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The chief aim of this work is to place within the reach of the English-reading public every portion of the Icelandic Sagas relating to the Pre-Columbian Discovery of America by the Northmen, and to the steps by which that discovery was preceeded. The reader will, therefore, find in this volume material from the Sagas not to be found in any other work in an English form.

The Sagas have been left, in the main, to tell their own story, though the necessary notes and explanations have been added.

So long ago as the year 1838, a distinguished writer in the North American Review, in closing a valuable and appreciative article on the Sagas relating to America, said: "We trust that some zealous student of these subjects will be immediately found, who will put the Icelandic authorities into an English dress, and prepare then, with proper literary apparatus, for the perusal of the general reader."

More than twenty years ago this suggestion was acted upon by the writer. Availing himself of the studies of those who had preceeded him, he brought out a volume devoted to the subject. That work, however, owing to an unexpected demand, soon went out of print; while the progress of discussion, and the nearness of the propesed Columbian Celebration, seem to justify a new publication.

In treating the Sagas, the writer has not felt called upon to modify his views on any important point, and, substantially, his interpretation of these documents is the same as that undertaken in the original work. Time has only served to strengthen his belief in the historical character of the Sagas, while all his geographical studies point now as formerly to New England as the scene of the Northman's exploits, many of which have left no record, though valuable traces of Icelandic occupation may yet be found between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia.

The author is strengthened in his opinions, not only by his own studies, but by the growing favor with which the profoundest scholars in Europe regard the Icelandic historical literature. Everywhere societies, as well as distinguished students of history, are in one way or another expressing their belief in the authenticity of the Sagas relating to the Pre-Columbian Discovery of America. Speaking of the Icelandic voyagers, and their acquaintance with America, Professor Max Muller says: "I have not met with nothing to shake my belief in the fact that the Northmen possessed such knowledge." (1) *

This work is not issued with any intention of seeking to detract from the glory of the achievements of Columbus, though we should remember that the time is rapidly approaching when history will summon us to honor the Cabots, the great fellow countrymen of the Genoese, who saw the Continent of America before Columbus himself viewed it. The desire is to place before the reader the story which precedes that of 1492, and which is so interesting and important.

The author hopes that the text of the Sagas has not been misinterpreted, or left obscure, especially as the Sagas relating to the Pre-Columbian voyages are given in Professor Rafn's work on the Antiquities of America, accompanied by helpful notes and versions in Latin and Danish. In every thing relating to the latter tongue, the author has had the invaluable assistance and advice of one who has spoken it from childhood. He has also had most important and indispensable aid in connection with the Icelandic.

The grammatical structure of the Icelandic is simple, and the aim has been throughout to maintain this simplicity in the translations, so far as the genius of our own tongue would permit. This work being strictly historical, both in spirit and design, the poetical extracts which occur here and there are translated as literally as possible, without any attempt to garnish them with metre and rhyme. Nevertheless examples in rhyme are given in the Notes.

It will be seen that the author differs on some points from Professor Rafn; yet it is believed that if that great student of Northern Antiquities could have gone over the subject again, studying it on the ground, and amid the scenes in which so many of the exploits of the Northmen were performed, he would have modified some of his views.

On the other hand, the author has sought to strengthen several of the conclusions of that noble and laborious investigator, and particularly by bringing out more fully the truthfulness of the Icelandic descriptions of the coast of Cape Cod, which centuries ago presented an aspect that it does not now possess.

Let us remember, too, that in vindicating the Northmen we honor those who not ony gave us the first knowledge possessed of the American Continent, but to whom we are indebted for much beside that we esteem valuable. In reality we fable in a great measure when we speak of our "Saxon inheritance." It is rather from the Northmen that we have derived our vital energy, our freedom of thought, and, in a measure that we do not yet suspect, our strength of speech. Yet, happily, the people are fast becoming conscious of the indebtedness; so that it is to be hoped that the time is not far distant when the Northmen may be recognized in their right social, political and literary characters, and at the same time, as navigators, assume their true position in the Pre-Columbian Discovery of America.

