The fact that the Northmen knew of the existence of the Western Continent, prior to the age of Columbus, was prominently brought before the people of this country in the year 1837, when the Royal Society of Northern Antiquarians at Copenhagen published their work on the Antiquities of North America, under the editorial supervision of that great Icelandic scholar, Professor Rafn. But we are not to suppose that the first general account of these voyages was then given, for it has always been known that the history of certain early voyages to America by the Northmen were preserved in the libraries of Denmark and Iceland.[63] Torfæus, as early as 1706, published his work on Greenland, which threw much light on the subject. We find accounts of these discoveries in the works of Egede and Crantz. A very intelligent sketch, at least for those times, was given by J. Reinhold Forster, who frankly concedes the pre-Columbian discovery of America, in a _History of the Voyages and Discoveries made in the North_. Robertson speaks of them in his _History of America_, but says that he is unable to give an intelligent opinion. Indeed, the most of the older and more comprehensive writers give the Northmen recognition. Yet, owing to the fact that the Icelandic language, though simple in construction and easy of acquisition, was a tongue not understood by scholars, the subject has until recent years been suffered to lie in the back ground, and permitted, through a want of interest, to share, in a measure, the treatment meted out to vague and uncertain reports. But the well-directed efforts of the Northern Antiquarians of Denmark, supported by the enlightened zeal of scholars and historians in England, France and Germany, have done much to dispel popular ignorance, and to place the whole question in its true bearing before the people of all the principal civilized nations. In our own country, the work of Professor Rafn, already alluded to, has created a deep and wide-spread conviction of the reality of the Northman's claim, and has elicited confessions like that of Palfrey, who is obliged to say of the Icelandic records that, "their antiquity and genuineness appear to be well established, nor is there anything to bring their credibility into question, beyond the general doubt which always attaches to what is new or strange."[64] THE NARRATIVES. It now remains to give the reader some general account of the contents of the narratives which relate more or less to the discovery of the Western continent. In doing this, the order followed will be that which is indicated by the table of contents at the beginning of the volume.