DISCOVERY OF VINLAND. Eric had a son, called Leif Ericson, or Leif the Lucky, who visited Norway and was well received at the court of King Olaf. Not long before missionaries had persuaded Olaf and his people to give up their old gods and accept Christianity, and Leif followed their example. Leif set out in the early summer of the year 1000 to carry the new religion to his father, Eric the Red, to his father's people, and to his neighbors. The voyage was a long one, lasting all the summer, for on the way his ship was driven out of its course and came upon strange lands where wild rice and grape-vines and large trees grew. The milder climate and stories of large trees useful for building ships aroused the curiosity of the Greenlanders. They sent exploring expeditions, and found the coast of North America at places which they called Helluland, that is, the land of flat stones; Markland, the land of forests; and Vinland, where the grape-vines grow. Helluland was probably on the coast of Labrador, Markland somewhere on the shores of Newfoundland, and Vinland in Nova Scotia. THE SETTLEMENT IN VINLAND. Thornfinn Karlsefni, a successful trader between Iceland and Greenland, attempted to plant a colony in the new lands. Karlsefni and his friends, to the number of one hundred and sixty men and several women, set out in 1007 with three or four ships, loaded with supplies and many cattle. They built huts and remained three or four winters in Vinland, but all trace of any settlement disappeared long ago. They found, their stories tell us, swarthy, rough-looking Indians, with coarse hair, large eyes, and broad cheeks, with whom they traded red cloth for furs. Trouble broke out between the Northmen and the Indians, who outnumbered them. So many Northmen were killed that the survivors became alarmed and returned to Greenland. [Illustration: DISCOVERIES OF THE NORTHMEN The American lands they found are marked with diagonal lines] VINLAND FORGOTTEN. The voyages to Vinland soon ceased and the discoveries of Leif and his followers were only remembered in the songs or "sagas" of the people. They thought of Vinland mainly as a land of flat stones, great trees, and fierce natives. Nor did the wise men of Europe who heard the Northmen's story guess that a New World had been discovered. It was probably fortunate that five hundred years were to go by before Europeans settled in America, for within that time they were to learn a great deal and to find again many things which the Romans had left but which in the year 1000 were hidden away, either in the ruins of the ancient cities or in libraries and treasure-houses, where few knew of them. The more Europeans possessed before they set out, the more Americans would have to start with. [Illustration: FACSIMILE OF A BIT OF AN OLD SAGA MANUSCRIPT] QUESTIONS 1. What is meant by the "Middle Ages" or the "Mediaeval" period?