____________________

1. Letter to the Author, August 14, 1889.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

HISTORIC FANCIES

Before the plains of Europe rose above the primeval seas, the Continent of America emerged from the watery waste that encircled the whole globe, and became the scene of animate life. The so-called New World is in reality the Old, and bears abundant proofs of hoary age. But at what period it became the abode of man we are unable even to conjecture. Down to the close of the tenth century of the Christian era it had no written history. Traces of a rude civilization that suggest a high antiquity are by no means wanting. Monuments and mounds remain that point to periods the contemplation of which would cause Chronos himself to grow giddy; yet among all these great and often impressive memorials there is no monument, inscription or sculptured frieze that satisfactorily explains their origin. Tradition itself is dumb, and the theme chiefly kindles when brought within the realm of imagination. We can only infer that age after age nations and tribes rose to greatness and then fell into decline, barbarism and a rude culture holding alternate sway. (1)

Nevertheless, men have enjoyed no small degree of satisfaction in conjuring up theories to explain the origin of the early races on the Western Continent. What a charm lingers around the supposed trans- Atlantic voyages of the hardy Phenician, the luxurious sailors of Tyre, and later, of the bold Basque. What stories might the lost picture- records of Mexico and the chronicles of Dieppe tell. Now we are presented with the splendid view of great fleets, the remnant of some conquered race, bearing across the ocean to re-create in new and unknown lands the cities and monuments they were forever leaving behind; and now it is simply the story of some storm-tossed mariner, who blindly drives across the sea to the western strand, and lays the foundation of empire. Again it is the devotee of mammon, in search of gainful traffic or golden fleece. How romantic is the picture of his little solitary bark setting out in the days of Roman greatness, or in the splendid age of Charlemagne, sailing trustingly away between the pillars of Hercules, and tossing toward the Isles of the Blessed and the Fountains of Eternal Youth. In time the Ultima Thule of the known world is passed, and favoring gales bear the merchant-sailor to new and wondrous lands. We see him coasting the unknown shores, passing from cape to cape, and from bay to inlet, gazing upon the marvels of the New World, trafficking with the bronzed Indian, bartering curious wares for barbaric gold; and then shaping his course again for the markets of the distant East, to pour strange tales into incredulous ears. Still this may not be all fancy. (2)

THE SEA OF DARKNESS

In early times the Atlantic ocean, like all things without known bounds, was viewed by man with mixed feelings of fear and awe. It was called the Sea of Darkness. Yet, nevertheless, there were those who professed to have some knowledge of its extent, and of what lay beyond. The earliest reference to this sea is that by Theopompus, in the fourth century before the Christian era, given in a fragment of aelian, (3) where a vast island is described, lying far in the west, and peopled by strange races. To this we may add the reference of Plato (4) to the island called Atlantis, which lay west of the Pillars of Hercules, and which was estimated to be larger than Asia and Africa combined. Aristotle (5) also thought that many other lands existed beyond the Atlantic. Plato supposed that the Atlantis was sunk by an earthquake, and Crantor declares that he found the same account related by the Priests of Sais three hundred years after the time of Solon, from whom the grandfather of Critias had his information. Plato says, that after the Atlantis disappeared, navigation was rendered too difficult to be attempted on account of the slime which resulted from the sinking of the land. It is probable that he had in mind the immense fields of drifting sea-weed found in that locality, estimated by Humboldt to cover a portion of the Atlantic ocean six times as large as all Germany.

It is thought that Homer (6) obtained the idea of his Elysium in the Western ocean from the voyages of the Phenicians, who, as is well known, sailed regularly to the British Islands. They are also supposed by some to have pushed their discoveries as far as the Western Continent. Cadiz, situated on the shore of Andalusia, was established by the Tyrians twelve centuries before the birth of Christ; and when Cadiz, the ancient Gadir, was full five hundred years old, a Greek trader, Colaeus, there bought rare merchandise, a long and severe gale having driven his ships beyond the Pillars of Hercules.

THE PHENICIANS

In the ninth century before the Christian era, the Phenicians had established colonies on the western coast of Africa; and three hundred years later, according to Herodotus, Pharaoh Necho, son of Psammitieus, sent an expedition, manned by Phenician sailors, around the entire coast of Africa. Vivien de St. Martin fixes the date of the expedition at 570 before Christ. St. Martin, inhis account of the voyage, improves slightly upon the views of Carl Muller, and is followed by Bougainville . (7) A notice of this voyage, performed by Hanno under the direction of Pharaoh, was inscribed in the Punic language on a Carthagenian temple, being afterward translated into Greek.

