NORSE VOYAGES: GREENLAND, VÍNLAND AND ELSEWHERE

The "Viking Age" is held to have begun in the last decade or so of the 8th century AD, with significant raids on Lindisfarne, Portland and Iona in and around Britain. This ushered in an unprecedented expansion from Scandinavia, which saw the first documented European attempt to colonise the Americas, among other achievements.

TO THE FAROES AND ICELAND

The Faroe Islands and Iceland, which had already experienced limited settlement by Gaelic-speaking monks, were first made a focus of settlement by Northmen ("Vikings" mainly from Norway) at some point around AD 825. The Faroes are traditionally held to have been first settled by Grímur Kamban, who is most closely associated with the settlement at Funningur on the island of Eysturoy. Another early settler was Naddoðr, who is credited as the first to make landfall on Iceland, after he got lost returning to the Faroes from Norway and arrived in the area of Reyðarfjörður. He gave this new discovery a id, Snæland.

In about AD 860, Iceland received a second name, Garðarshólmur, in honour of a Swede, Garðar Svavarsson, who came to the island and built a house at Húsavík. While Garðar soon left, his crewman Náttfari remained behind with two slaves, founding Náttfaravík on Skjálfandi bay opposite Húsavík. About a decade later, the third man credited with landing on Iceland, Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson, arrived at Vatnsfjörður. His associate Faxi gives his name to Faxaflói. A second settlement was founded by Floki's party at Borgarfjörður. He returned to Norway, but eventually returned to Iceland, settling at Flókadalur in Skagafirði, near Hópsvatn.

Around this time, Harald Fairhair emerged as the first king of a united Norway (Harald is traditionally credited with a reign dating from c.872-930). His reign saw the emergence of a more centralised power, and led to the emigration of many malcontents, swelling the populations of the Faroes and Iceland. Foremost among these were Ingólfr Arnarson (or Bjǫrnólfsson), his wife Hallveig Fróðadóttir and his half-brother Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson, who are traditionally given the honour of founding of Reykjavík in 874. They first settled at Álftafjörður. Hjörleifr was murdered by his Irish slaves who fled to the Vestmannaeyjar, to which Ingólfr pursued them and killed them. His slaves were Vífill and Karli.

Simultaneously, Harald Fairhair was interested in gaining control over the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland, which were used as bases by his enemies, who persisted in raiding his lands. To this end, a major expedition was mounted under the leadership of Rögnvaldr Mœrajarl, son of Eystein Glumra, or Ketill Flatnefr Björnsson, whose father Björn Grímsson. Rögnvaldr Mœrajarl was made the first Earl of the Orkneys, while Ketill carved out a kingdom for himself in the Hebrides. Both of these men are closely associated with the modern Norwegian region of Møre og Romsdal.

THE EASTERN FRONT

Already by the time of Harald Fairhair's consolidation of power in Norway, men primarily from the Swedish mainland and Götland enjoyed extensive contacts with the East Slavs in what is today the Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine. These groups of Norse adventurers and traders - known in the sources as the Rus', had already founded a settlement at Lagoda by around the mid-8th century. By 862, internal disputes among the ethnically-diverse population of the region led to a detatchment from the various Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes to appeal to a powerful magnate among the Rus' to be their ruler. This man was Rurik, who is remembered as the first ruler of Novgorod. Among his followers were Askold and Dyr, who settled in Kyiv and had already raided the great city of Constantinople by this time. The Byzantines realised that they could make use of these Variags or Varangians and many a Viking (as well as their Anglo-Saxon enemies) was to be found in the employ of the Romans.

The Anglo-Saxons of the time were desperately hard-pressed by the Danes, though fortunate indeed to find themselves with such a champion as Alfred, the king of the West Saxons, whose cosmopolitan court included a certain Ohthere of Hålogaland, who told the king of his travels in the Northern Ocean, as far as the famous country Bjarmaland. On the other side of the channel, the rulers of the Franks also realised that they could make good use of Norse talent: in 911, a warrior by the name of Rollo - who had previously laid siege to Paris - was granted lands in Normandy, where his descendants would become the Normans, Europe's leading fighters in the centuries to come.

