feet long, and contained two eight-sided spars, twenty-four feet long. The bottoms were covered with mats of withes for the purpose of keeping them dry. Among the contents was a Damascened sword, with runes, showing that the letter existed among the Northmen in the seventh century. See Horsford's notice of an ancient ship, "Address at the unveiling of the Statue of Lief Erickson," p. 21. Also illustrations in "Narrative and Critical History," I, 62-4. (back)

59. The people of Iceland were always noted for thier superiority in this respect over their kinsmen in Denmark and Norway. There is one significant fact bearing on this point, which is this: that, while a few of the people of Iceland went at an early period to engage in piratical excursions with the vikings of Norway, not a single pirate ship ever sailed from Iceland. Such ways were condemned altogether at an early day, while various European nations continued to sanction piracy down to recent periods. Again it should be remembered that in Iceland duelling was also solemnly declared illegal as early as 1011, and in Norway the following year; while in England it did not cease to be a part of the judicial process until 1818. See Sir Edmund Head's "Viga-Glum Saga," p. 120. (back)

60. Those who imagine that these manuscripts, while of pre-Columbian origin, have been tampered with and interpolated, show that they have not the faintest conception of the state of the question. The accounts of the voyages of the Northmen to America form the framework of the Sagas which would actually be destroyed by the elimination of the narratives. There is only one question to be decided, and that is the date of the compositions. (back)

61. The fact that Mr. Bancroft has in times past expressed opinions in opposition to this view will hardly have weight with those familiar with the subject. When that writer composed the first chapter of his History of the United States, he might have been excused for setting down the Icelandic narratives as shadowy fables; but, with all the knowledge shed upon the subject at present, we have a right to look for something better. It is, therefore, unsatisfactory to find him perpetuating his early views in each successive edition of the work, which show the same knowledge of the subject betrayed at the beginning. He tells us that these voyages "rest on narratives mythological in form, and obscure in meaning," which certainly cannot be the case. Furthermore they are "not contemporary;" which is true, even with regard to Mr. Bancroft's own work. Again, "The chief document is an interpolation in the history of Sturleson." This cannot be true in the sense intended, for Mr. Bancroft conveys the idea that the principal narrative first appeared in Sturleson's history when published at a late day. It is indeed well known that one version, but not the principal version, was interpolated in Peringskiold's edition of Sturleson's Heimskringla, printed at Copenhagen. But Bancroft teaches that these relations are of a modern date, while it is well known that they were taken verbatim from Codex Flatöiensis, finished in the year 1395. He is much mistaken in supposing that the northern antiquaries think any more highly of the narratives in question, because they once happened to be printed in connection with Sturleson's great work. He tells us that Sturleson "could hardly have neglected the discovery of a continent," if such an event had taken place. But this, it should be remembered, depends upon whether or not the discovery was considered of any particular importance. This does not appear to have been the case. The fact is nowhere dwelt upon for the purpose of exalting the actors. Besides, as Laing well observes, the discovery of land at the west had nothing to do with his subjects, which was the history of the kings of Norway. The discovery of America gave rise to a little traffic, and nothing more. Moreover the kings of Norway took no part, were not the patrons of the navigators, and had no influence whatever in instituting a single voyage. Mr. Bancroft's last objection is that Vinland, the place discovered, "has been sought in all directions from Greenland and the St. Lawrence to Africa." This paragraph also conveys a false view of the subject, since the location of Vinland was as well known to the Northmen as the situation of Ireland, with which island they had uninterrupted communication.

Washington Irving has expressed doubt in his Life of Columbus, written as he says, before the means of examining this question were placed within his reach, and in the appendix of his work he mixes the idle tales of St. Brandan's Isle with the authentic histories of the Northmen. A very limited inquiry would have led him to a different estimate.  (back)

62. The word rune comes from ryn, a furrow. Odin has the credit of the invention of runes, yet they are probably of Phenician origin. They were sometimes used for poetical purposes. Halmund, in the Grettir Saga (see Sabing Baring Gould's Iceland), says to his daughter: "Thou shalt now listen whilst I relate my deeds, and sing thereof a song, which thou shalt afterward cut upon a staff." This indicates the training the memory must have undergone among the Northmen. (back)

63. For a list of many Icelandic works, see the Introduction of Laing's "Heimskringla." See also Horn's "History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North." Translated by Anderson, Chicago, 1884. Also the work of William and Mary Howitt. (back)

