Opening the text

The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2): with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish ConquestFiske, John

History

The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2): with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest

Name: The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2): with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest
Author: Fiske, John

Fiske, John

America -- Discovery and exploration; Latin America -- History

The testimony of Adam of Bremen brings us yet one generation nearer to
the Vinland voyages, and is very significant. Adam was much interested
in the missionary work in the north of Europe, and in 1073, the same
year that Hildebrand was elected to the papacy, he published his famous
"Historia Ecclesiastica" in which he gave an account of the conversion
of the northern nations from the time of Leo III. to that of
Hildebrand's predecessor. In prosecuting his studies, Adam made a visit
to the court of Swend Estridhsen, king of Denmark, nephew of Cnut the
Great, king of Denmark and England. Swend's reign began in 1047, so that
Adam's visit must have occurred between that date and 1073. The voyage
of Leif and Thorfinn would at that time have been within the memory of
living men, and would be likely to be known in Denmark, because the
intercourse between the several parts of the Scandinavian world was
incessant; there was continual coming and going. Adam learned what he
could of Scandinavian geography, and when he published his history, he
did just what a modern writer would do under similar circumstances; he
appended to his book some notes on the geography of those remote
countries, then so little known to his readers in central and southern
Europe. After giving some account of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, he
describes the colony in Iceland, and then the further colony in
Greenland, and concludes by saying that out in that ocean there is
another country, or island, which has been visited by many persons, and
is called Vinland because of wild grapes that grow there, out of which a
very good wine can be made. Either rumour had exaggerated the virtues of
fox-grape juice, or the Northmen were not such good judges of wine as of
ale. Adam goes on to say that corn, likewise, grows in Vinland without
cultivation; and as such a statement to European readers must needs have
a smack of falsehood, he adds that it is based not upon fable and
guess-work, but upon "trustworthy reports (_certa relatione_) of the
Danes."

[Sidenote: Adam's misconception of the situation.]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2): with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish ConquestFiske, John

History

The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2): with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest

Fiske, John

America -- Discovery and exploration; Latin America -- History

The testimony of Adam of Bremen brings us yet one generation nearer to
the Vinland voyages, and is very significant. Adam was much interested
in the missionary work in the north of Europe, and in 1073, the same
year that Hildebrand was elected to the papacy, he published his famous
"Historia Ecclesiastica" in which he gave an account of the conversion
of the northern nations from the time of Leo III. to that of
Hildebrand's predecessor. In prosecuting his studies, Adam made a visit
to the court of Swend Estridhsen, king of Denmark, nephew of Cnut the
Great, king of Denmark and England. Swend's reign began in 1047, so that
Adam's visit must have occurred between that date and 1073. The voyage
of Leif and Thorfinn would at that time have been within the memory of
living men, and would be likely to be known in Denmark, because the
intercourse between the several parts of the Scandinavian world was
incessant; there was continual coming and going. Adam learned what he
could of Scandinavian geography, and when he published his history, he
did just what a modern writer would do under similar circumstances; he
appended to his book some notes on the geography of those remote
countries, then so little known to his readers in central and southern
Europe. After giving some account of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, he
describes the colony in Iceland, and then the further colony in
Greenland, and concludes by saying that out in that ocean there is
another country, or island, which has been visited by many persons, and
is called Vinland because of wild grapes that grow there, out of which a
very good wine can be made. Either rumour had exaggerated the virtues of
fox-grape juice, or the Northmen were not such good judges of wine as of
ale. Adam goes on to say that corn, likewise, grows in Vinland without
cultivation; and as such a statement to European readers must needs have
a smack of falsehood, he adds that it is based not upon fable and
guess-work, but upon "trustworthy reports (_certa relatione_) of the
Danes."

[Sidenote: Adam's misconception of the situation.]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2): with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest

The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2): with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest

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