TO GREENLAND...

Perhaps already by Harald's reign, lands west of Iceland had already entered the consciousness of the Norse people. One navigator, Gunnbjörn Ulfsson or Gunnbjörn Ulf-Krakuson - who is dated approximately between 876 and 932 - caught sight of a small archipelago, which came to bear his name: Gunnbjarnarsker or Gunnbjörn's skerries. These islands were the site of an attempted settlement in about 970, though have since disappeared, succumbing perhaps to a seismic event during the 15th century: two maps, including one by Ruysch, from the first decade of the 16th century record the destruction of land in the region in 1456. Beyond Gunnbjörn's skerries, of course, lies Greenland, which was first sighted in 978 by Snæbjörn galti Hólmsteinsson, who was also remembered for a poem mentioning the terrifying Amlóða mólu in the sea.

Greenland itself was first settled by the larger-than-life figure of Eiríkur rauði Þorvaldsson (Erik the Red), in around 982, and it was his four children who play the largest role in the mapping out and attempted settlement of the famous Vínland.

...AND BEYOND

Bjarni Herjólfsson sighted some land west of Greenland in 986 when attempting to reach his father's home at Herjolfsnes in Greenland's Eystribyggð. He sees four lands during his journey: -

The fourth is Greenland and he serendipitously arrives at the home of his father. After Bjarni's report was disseminated, tales of lands to be settled grew ever more strident in tone, prompting Leif Eiríksson to visit Bjarni to find out more. He furnishes a ship with a 35-strong crew and sets off. Leif implores his father to join the crew, but the now-ageing Eirík is reluctant. Eventually, Eirík is injured having been thrown from his horse on his way to join the crew. They retrace Bjarni's steps in reverse: -

A German, Tyrkir, discovers vines and grapes, from which the country is named Vínland. On their way home, they encounter a ship captained by a Norwegian, Thorir, stuck on a reef.

Þórvaldr Eiríksson led a second expedition to Vínland, which resulted in his death in 1003. He had decided to investigate Vínland further, believing that Leif's initial survey had not resulted in an adequately detailed knowledge of the land.

Þórsteinn Eiríksson planned an expedition to recover Þórvaldr's body, but was forced to abandon it, finding safe harbour in the Western Settlement on Greenland. He was accompanied in his endeavours by his wife Guðríður víðförla Þorbjarnardóttir, the widow of Thorir the Easterner.

Þorfinnr karlsefni Þórðarson, who married Thorstein's widow Gudrid, was in Vínland in around 1010. They are given the use of Leif's Houses in Vínland, where they arrive and have the good fortune to encounter a rorqual, which provides them with plentiful food. Eiríks saga rauða gives a more detailed account of their journey: -

They go via the Vestribyggð (Western Settlement) on Greenland to the Bjarn Isles, then via Helluland.
They proceed to Markland, naming an island to the south-east Bjarney on account of its ursine inhabitants.
They find the keel on the headland of Kjalarness and name this portion of the coast Furðustrandir, due to the length of time which elapsed as they sailed along it.
Once past Furðustrandir, Karlsefni sets two pacy Scots, Haki and Hekja, ashore, with orders to run south. They return with grapes and wild wheat.
They sail to the head of a fjord and find an island populated by many birds. These are named Straumfjörð and Straumey respectively.
The next spring, Karlsefni heads south from Straumfjörð in search of Vínland, while a heathen member of the party, Thorhall the Hunter, takes a ship and heads north. Thorhall and his crew are eventually buffetted by the winds as far as Ireland, where they are enslaved and Thorhall meets his end.

The following summer, the party encounters the Skrælings, who flee at the sound of the livestock of the Norse (which includes a frisky bull). Norse milk is traded for furs, while Karlsefni wisely decides to fortify the settlement with a palisade. Eventually, the Norse come to blows with the Skrælings, who are led by a "tall and handsome man" who is taken by Karlsefni as their leader. The natives are quickly put to flight. The following spring, they return to Greenland with pelts, vines and grapes.