64. See Sir Edmund Head's Viga Glum Saga, pp. viii and ix. (back)

65. Ibid, Of course there was more or less poetry, yet poetry is early developed among the rudest nations, while good prose proves that a people have become highly advanced in mental culture.  (back)

66. Bulletin de Geographie, 1858, p. 177. Are Frode, in 1608, speaking of the visit paid to Iceland by Floke Vilgerderson, says that in those times seamen had no loadstones in the northern countries. The Bible Guyot, 1150, speaks of the loadstone as "un pierre laida et brumiere." (back)

67. "Islenzkir Annálar," Hafniæ, 1847, p. 276. The Icelandic is as follows: "Mannfall ógurlegt á Englendi sva at tvö hundred thousand datt nidr."  (back)

68. Ibid., 278. (back)

69. Stow's "Annálar," p. 245, Ed. 1631. (back)

70. Rymer's Fædera, IV, 361. (back)

71. Ibid., V, 778.  (back)

72. Annálar, p. 382.  (back)

73. Ibid., p. 386.  (back)

74. Ibid., p. 388. (back)

75. Ibid., p. 390.  (back)

76. Ibid., p. 392.  (back)

77. Ibid., p. 394.----In this connection the author employs material given to him in his "Inventio Fortunata," devoted to the subject of Arctic Discovery.  (back)

78. "Fædera," IX, 322.  (back)

79. This agreement between the English and Icelandic authorities was pointed out now for the first time, in "Inventio Fortunata."  (back)

80. "Fædera," X, 645 and 659, Ed. 1877. (back)

81. Ibid., X, 762. These supplies were sent to the Bishop of Skalholt, who alone was authorized by the Synod of Denmark to supply the elements of the sacraments to the churches. See "Kirchengefchichte von Danemark und Norwegan" (munter), III, 16.  (back)

82. Ibid., X, 645. (back)

83. "Item quod Willelums Byggemane de Suetesham magister cujusdem navis vocatæ le Trinyte, dictæ vulgariter dogger, Johannis Pigot et Henrici Sorysbi de Lenna Episcopi, circa festum Exultacionis Sanctæ Crucis anno dicti regis vicesimo tertio, cepit unum pueram in partibus de Islandia, et ipsum duxit in dictu navi ad ibidem usque Suetsham, adsibi serviendum, contra statuta regia in hoc parte facta."---Monumenta Juridicia (Black Book), I, 273. (back)

84. On Zeno, see "The Sailing Directions of Henry Hudson," p. 5; "The Northmen in Maine," p. 30. Also a full discussion of the subject in the Hakluyt Society's edition of the voyage, edited by Major. (back)

85. Hakluyt makes his reference in a general way, giving neither chapter nor page. Frisius published "De Principius Astonomiæ & Cosmographiæ," &c., in 1530. The "Cosmographaiæ," of Hieronimo Girava was printed in 1556. Gomara mentions Skolnus in his "Historia," c, xxxvii, Ed. 1553. See "The Sailing Directions of Henry Hudson," p. 23, in connection with Wytfliet and Pontanus. For Hakluyt, see Maine Coll., S. 2, vol. II, p. 148. (back)

86. The Italian runs as follows: "Io navigai I'anno 1477, nel mese di Febraio oltra Tile isola cento leghe, la ciu parte Australe e lontana dall' Equinottiale settantatre gradi, et non sessantra, come alcuni vogliono: ne giace dentro della linea, che include l'Occidente di Tolomeo, ma e molto piu Occidentale. Et a quest' isola, che e tanto grande come l'Inghilterra, vanno gl'Inglesi con le loro mercatantie, specialmente quelli di Bristol. Et al tempo, che io vi andai, non era congelelate il mare che in alcuni luoghi ascendena ventesi braccia, et discendena altro tanti in altezza." (Historia del S. D. Fernando Colombo, 1571, e. iv.) "Braccia" is evidently a clerical error, as the original Spanish will doubtless show, if ever found. That Columbus was familiar with the map in the Ptolemy of 1486, showing the northern regions, with Greenland as an extension of Europe, can hardly be doubted. His remark respecting Thyle appears to be intended almost as a correction of that map, on which the Orcades and Thyle are laid down north of Scotland, Thyle being in 63 degrees N., while it appears again further north as "Islandia." This double representation of Iceland on the map was a blunder, the island being laid down first according to Ptolemy, and then according to the prevailing ideas of the day. This peculiarity of the map entitles it to interest as a Columbian map, though the feature referred to does not appear to have been remarked upon hitherto by any except the writer. (back)

