5. The ‘Dægr’ and ‘Eyktarstad’ Problems 196 6. The Voyages. General Considerations 221 7. The Voyages in Detail: Bjarni, Leif, Thorvald 244 8. Karlsefni’s Expedition 261 9. Aftermath and Conclusion 282 BIBLIOGRAPHY 299 INDEX 301 INTRODUCTION The study which has culminated in the production of the present volume had been pursued for a number of years, and the work itself was approaching completion, when the events of August 1914 necessitated its abandonment, while the writer was called away from literary tasks by the claims of active service. It is hoped, however, that the consequent delay has not been altogether regrettable. In the first place, it has enabled a fresh eye to be cast over what had previously been written, with the result that some modifications have been made, which are, it is hoped, an improvement. In the second place, the author found on his return that there had been during the interval considerable additions to the literature dealing with his subject. Worthy of special mention among works too recent to have been read before the outbreak of war are the monographs of Babcock (1913), Hovgaard (1915), and Steensby (1918); these with Finnur Jónsson’s important paper in the _Aarbog for Nordisk Oldkyndighed, &c._ for 1915, while they have not modified the views hereinafter expressed, have been deemed worthy of close consideration and have necessitated a considerable amount of re-writing: the minor works of Neckel (1913), Kolischer (1914), Bruun (1915), and Mr. Maurice Hewlett’s work of fiction based on these sagas under the title of _Gudrid the Fair_ (1917) also fall within the same period. The last-named book, while making no pretence to deal scientifically with the subject, has been of particular interest to the present writer, from the fact that its author comes to the same conclusion with regard to Karlsefni’s ultimate landfall as that advocated in these pages. The possibility of such an interpretation of the data supplied in the sagas is admitted, in a rather hesitating manner, in the _History of the State of New York_, by Yates and Moulton (1824); with this exception the writer has been unable to trace any other authority taking the view which he has independently formed. Yates and Moulton appear to have depended for their information on a translation from a Swedish book, Schröder’s _Om Skandinavernes fordna upptäcktsresor till Nord Amerika_ (Upsala, 1818), which seems to have been based exclusively on the version of the story contained in the Flatey Book; this does not by itself provide enough information to enable a definite conclusion to be formed.