Again, Eiríks saga rauða elaborates, bringing in a number of wonders: -

Þórvaldr (who is still alive in this version) is killed by an arrow to the groin shot by a Uniped, who hops off to the north.
Sailing in that direction, the crew believe they catch a glimpse of the Uniped's homeland, Einfœtingaland. Einfœtingaland is estimated to be as far north of Straumfjörð as Hóp is to the south.
After spending a third winter at Straumfjörð, they sail to Markland, where they encounter five Skrælings - "a bearded man, two women, and two children." The adults evade the party by sinking into the ground, but the two youngsters - boys - are captured, and relate a strange tale: -

The boys said that their mother was called Vætild and their father Ovægir. They said that the land of the Skrælings was ruled by two kings, one of whom was called Avaldamon and the other Valdidida. They said that there were no houses there and that people lived in caves or holes in the ground. They said that there was a country across from their own land where the people went about in white clothing and uttered loud cries and carried poles with patches of cloth attached. This is thought to have been Hvítramannaland.

Bjarni Grímólfsson, one of Karlsefni's party, is blown into treacherous waters in the Greenland Sea where the ship is attacked by maggots - perhaps previously encountered by the Irish monk Cormac.

During the summer of Karlsefni's return to Greenland, two Icelanders - Helgi and Finnbogi - arrive from Norway. Freydís Eiríksdóttir and the pair agree to mount an expedition with them to Vínland, but her deceptions eventually lead to conflict at Leif's Houses. Freydís manages to suborn her husband Thorvard into attacking Helgi and Finnbogi, resulting in the deaths of their men.

A number of other notices suggest the prior presence of Europeans - probably Irishmen (based upon the papar encountered in Iceland and the Faroes Island) - in the region. The earliest of these, perhaps dating to about 983, involves one Ari Marsson, an Icelander: -

Ari [...] drifted to White Men's Land, which some people call Greater Ireland. It lies in the ocean to westward, near Vinland the Good, said to be a six day sail west from Ireland. Ari couldn't get away, and was baptized there. This story was first told by Hrafn Limerick-Farer who spent a long time at Limerick in Ireland.

Subsequently, Bjorn Asbrandson, exiled from Iceland, is also said to have arrived in the region at roughly the same time as Leif's expedition. He met with one Gudleif Gudlaugson in about 1029 after the latter was driven to the west of Ireland during a storm. Gudleif's party encountered men who appeared to speak Irish and who were confederates of a Norseman who was identified by Gudleif as Bjorn. The inhabitants of this land come to be known as Albani in later sources.

While the discovery of L'Anse aux Meadows confims in archaeology the presence of Norse settlers in Newfoundland, records appertaining to these regions are hereafter quite scanty: Eirík, Bishop of Greenland, made an expedition to Vínland in 1121, and a ship from Greenland with seventeen men aboard arrived on Iceland in 1347, having been driven from Markland by a storm.

A TIMELINE OF NORSE EXPLORATION AND THE HISTORY OF GREENLAND, ETC.

