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Saga of the Greenlanders Name: Date: Adaptation of the Saga of the Greenlanders Introduction: Below is a shortened version of the Saga of the Greenlanders which was an oral history that was passed on from generation to generation until it was written down 200 years after the events had taken place. Read the story below and answer the questions at the end. Part I: Discovery [1]That summer Bjarni sailed to Eyrar in Iceland only to find that his father had left in the spring. This news affected Bjarni a good deal, and he would not even trouble to unload his ship. His men asked him what he had in mind, and he answered that he planned to steer straight for Greenland. Then Bjarni said, " People will call us fools for starting off on this voyage we who have never been in the Greenland seas! " [2] In spite of this, they put to sea as soon as they could get ready and sailed for three days. There was then no land in sight, the fair wind died down, and they were beset by fogs and north winds until they lost all track of their course. [3] This went on for many days, and then the sun came out again, so they could get their bearings. They hoisted sail and sailed all day before they sighted land. They wondered what country this might be, but it was Bjarni's opinion that it could not be Greenland. (Bjarni explored more, until he could head back and found Greenland) Part II: 2nd Voyage [4] People in Greenland were now eagerly talking about exploring the lands that had been seen. Leif Ericson made a visit to Bjarni Herjulfson and bought a ship from him. Then he gathered a crew of thirty-five men. They fitted out the ship and sailed away. [5] They ran up on the shore to a place where a stream flowed out of a lake. As soon as the sea rose under their ship, they took a boat and rowed out to it, and moved it up the river into the lake, where they cast anchor. Then they took their leather hammocks ashore and built themselves shelters. Later they decided to stay there through the winter and set up large houses. [6] Tyrker, went to explore the island came back and said "I did not go very far beyond the rest of you, and yet I have some real news for you. I found grape vines and grapes! " [7] And it is said that they loaded up the boat with grapes, and the ship itself with a cargo of timber. When spring came, they made the ship ready and sailed away. Leif gave this country a name to suit its resources: he called it Vinland [wine land]. Part III: 3rd Voyage [8] Then Thorvald got ready for the voyage with a crew of fifty men consulting all the time with his brother Leif. They fixed up the ship and sailed away. At Leif’s camp they laid up their ship and spent the winter, getting their food by fishing. [9] After a time they went back to the ship. Then they caught sight of three little mounds. When they got closer to them, they saw three skin-covered boats, with three men under each. They split up their force and seized all the men but one, who escaped in his boat. They killed all eight of them. A host of boats was then heading towards them from the inner end of the fjord. After the savages had shot at them for a while, they hurried away as fast as they could. Questions: You can discuss but answer completely on a separate sheet of paper. 1. Why do you think the Vikings kept telling these stories and eventually wrote them down? 2. What are the strengths of this evidence? What are its weaknesses? Explain and try to refer to specific parts of the story. 3. If this story were offered as the only proof that the Vikings had sailed to America, would you believe it? 4. What other evidence you want to find to help you prove that this story is true? .
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