That the Canary Islands were discovered and colonized by the Phenicians, there need be no doubt. Tradition had always located islands in that vicinity. Strabo speaks of the Islands of the Blessed, as lying not far from Mauritania, opposite Gadir or Cadiz. He distinctly says, "That those who pointed out these things were the Phenicians, who, before the time of Homer, had possession of the best part of Africa and Spain." (8) When we remember the the Phenicians sought to monopolize trade, and hold the knowledge of their commercial resorts a secret, it is not surprising that we should hear no more of the Fortunate Isles until about eighty-two years before Christ, when the Roman Sertorius met some Lusitanian sailors on the coast of Spain who had just returned from the Fortunate Isles. They were described as two delightful islands, separated by a narrow strait, distant from Africa five hundred leagues. Twenty years after the death of Sertorius, Statius Sebosus drew up a chart of a group of five islands, each mentioned by name, and which Pliny calls the Hesperides, including the Fortunate Isles. This mention of the Canaries was sixty-three years before Christ.

JUBA'S EXPEDITION

When King Juba II returned to Mauritania, he sent an expedition to the Fortunate Isles. A fragment of the narratives of this expedition is found in the works of Pliny. The islands are described as lying south-west, six hundred and twenty-five miles from Purpurariae. To reach them from the latter place, they first sailed two hundred and fifty miles westward, and then three hundred and seventy-five miles eastward. Pliny says: "The first is called Ombrios, and affords no traces of buildings. It contains a pool in the midst of mountains, and trees like ferules, from which water may be pressed. It is bitter from the black kinds, but from the light kinds pleasant to drink. The second is called Junonia, and contains a small temple built entirely of stone. Near it is another smaller island having the same name. Then comes Capraria, which is full of large lizards. Within sight of these is Nivaria, named from the snow and fogs with which it is always covered. Not far from Nivaria is Canaria, called thus on account of the great number of large dogs therein, two of which were brought to King Juba. There were traces of buildings in these islands. All the islands abound in apples, and in birds of every kind, and in palms covered with dates, and in the pine nut. There is also plenty of fish. The papyrus grows there, and the silurus fish is found in the rivers." (9)

The author of Prince Henry the Navigator, (10) says that in Ombrios, we recognize the Pluvialia of Sebosus. Convallis of Sebosus, in Pliny, becomes Nivaria, the Peak of Teneriffe, which lifts itself up to the majestic height of nine thousand feet, its snow-capped pinnacle seeming to pierce the sky. Planaria is displaced by Canaria, which term, first applied to the great central island, now gives the name to the whole group. Ombrios or Pluvialia, evidently means the island of Palma, which had "a pool in the midst of mountains," now represented by the crater of an extinct volcano. This the sailors of King Juba evidently saw. Major says: "The distance of this island [Palma] from Fuerteventura, agrees with that of the two hundred and fifty miles indicated by Juba's navigators as existing between Ombrios and the Purpurariae. It has already been seen that the latter agree with Lancerote and Fuerteventura, in respect of their distance from the Continent and from each other, as described by Plutarch. That the Purpurariae are not, as M. Bory de St. Vincent supposed, the Madeira group, is not only shown by the want of inhabitants in the latter, but by the orchil, which supplies the purple dye, being derived from and sought for especially from the Canaries, and not from the Madeira group, although it is to be found there. "Junonia," he continues, "the nearest to Ombrios, will be Gomera. It may be presumed that the temple found therein was, like the island, dedicated to Juno. Capraria, which implies the island of goats, agrees correctly with the island of Ferro,......for these animals were found there in large numbers when the island was invaded by Jean de Bethencourt, in 1402. But a yet more striking proof of the identity of this island with Capraria, is the account of the great number of lizards found therein. Bethencourt's chaplains, describing their visit to the islands, in 1402, state: 'There are lizards in it as big as cats, but they are harmless, although very hideous to look at.' " (11)