521: Chlochilaicus, king of the Danes or Geats, dies during a raid on Francia. He is likely the Hygelāc of Beowulf, which reports his demise at the hands of the Hetware (Chattuarii).
612: Norwegians in Shetland by perhaps the start of the 7th century. Raids in the Hebrides and north-western Ireland. Pirates from the Orcades mentioned.
c.825: Grímur Kamban settles on the Faroe Islands.
c.850: Naddoðr makes landfall on Iceland.
859: the Wisu of the Arabs are the Ves placed by Nestor on Bielo-ozero.
c.860: Garðar Svavarsson on Iceland, which he names Garðarshólmur.
862: Rurik becomes ruler of the Rus'.
c.870: Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson's expedition on Iceland.
874: foundation of Reykjavik.
c.900: Gunnbjörn Ulfsson (or Ulf-Krakuson) discovers the Gunnbjarnarsker between Iceland and Greenland.
c.900: Örvar-Oddr's travels take him to Helluland, where he encounters his nemesis Ögmundr Flóki at Skuggifjord.
911: Rollo granted lands in Normandy.
c.920: Eric Blood-Axe's expedition into Bjarmeland.
c.965: Harold Grafeld, son of Eric Blood-Axe, fights the Bjarmas on Vinu bakka.
c.970: abortive attempt to settle Gunnbjarnarsker.
c.978: Hauk's Landnamabok has Snaebjorn Galti Holmsteinsson and Rolf of Raudesand accompanied by 24 men (including Thorkel and Sumarlide, sons of Thorgeir Raud son of Einar of Stafholt), Thorodd of Thingnes and Styrbjorn, seeking Gunnbjarnarsker and finding land. Styrbjorn slew Thorodd and then he and Rolf slew Snaebjorn, possibly in Eastern Greenland.
c.982: the outlaw Eiríkur rauði Þorvaldsson - Erik the Red - is the first Norseman to settle on Greenland.
c.983: Ari Marsson discovers Hvítramannaland, a.k.a. Írland hið mikla.
986: Bjarni Herjólfsson sights land west of Greenland.
c.990: the Floamanna-saga has Thorgils Orrabeinsfostre voyaging down the east coast of Greenland and seeing two troll-women in skins carrying off parts of a stranded sea monster. He chopps off one of their hands.
c.999: exiled from Iceland, Bjorn Asbrandson makes his way to Hvítramannaland.
c.1000: Leif Eiríksson on Vínland.
c.1001: the Floamanna-saga describes Thorgils Orrabeinsfostre leaving Iceland with thirty family members and retainers in about 1001 to join Eric the Red in Greenland. They were wrecked on the east coast of Greenland and arrived in the Eastern Settlement four years later. The saga dates to c.1400. Nansen places Thorgils' putative beaching near Angmagsalik or slightly south therefrom.
1003: Þórvaldr Eiríksson dies in the Vínland region.
c.1010: Þorfinnr karlsefni Þórðarson on Vínland.
1026: Thore Hund, Karle and Gunnstein in Bjarmeland. After trading, they sack the sanctuary of Jomale and its grave-monds.
c.1029: Gudleif Gudlaugson meets Bjorn Asbrandson in Hvítramannaland.
c.1050: Halli Geit journeys from Greenland to Norway on foot: "he alone succeeded in coming by land on foot over mountains and glaciers and all the wastes, and past all the gulfs of the sea to Gandvik and then to Norway. He led with him a goat, and lived on its milk; he often found valleys and narrow openings between the glaciers, so that the goats could feed either on grass or in the woods."
c.1055: set most likely about this time, the Faroese lay of Finnur hinn Friđi concerns the son of a Norewegian jarl, who seeks the hand of Ingebjorg, daughter of the king of Ireland. Finnur and his brother Halfdan set out for Vinland, defeating the three Wine-kings: Thorstein, Ivint and the third, who turns himself into a fearsome dragon.
c.1060: Harald Harðráða "explored the expanse of the Northern Ocean in his ships," until "there lay before their eyes at length the darksome bounds of a failing world, and by retracing his steps he barely escaped in safety the vast pit of the abyss."
c.1065: Bjorn Jonsson records the tale of Lik-Lodin from the Tosta Thattr. He "in summer he often ransacked the northern uninhabited regions and brought to church the corpses of men that he found in caves, whither they had come from the ice or from shipwreck; and by them there often lay carved runes about all the circumstances of their misfortunesand sufferings." The Tosta-thattr states that he had his name from gathering the bodies of Finn Fegin and his crew from Finn's booths, east of the glaciers in Greenland."
c.1090: Hakon Magnusson, son of the king, undertakes an expedition to Bjarmeland.
