THE NORSE Discoverers of AMERICA Oxford University Press _London_ _Edinburgh_ _Glasgow_ _New York_ _Toronto_ _Melbourne_ _Cape Town_ _Bombay_ Humphrey Milford _Publisher to the University_ THE NORSE Discoverers of AMERICA The Wineland Sagas translated & discussed By G. M. Gathorne-Hardy, F.R.G.S. [Illustration] _OXFORD_ AT THE CLARENDON PRESS M CM XXI TO H. A. L. FISHER WHO FIRST REVEALED TO ME THE FASCINATION OF HISTORICAL PROBLEMS AND WHO ENCOURAGED THIS WORK IN ITS EARLY STAGES IN GRATITUDE FOR MUCH PATIENT TUITION AND IN MEMORY OF NEW COLLEGE DAYS I DEDICATE THIS BOOK CONTENTS INTRODUCTION _Page_ 7 PART I. TRANSLATION Chronological Summary 18 Genealogical Table 20 1. Eric the Red and the colonization of Greenland 21 * 2. The adventure of Bjarni Herjulfson 25 3. Of Thorbjörn Vifilson 28 4. Gudrid comes to Greenland 30 5. Gudrid and the Sibyl 33 6. Leif goes to Norway 37 * 7. Leif discovers Wineland 40 * 8. Thorvald’s Voyage and Death 45 9. Thorstein’s Unsuccessful Venture 49 * 10. The Expedition of Thorfin Karlsefni 52 11. Freydis 67 Appendix of Alternative Versions and Supplementary Passages 73 * Sections in Part I marked thus are those dealing with the discovery and exploration of America. PART II. DISCUSSION 1. Nature of the Evidence 88 2. Discrepancies of the Flatey Book 113 3. The Stories as History 147 4. Skrælings 173