87. The fact was produced from the Annals by Finn Magnussen, in "Nordisk Tidskrift for Olkyndighed," vol. II, p. 128. It has been suggested, though without reason, that the voyage of Columbus was made in 1467. See Barrow's "Chronological History," p. 26. Columbus gives the wrong latitudes for the places visited, but this may be the fault of the editor; while Humboldt says that they were not the result of his own observations during a rough wintry voyage. See "Examen Critique," II, 115, and v, 214, n. In 1550 a Bristol ship was lost at Iceland. See Barrett's Bristol. (back)

88. "Fædera," XII, 94. (back)

89. Hakluyt, vol. I, p. 201. Ed. 1599-1600.  (back)

90. Laing's "Heimskringla," vol. I, chap. viii, p. 61. (back)

91. When at the western end of Cuba on his second voyage, so certain was Columbus that he had reaced the eastern coast of Asia that he required his companions, under oath, to declare that Cuba was not an island but the continent, under penalty of 10,000 maravedis, and having their tongues cut out. See document in Navarrete's "Collecion," vol. II, p. 155. See, also, Gravier's translation of the Author's Treatise on the Lenox Globe, "Le Globe Lenoz de 1511. Traduit de Anglaies par Babriel Gravier," Rouen, 1880, p. 25. (back)

92. See the author's "Columbus and the Geographers of the North." Hartford, 1872. Those who are interested in belittling the work of Columbus can consult Goodrich's "Life of Columbus." See also, "An Inglorious Columbus," by Ed. P. Vining, New York, 1885, a somewhat remarkable book; together with "America not Discovered by Columbus." "An Historical Sketch of the Discovery of America by the Norsemen, in the Tenth Century, by Rasmus B. Anderson, A. M., with an Appendix on the Historical, Linguistic and Scientific Value of the Scandinavian Languages. New and Improved Edition. Chicago, 1877." On the routes across the Atlantic, see "Narrative and Critical History," III, 172. (back)

93. The author does not find evidence of any plan or even any desire on the part of the authorities of the Roman church to suppress knowledge of the Icelandic voyages, in order to exalt Columbus. When invited to canonize Columbus, the body to which the subject was referred, reported adversely, one reason being that they had "grave doubts" concerning the private character of Columbus, a subject that historical writers do no care to concern themselves about. Besides, in this country writers of the Roman church incessantly use the establishment of the Icelanders in New England as a ground of their own ecclesiastical priority. See Roman Catholic writers in general, and especially Dr. John Gilmary Shay and Dr. Clarke. On this point see the work of Miss Marie A. Brown on the Northmen, and the four numbers of her Journal, "Leif Ericson." (back)

94. "North American Review."  (back)

95. "Cosmos," vol. II, p. 603. "Examen Critique."  (back)

96. History of New England, vol. II, p. 53  (back)

97. See such works as the Bryant-Gay "History of the United States."  (back)

98. See author's article on the Claim of Cabot in the Independent, and Dr. Deane's discussion of the Cabot question, Narrative and Critical History, vol. III, and separate, Cambridge, 1888.  (back)

99. Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, December, 1887. The opinion of so distinguished an Icelandic scholar as Professor Dasent alone would be accepted in critical circles as disposing of any opinion propounded by the Committee responsible for the above statement. (back)

100. Pp. 76-132, vol. I, "Narrative and Critical History," contain a large amount of matter relating to this subject, and the contribution is one of much value; though it is to be regretted that the labor should be employed, largely, it would seem, for the purpose of belittling the subject. Yet, with unequalled facilities at the Editor's command, it cannot be said that the authority of the Sagas has been shaken. We find, substantially, opinion arrayed against argument, and the wealth of bibliography and illustration simply renders more apparent the weakness of the Editor's cause. Adverse criticism cannot grapple successfully with the subject, and may be considered as having done its worst, while unfortunately the effect leaves behind on the pages of a noble work what in the future will be recognized not only as a useful and stimulating contribution, but a scar. (back)