1121: Eirikr Upsi Gnupsson, bishop of Greenland, seeks Vinland. The context suggests that it was as yet undiscovered, else its precise location was forgotten. The latter seems perhaps more likely.
1122-1123: the Greenlanders seek a new bishop.
1124: Arnaldr consecrated as bishop of Greenland at Lund.
1123: Einar Sokkason, according to the Flateyjarbok, sailed from Greenland to Norway to bring a bishop and was accompanied on his way back by Arnbjorn Austman and some more Norwegians, who were wrecked.
1129: the bodies of Einar Sokkason, Arnbjorn Austman and company are found near the Hvitserk glacier by Sigurd Njalsson, a Greenlander who "often went seal hunting in the autumn to the uninhabited regions," who discovered 15 bodies.
c.1180: Einar Þorgeirsson was aboard a ship which was lost. Einar and two others, after quarrels over food in the east, crossed towards the Eastern Settlement over land, dying only a day away from the settlement.
1189: according to Gudmund Arason's Saga and the Icelandic annals, Stangarfóli, a ship bound for Iceland from Bergen carrying Ingimund Þorgeirsson, a priest and brother of Einar, was driven onto the uninhabited parts of Greenland, with every hand lost. They were wrecked, says Nansen, in the south, near Cape Farewell.
1189: the Greenlander Asmund Kastanrasti came to Iceland with twelve others from Kross-eyjar. He had also been in Finnsbuđir.
1194: Svalbard said to have been discovered.
1217: Ogmund of Spanheim in Hardanger, Svein Sigurdsson of Sogn and Andres of Sjomaeling of Nordmor, along with Helge Bograngsson of Halgoland, in Bjarmeland. While Svein and Andres return home the same year, Helge remains over winter and is killed. Ogmund goes to Suzdal and via Russia, the Black Sea and the Holy Land.
1222: a punitive expedition is launched with Andres Skjaldarbrand and Ivar Utvik (the officers in Nordland) with four ships. On the return, Ivar's ship lost in the Straumneskinn whirlpool (Sviatoi Nos?).
1247-1261: the reign of Hakon Hakonsson, during which Greenland - formerly a free state - threw in its lot with Norway.
1251: treaty between Hakon and Alexander Nevsky mentions disturbances in the east in Finmark, after which the Karelians and Russians appear more frequently.
1267: a voyage from Norđrsetur mentioned, credited by Bjorn Jonsson to a priest, Halldor. No dwelling found further north than Kroksfjarđarheiđr.
1282: a papal bull states that Greenland tithes paid in ox-hides, sealskins and walrus ivory.
1285: an annal written in about 1306 records the discovery of land west of Iceland by Adalbrand and Thorvald, sons of Helge, with a c.1360 annal calling them Duneyiar (= Penguin and Bacaloa islands?). Nansen places this land at Angmagsalik or further south.
1288-1290: King Erik sends Rolf to Iceland to raise a party to seek the new land.
1294: trade with Norway's tributaries (Greenland included) made a royal privilege.
1295: death of Landa-Rolf.
c.1300: a runestone attests a Norse presence north of Uperinvik.
1307: foundation of the fortress of Vardohus.
1308: Bishop Arne of Bergen writes to Bishop Tord in Greenland on 22nd June, taking it for granted that news of King Eric's death in 1299 had not reached Greenland.
1326: another treaty about White Sea trade.
1340: a volcanic eruption causes devastation in Iceland.
1341: Bishop Hakon of Bergen dispatches Ivar Bardsson to Greenland. His account suggests that the people of the Western Settlement had relatively recently joined forces with the Inuit. He also records a mountain north of the Western Settlement, Hemelrachs felld, beyond which there were many whirlpools, making passage beyond impossible.
1342: the Annals of Bishop Gisle Oddson (written in 1637 and highly unreliable) claim that "the inhabitants of Greenland voluntarily forsook the True Faith" and "turned to the people of America" (the Inuit).
1346: the Knarren returns to Bergen.
1347: a Greenland ship bound for Markland driven to Iceland.
1348: the shipwrecked Greenlanders in Iceland head to Norway.
1349: Norway devastated by the Black Death.
c.1350: Samson Fagre's Saga states that "Risaland lies east and north of the Baltic, and to the north-east of it lies the land that is called Jotunheimar, and there dwell trolls and evil spirits, but from thence until it meets the uninhabited parts of Greenland goes the land that is called Svalbard; there dwell various peoples."
