Result of thirty years research into puzzle of the Viking voyages to Vinland as told by Graenlendinga and Eirik's sagas. Also discusses the Vinland map of 1440.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the Vikings' expeditions from medieval sagas *Includes a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents Over the centuries, the West has become fascinated by the Vikings, one of the most mysterious and interesting European civilizations. In addition to being perceived as a remarkably unique culture among its European counterparts, what's known and not known about the Vikings' accomplishments has added an intriguing aura to the historical narrative. Were they fierce and fearsome warriors? Were they the first Europeans to visit North America? It seems some of the legends are true, and some are just that, legend. The ubiquitous picture of the Vikings as horn-helmeted, brutish, hairy giants that mercilessly marauded among the settlements of Northern Europe is based on a smattering of fact combined with an abundance of prejudicial historical writing by those who were on the receiving end of Viking depredations. At the same time, much of the popular picture of the Vikings is a result of the romantic imagination of novelists and artists. However, the Vikings' reputation for ferocious seaborne attacks along the coasts of Northern Europe is no exaggeration. It is true that the Norsemen, who traded extensively throughout Europe, often increased the profits obtained from their nautical ventures through plunder, acquiring precious metals and slaves. Of course, the Vikings were not the only ones participating in this kind of income generation; between the 8th and the 11th centuries, European tribes, clans, kingdoms and monastic communities were quite adept at fighting with each other for the purpose of obtaining booty. The Vikings were simply more consistently successful than their contemporaries and thus became suitable symbols for the iniquity of the times. Of course, the military reputation came about because the Vikings were the great mariners and explorers of medieval Europe. While many of their journeys were ones of conquest, they also had a deep love of exploration, and from their homeland in Scandinavia, they traveled as far as North America and became the first Europeans who are known to have set foot on what is now Canada. It was not until 1960 that the actual site of a Viking settlement in Vinland was found. At the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada, a small Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows was excavated, with the foundations of three residential halls have been found. These halls would have housed between 70 and 90 people. As well as the sod covered halls, a smithy where nails were made and a small boat repair building have been found. It is believed that this settlement, which may have had as many as 500 inhabitants, is one of two settlements called Straumfjord and Hop mentioned in the Saga of Erik the Red as being his Vinland bases. L'Anse aux Meadows is thought to be the former, and it is believed that Hop was a summer camp perhaps as far south as New Brunswick. The native inhabitants of the New World were called Skrellings by the Vikings, and there is evidence that they engaged in battle with the Beothuks at L'Anse aux Meadows and the Mi'kmaq people further south. While there is still debate over where exactly the Norse settled the land, there is no hard evidence that they ventured further south than Newfoundland, where remains of a settlement have been found. If they had rounded Cape Breton and crossed the Cabot Strait, they would have come to a markedly different environment that would probably have compelled the explorers to come up with a fourth name for the region south of Vinland. The Vikings in North America chronicles the historic voyages the Vikings made to North America and what's known and unknown about their pre-Columbian settlements. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Norse colonization of North America like never before, in no time at all.

Faced with harsh conditions in their Greenland home, a group of Vikings took the reins of fate into their own hands. With incredible luck, skill and fortitude, they discovered lands filled with a profusion of wood, wild game and fertile land. In the sagas that grew from this discovery, the lands were given names that resonated with hope and promise. Almost 1000 years later, a husband and wife team united their talents. Intrigued by allusions in the ancient sagas to fabled Vinland, they considered the scholarship on Viking culture and technology; they studied maps and they researched intensively the prominent theories on Vinland's location. And finally their efforts bore fruit when a remote Newfoundland peninsula yielded up a soapstone spindle-whorl, a Viking ring pin, and what had to be the overgrown remnants of over a dozen Viking buildings.

The European coastal areas and the lands around the rivers had great importance for the Vikings, who settled in strategic areas and defended themselves - often against other intruding Vikings. This book is a collection of articles focusing on the Vikings and their presence on the western European continent.

A major reassessment of the vikings and their legacy The Vikings maintain their grip on our imagination, but their image is too often distorted by myth. It is true that they pillaged, looted, and enslaved. But they also settled peacefully and traveled far from their homelands in swift and sturdy ships to explore. The Age of the Vikings tells the full story of this exciting period in history. Drawing on a wealth of written, visual, and archaeological evidence, Anders Winroth captures the innovation and pure daring of the Vikings without glossing over their destructive heritage. He not only explains the Viking attacks, but also looks at Viking endeavors in commerce, politics, discovery, and colonization, and reveals how Viking arts, literature, and religious thought evolved in ways unequaled in the rest of Europe. The Age of the Vikings sheds new light on the complex society, culture, and legacy of these legendary seafarers.

Iceland was the last country in Europe to become inhabited, and we know more about the beginnings and early history of Icelandic society than we do of any other in the Old World. This world was vividly recounted in The Book of Settlements, first compiled by the first Icelandic historians in the thirteenth century. It describes in detail individuals and daily life during the Icelandic Age of Settlement.