.' II ^^.: 4- •• i,i This series of Scandinavian Monographs is published by The American-Scandinavian Foundation to promote the study of Scandinavian history and culture^ in the belief that true knoxvledge of the North -will contrib- ute to the common profit on both sides of the Atlantic SCANDINAVIAN MONOGRAPHS VOLUME I THE VOYAGES OF THE NORSEMEN TO AMERICA ESTABLISHED BY NIELS POULSON THE VOYAGES OF THE NORSEMEN TO AMERICA BY WILLIAM HOVGAARD LATE COMMANDER IN THE ROYAL DANISH NAVY PROFESSOR OF NAVAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCrTION IN THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY WITH EIGHTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS AND SEVEN MAPS NEW YORK THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN FOUNDATION 1914 105 COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN FOUNDATION D. B. UPDIKE, THE MERRYMOUNT PRESS, BOSTON, U. S. A. PREFACE THE original material on which our knowledge of the Vinland voyages is based is of very limited extent. Every term and sentence in the sagas which has any bearing on these voyages has been carefully examined and discussed. All evidence that has come to light, whether in Europe or in America, has been scrutinized by competent critics. It might, indeed, seem that the whole field had been covered, and that the last word on the problems involved had been said. I found, however, after having studied the more important works on the subject, that justice had not been done to it from the point of view of the navigator. When this book was planned, no work existed which gave a comprehensive presentation of the means and methods of navigation possessed by the Norsemen, and of the bearing of these features on the question of the discovery of America. Dr. Nansen's book. In Northern Mists , which was pub- lished while the present volume was in preparation, dealt rather fully with this aspect of the matter, but did not contain any description or illustrations of the coasts of America likely to have been visited by the Norsemen. After having been interested in the subject for a long time, I decided about four years ago to study it 5fc547 vi PREFACE more seriously and to write an article about it, deal- ing especially with the navigation and allied matters. I soon found that, in order to make the essay useful to the general public, it was necessary to embody in it, not only an abstract of the sagas themselves, but also a great deal of introductory and accessory matter giving an insight into the history, life, and character of the Norsemen. Thus the article grew to a pamphlet. Further study showed me that even emi- nent authorities differed on important historical and geographical questions relating to the voyages. I was thus led to an inquiry into the controversial points, comprising an analysis of the saga accounts, the re- sult of which I decided to include in the work. This required the addition of several chapters, and the pamphlet grew to a book. Some may judge that I have gone beyond my ca- pacity as a naval man, for I have indeed trespassed on the territory of the historian, the ethnologist, and the botanist. It will perhaps be admitted, however, that after specialists have performed the technical task of bringing together and presenting the facts that bear on vexed questions, a verdict can well be given by a layman, provided it is based on a careful study of the available material. It has been my aim to place the sources of infor- PREFACE vii mation as objectively as possible before the reader, and to state the arguments for and against each ques- tion in an impartial manner. My conclusions in many cases take the form of alternatives, a natural conse- quence of the analytical treatment, but I have always indicated w^hat I consider as the most probable solu- tion. This mode of treatment has also necessitated many repetitions, especially of statements of the sa- gas, but it is believed that this drawback is more than compensated for by the greater facility with which the reader is enabled to weigh the evidence and to follow the arguments. I am indebted to Professor William H. Schofield for his assistance in the preparation of the volume as to literary form, as well as for several valuable sug- gestions, and to Professor Finnur Jonsson for aid in the interpretation of various points in the Icelandic text of the sagas and certain matters of history. My thanks are due also to Vice-Admiral C. F. Wandel, Chairman of the Danish Greenland Committee, for his permission to reproduce the numerous illustra- tions from Meddelelser om Grbnland which appear in this work. William Hovgaard Boston, May, 1914 CONTENTS PREFACE V INTRODUCTION XV I. ICELAND AND THE EARLY HISTORY AND LIFE OF THE ICELANDERS 1 II. GREENLAND AND THE OLD NORSE SETTLEMENTS 21 ni. THE SHIPS OF THE NORSEMEN 51 IV. THE NAVIGATION OF THE NORSEMEN 61 V V. THE