c.1350: Ranulph Higden places Wyntlandia (Witland, Wintlandia, Wineland) and Islandia in the west.
1354: much activity aimed at preventing the apostasy of Greenland.
c.1355: the Knarren sets out for Greenland again.
c.1363: the Knarren returns again to Bergen.
1364: Ivar Bardsson back in Norway.
1366: the Knarren undergoes a refit.
1367: the Knarren wrecked north of Bergen.
1368: a new ship, replacing the Knarren is assumed to have taken the new bishop, Alf, though Greenland had been without a bishop for 19 years.
1369: the new Greenland ship sinks off Norway.
1377: death of the last bishop in Gardar.
1379: the Gottskalks Annall (2nd half of the 16th century) records an Inuit attack on the Eastern Settlement which killed 18 men of the Greenlanders, taking two boy slaves.
1385: Bjorn Einarsson Jorsalafarer was driven with four vessels to Greenland, staying until 1387. He states that the bishop of Gardar was dead and an old priest perfoemed his role.
1387: Bjorn Einarsson rescued two trolls from a skerry.
1388: Bishop Hendrick went to Greenland.
1389: a royal document states that Bjorn Einarsson, when he returned to Bergen in 1388, was acquitted of having traded illegally with Greenland, due to necessity.
1392: plague in Norway.
1393: Bergen sacked by the Victual Brothers.
1397: the Kalmar Union and union with Denmark also played a hand in weakening Norwegian influence during this period.
1406: the Icelanders Thorstein Helmingsson, Snorre Thorvason and Thorgrim Solvason are driven off course en route home from Norway and land in Greenland, where they stay for "four winters."
1406: Andreas or Endride Andreasson, says Torfaeus, appointed bishop of Greenland.
1407: Kolgrim burnt for seducing Thorgrim Solvason's wife by witchcraft in Greenland's Eastern Settlement.
1408: one of the icelanders marries.
1410: all notices from Greenland cease.
1411: Snorre Thorvason, returning from Norway, is wrecked in Iceland. His wife Gudrun has married another man, Gisle, in his absence.
1412: Russian sources have the people of Savolotchie (near the Dvina) attack Norway. A Norwegian source from 1420 names the target as northern Halogaland. The Norwegians attacked the Savolotchie region in 1419 in response.
1429: Bergen sacked.
1432: Pietro Querini wrecked on Rost. He saw a polar bear skin on the Metropolitan's chair in Trondheim.
1433: Pope Eugenius IV appoints Bartholomaeus as Bishop of Greenland.
1444-1445: a Karelian raid provokes a Norwegian response the following year.
1448: Nicholas V writes to two bishops of Iceland, actually claimants, Germans called Marcellus and Mathaeus. An Inuit attack in 1418 on the Eastern Settlement is mentioned, though likely spurious.
1431: Eric of Pomerania complains to Henry VI of English trade with Norway's subjects since c.1411. A complaint was lodged as early as 1413.
1450: Michel Beheim is in Norway, and writes a poem mentioning "schrelinge" three "spans" high.
1451: after this date, Bristol - including many Norwegians - seems to have virtually monopolised trade with Iceland, which was made free in 1490.
1456: Bjorn Thorleifsson and his wife were saved by a troll man and woman when they were wrecked on the coast of Greenland.
1484: according to a statement in Peyrere's Relation du Groenland (1647), one Oluf Worm of Copenhagen had found a statement in an old manuscript of more than 40 men in Bergen at this time with experience of yearly voyages to Greenland.
1490: trade with Iceland made free.
1492-1493: Alexander VI's letter to the Benedictine Mathias, who applied to be made bishop of Greenland.
1492-1493: a papal letter describing the Greenlanders as having been abandoned.
1494: around this time, Pining and Pothorst credited with putting a marker on Hvitserk, an island off Greenland.
1489-1490: Pining in Iceland.
c.1520: while Michel Beheim claims the "Pygmies" are warlike, Walkendorf makes them harmless.
c.1532: Jacob Ziegler states that the Greenlanders "have almost lapsed to heathendom."
1553: Richard Chancellor reached the Dvina.
an Inuit tale tells of Igaliko, the last remaining chief of the Northmen in Greenland, who dwelt on the north of Igalikofjord. He had a family, including a young son.