101. July, 1869, pp. 265-72. (back)

102. The critic in question was replied to by the author in "Notes on a review of the Pre-Columbian Discovery of America by the Northmen." Charlestown, Mass., 1869. (back)

103. The liability of the best historians to fall into error is illustrated by Paley, who shows the serious blunders in the accounts of the Marquis of Argyle's death, in the reign of Charles II: "Lord Clarendon relates that he was condemned to be hanged, which was performed the same day; on the contrary, Burnet, Woodrow, Heath and Echard concur in stating that he was beheaded, and that he was condemned upon Saturday and executed on Monday."----Evidences of Christianity, part III, chap. i. So Mr. Bancroft found it impossible to give with any accuracy the location of the French colony of St. Savior, established on the coast of Maine, by Saussaye, in 1613. Bancroft tells us that it was on the north bank of the Penobscot, while it is perfectly well known that it was located on the island of Mount Desert, a long way off, in the Atlantic ocean. (back)

104. This is the language held in the first edition of the work, though one might infer from the language employed by Diman in his review of the book in the North American Review (July, 1869) that the author was at that time wholly unacquainted with the fact. Our language seems to have escaped the attention of the reviewer.  (back)

105. Dighton Rock, known as the Writing Rock, is situated six and a half miles south of Taunton, Mass., on the east side of Taunton river, formed by Assonnet Neck. It lies in the edge of the river, and is left dry at low water. It is a boulder of fire graywack, twelve feet long and five feet high, and faces the bed of the river. Its front is now covered with chiseled inscriptions of what appear to be letters and outlines of men, animals and birds. As early as the year 1680, Dr. Danforth secured a drawing of the upper portion; Cotton Mather made a full copy in 1712; and in 1788, Professor Winthrop, of Harvard College, took a full-sized impression on prepared paper. Various other copies have been made at different times, all of which present substantially the same features. Yet in the interpretation of the inscription there has been little agreement. The old rock is a riddle. A copy of the inscription was shown to a Mohawk chief, who decided that it was nothing less than the representation of a triumph by indians over a wild beast, which took place on this spot. Mr. Schoolcraft also showed a copy to Chingwank, an Algonquin well versed in picture-writing, who gave a similar interpretation. The Roman characters in the central part of the composition he was finally induced to reject, as having no connection with the rest. Whoever compares this inscription with those of undeniably Indian origin found elsewhere, cannot fail to be impressed with the similarity. Nevertheless, members of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, to whose notice it was brought by the Rhode Island Historical Society, felt strongly persuaded that the rock bore evidence of the Northman's visit to these shores. Mr. Laing, the accomplished translator of the Heimskringla, in discussing the theories in regard to the inscription, says, that the only resemblance to letters is found in the middle of the stone, in which antiquaries discover the name of Thorfinn, that is, Thorfinn Karlsefne, the leader of the expedition which came to New England in 1007. Just over these letters is a character, supposed to be Roman also, which may signify NA, or MA , the letter A being formed by the last branch of M. Now MA in Icelandic is used as an abbreviation of Madr, which signifies the original settler of a country. Close to these two letters are several numerals, construed to name one hundred and fifty-one. According to the account of the voyage, Thorfinn lost nine of the one hundred and sixty men with whom it is presumed he started, and therefore one hundred and fifty-one would exactly express the number with him at the time he is supposed to have cut the inscription. This, then, would mean altogether, that Thorfinn Karlsefne established himself here with one hundred and fifty-one men. Yet, as the testimony of this rock is not needed, we may readily forego any advantage that can be derived from its study. Besides, the history of similar cases should serve to temper our zeal. In the time of Saxo Grammatticus (1160), there was a stone at Hoby, near Runamoe, in the Swedish province of Bleking, which was supposed to be sculptured with runes. At a late day copies were furnished the antiquary, who came to the conclusion, as Laing tells us, that it was a genuine inscription, referring to the battle of Braaville, fought in the year 680. It afterward turned out that the apparent inscription was made by the disintegration of veins of a soft material existing in the rock. Yet the Dighton inscription is beyond question the work of a man. Mr. A. E. Kendal, writing in 1807, says that there was a tradition that Assonnet Neck, on which tongue of land the rock is situated, was once a place of banishment among the Indians. He states, further, that the Indians had a tradition to the effect that in ancient times some white men in a bird landed there and were slaughtered by the aborigines. They aslo said thunder and lightning issued from the bird, which fact indicates that this event, if it occured at all, must be referred to the age of gunpowder, suggesting the visit made by Verranzano to New England, but very likely pointing to some later navigator. Mr. Kendal mentions the story of a ship's anchor having been found there at an early day. In former years the rock was frequently dug under by the people, in the hope of finding concealed treasures. It is said that a small rock once existed near by, which also bore the marks of human hands. The Portsmouth and Tiverton Rocks, described by Mr. Webb (Antiquitates Americanæ, pp. 355-71), are doubtless Indian inscriptions; while that on the island of Monhegan, off the coast of Maine, may perhaps be classed with the rock of Hoby. After all, it is possible that the central portion of the inscription on the Dighton Rock may be the work of the Northmen. That two distinct parties were concerned in making the inscriptions is clear from the testimony of the Indians, who did not pretend to understand the portion thought to refer to Karlsefne. For the full discussion, see Antiquitates Americanæ, p. 378, et seq. (back)