ACCOUNTS OF THE VINLAND VOYAGES 75 VI. HISTORIC VALUE OF THE ACCOUNTS CONSIDERED IN THEIR ENTIRETY 119 VII. THE FLATEY BOOK VERSUS THE SAGA OF ERIC THE RED 129 VIII. VINLAND AND ITS ATTRIBUTES 147 IX. ESKIMOS OR INDIANS 165 X. DESCRIPTION OF THE COASTS OF AMERICA PROBABLY DISCOVERED BY THE NORSEMEN 191 XI. GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE VINLAND VOYAGES 221 XII. RECONSTRUCTION OF THE VOYAGES 245 APPENDIX : KNATTLEIKR AND LACROSSE 259 BIBLIOGRAPHY 279 INDEX 289 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Map of Iceland 1 Ruins of the House of Eric the Red in Haukadalur^ Dala Syssel^ Iceland 13 Ruins of the Farm Asldkstunga hin Innri in pjbrsurdalur 14 Axefrom the Viking Period 17 Map of Greenland 21 Mouth of Agdliutsok Fiord^ Eastern Settlement 22 Mouth of Taseriniut Fiord^ Eastern Settlement 22 Ericsvog on Oxn'o^ Hvammsfiord^ Iceland 25 Viezufrom Brattahlid over Ericsfiord 25 Brattahlid 27 View of the Plain at Igaliko 27 Map of the Plain at Igaliko 27 Ruins of a Farm in the Eastern Settlement 28 Large Pen at Kakortok 28 Ruins of the House at Brattahlid 29 Eldhus with Fireplace in a Dwelling-House in the Eastern Settlement 30 Ruins of a Church at Kakortok 31 Beacon 32 Spinning Stone ZZ Perforated Piece of Soapstone 33 xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Checker of Bone 33 Perforated Piece of Soapstone -with Runic Inscription 33 Perforated Pieces of Soapstone 33 Wooden Cross from Graveyard at Ikiguit 34 Axefound at Ericsfiord 34 Flat Soapstone rvith Ornaments 35 The Later Runic Alphabet 35 Runic Stone found at Kingiktorsuak 39 Prince Albert Sound Group 46 Eskimos from a Village on Coronation Gulf 48 The Gokstad Ship 51 Plate I (^Lines of the Gokstad Ship^ 52 Plate II (^Midship Section of the Gokstad Ship^ 53 The Gokstad Ship 56 Nordlandsjsegt 58 First Page of the Grsenlendinga pattr 84 Inscription on the '"''Yarmouth Stone^"* Nova Scotia 116 Kringla Heimsins , 118 Map of Sigurdr Stefdnsson 118 Koneboat 171 Egede''s Picture of Eskimo Houses and Boats 171 Eskimo Woman from Greenland 172 Eskimos Carrying Koneboat Overland 172 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii Montaignais Indian of Lake St. John 180 Nascopee Indians 180 Coast of Baffin Land on Hudson Strait 191 Fiord Scenery in Northern Labrador 191 Map of Labrador^ Neivfoundland^ and Nova Scotia (KarlsefnV s Vbyag'e) 193 Coast near Cape Mugford., Labrador 194 Bishop''s Mitre., just South of Cape Mugford 194 Davis Inlet 196 Cape Harrigan off Davis Inlet 196 Ragged Islands^ near Cape Harrison 198 Cape Harrison 198 Near Assixvaban River 200 Near Hamilton Inlet 200 Map of Sandwich Bay on the Labrador Coast., just South of Hamilton Inlet 201 Labrador Coast., not far North of the Strait of Belle Isle 203 Strait of Belle Isle 203 Scenery on the Northeast Coast of Newfoundland 205 Scenery on the East Side of White Bay., Newfoundland 207 Coast Scenery at Trinity Bay., Nezvfoundland 207 Humber River., West Coast of Newfoundland 208 Humber River 208 xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Map of Sop's Arm on White Bay, Newfoundland 210 Robinson's Head, St. George Bay, West Coast of Newfoundland 210 Mouth of Middle Barachois Brook, St. George Bay 210 Mouth of Indian Brook, HaWs Bay, Notre Dame Bay, North- east Coast of Nenfoundland 212 Coast Outside of St. Johns, East Coast of Newfoundland 212 Oakland Shore, East Coast of Nova Scotia 214 Lockeport Beach, East Coast of Nova Scotia 214 Chehoque River near Yarmouth on the Coast of Nova Scotia 216 Surf at Great Head, Mount Desert Island, Maine 216 Coast Scenery at Portland, Maine 218 East Coast of Cape Cod 220 Coast Scenery at Osterville, Nantucket Sound 222 Coast Scenery at Osterville 222 Map of Farious Hop Formations 235 Map of North Atlantic 254 Modern Lacrosse Stick 264 Diagram of Lacrosse Field 266 Stick used by the Meno7ni7iee Indians, Wisconsin 269 Stick used by the Seneca Indians, New York 272 Egede'^s Picture of Greenland Eskimos Playing Ball 276 INTRODUCTION THE records of the Vinland voyages as found in the sagas have come to us, like the sagas themselves, in a somewhat peculiar way. Perhaps through several genera- tions the original accounts were transmitted orally before they were finally written down. This mode of transmission is not unlike the reflecting of an image from mirror to mir- ror until it is fixed on a photographic plate. In such a process the image gradually loses in distinctness, becomes blurred and distorted, and assumes new characteristics and color. The camera itself may be imperfect, or separate images may reach the same plate successively, producing a superposed and confused result, which the photographer may try to render intelligible by retouching. In other cases a single object or scene, viewed from different sides, may look so dis- similar that the images reaching the camera may seem to be of different origin.