106. Memoirs des Antiquaires du Nord, 1839-9, p. 377. (back)

107. See Mag. American History, vol, III, p. 541. The old mill at Newport stands on an eminence in the center of the town, being about twenty four feet high, and twenty three feet in diameter. It rests upon eight piers and arches. It has four small windows, and, high up the wall, above the arches, was a small fireplace. It is first distinctly mentioned in the will of Governor Benedict Arnold, of Newport, where it is called, "my stone-built wind mill." It is known that during the eighteenth century it served as a mill and powder house. Edward Pelham, who married Governor Arnold's grand-daughter, in 1740 also called it "an old stone mill." Peter Easton, who early went to live in Newport, wrote in 1663, that "this year we built the first windmill;" and August 28, 1675, he says, "a storm blew down our windmill." What Easton relates occurred before Governor Arnold writes about his stone windmill, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that when the one spoken of by Easton was destroyed he built something more substantial. Yet we cannot say that this was actually the case. Some old tower may have been adapted by him for the purposes of a mill, when the one mentioned by Easton was destroyed. The family of the Governor is said to have come from Warwickshire, England. One of his farms was called the Leamington Farm, as is supposed, from the place by than name near Warwick. In addition to this, in the Chesterton Parish, three miles from Leamington, there is an old windmill similar in construction to that at Newport. It is supposed that it was erected on pillars for pneumatic reasons, and, also, that carts might thus go underneath to be loaded and unloaded with greater ease. It has been suggested, that if Gov. Arnold came from Warwickshire, of which the proof is not given, and if the Chesterton Mill was standing at the time of his departure for New England, he might have built a mill at Newport after the same model. Yet this is something we know little about. Whence came the Chesterton Mill itself? There was a tradition that it was built after a design by Inigo Jones, but this is only a tradition. That structure also might have belonged to the class of Towers, of which one at least was built by Northmen in Greenland. All is, therefore, in a measure, doubtful. It will hardly help the Northmen to class this Newport relic with their works. See Palfrey's New England, vol. I, pp. 57-59. Scribner's Monthly, March, 1879. (back)

108. Many have supposed that the skeleton in armor, dug up near Fall River, was a relic of the Northmen, being the remains of one of those men killed by the natives in the battle with Karlsefne. But it would be far more reasonable to look for traces of the Northmen among the Indians of Gaspe, who, at an early day, were distinguished for an unusual degree of civilisation. Malte Brun tells us that they worshipped the sun, knew the points of the compass, observed the position of some of the stars, and traced maps of their country. Before the French missionaries went among them they worshipped the figure of the cross, and had a tradition that a venerable person once visited them, during an epidemic, curing many by the use of that symbol. See Malte Brun's Geography (English edition), vol. V, p. 135. Malte Brun's authority is Father Leclerc's "Nouvelle Relations de la Gaspesie," Paris, 1672. See on the Skeleton in Armour Mass. Hist. Coll. 1837; also Williams, "the Northmen in Maine," Hist. Mag., Jan., 1869, p. 30. At Pittston, Me., trees three feet in diameter and with six hundred annular rings, were found associated with brick work, which, so far as appearances went, antedated the trees. In connection with things of this sort we may also consult such curious compositions as "Traces of the Northmen in America," 1861, by Abner Morse. (back)