We see, then, that the navigators of Juba visited the Canaries (12) at an early period, as did the Phenicians, who doubtless built the temple in the island of Junonia. For aught we know, early navigators may have passed over to the Western Continent and laid the foundation of those strange nations whose monuments still remain. Both Phenician and Tyrian voyages to the Western Continent have been advocated; while Lord Kingsborough published his magnificent volumes on the Mexican Antiquities, to show that the Jews settled this Continent at an early day. (13) If it is true that all the tribes of the earth sprang from one central Asiatic family, it is more than likely that the original inhabitants of the American Continent crossed the Atlantic, instead of piercing the frozen regions of the north, and coming in by the way of Behring Straits. From the Canaries to the coast of Florida, it is a short voyage, and the bold sailors of the Mediterranean, after touching at the Canaries, need only spread their sails before the steady-breathing monsoon, to find themselves wafted safely to the western shore.

TRADITIONS

There was even a tradition that America was visited by St. Columbia (14), and also by the Apostle St. Thomas, (15) who penetrated even as far as Peru. This opinion is founded on the resemblance existing between certain rites and doctrines which seem to have been held in common by Christians and the early inhabitants of Mexico. The first Spanish missionaries were surprised to find the Mexicans bowing in adoration before the figure of the cross, and inferred that these people were of a Christian origin. Yet the inference has no special value, when we remember that Christianity is far less ancient than the symbol of the cross, which existed among the Egyptians and other ancient people.

Claims have also been made for the Irish. Broughton brings forward a passage in which St. Patrick is represented as sending missionaries to the Isles of America. (16) Another claim has been urged of a more respectable character, which is supported by striking, though not conclusive allusions in the chronicles of the North, in which a distant land is spoken of as "Ireland the Great." The Irish, in the early times, might easily have passed over to the Western Continent, for which voyage they undoubtedly had the facilities. Professor Rafn, after alluding to the well-known fact that the Northmen were preceded in Iceland by the Irish, says, that it is by no means improbable that the Irish should also have anticipated them in America. The Irish were a sea-faring people, and have been assigned a Phenician origin by Moore and others who have examined the subject. (17) If this is so, the tradition would appear to be somewhat strengthened. Even as early as the year 296, the Irish are said to have invaded Denmark with a large fleet. In 396, Niall made a descent upon the coast of Lancashire with a considerable navy, where he was met by the Roman, Stilicho, whose achievements were celebrated by Claudian in the days of the Roman occupation of England. At that period the Irish were in most respects in advance of the Northemen, not yet having fallen into decline, and quite as likely as any people then existing to brave the dangers of an ocean voyage. (18) The Icelandic documents, clearly referring to the Irish, will be given in their proper place, and, in the meanwhile, it need only to be added, that the quotations given by the rather credulous Beamish from such an authority as the Turkish Spy will hardly tend to strengthen their claims, especially where its author, John Paul Marana, says that in Mexico "the British language is so prevalent," that "the very towns, bridges, beasts, birds, rivers, hills, etc., are called by the British or Welsh (19) names." (20) In truth, as the wish, is so often father to the thought, it would be an easy task to find resemblance in the languages of the aborigines to almost any language that is spoken in our day so far as mere sounds may be concerned.

But, notwithstanding the probabilities of the case, we have no solid reason for accepting any of these alleged voyages as facts. Much labor has been given to the subject, yet the early history of the American Continent is still veiled in mystery, and it is not until near the close of the tenth century of the present era that we can point to a genuine trans-Atlantic voyage.

THE NORTHMEN

The first voyage to America, of which we have any account, was performed by Northmen. But who were the Northmen?

The Northmen were the descendants of a race that in early times migrated from Asia and travelled toward the north, settling down in what is now the kingdom of Denmark. From thence they overran Norway and Sweden, and afterward colonized Iceland and Greenland. Their language was the old Danish ( Donsk tunga ) once spoken all over the north, (21) but which is now preserved in Iceland alone, being called the Icelandic or old Northern, (22) upon which is founded the modern Swedish, Danish and Norse or Norwegian.

After the Northmen had pushed on from Denmark to Norway, the condition of public affairs gradually became such that a large portion of the better classes found their life intolerable. In the reign of Harold Harfagr (the Fair-haired), an attempt was made by the king to deprive the petty jarls of their ancient udol or feudal rights, and to usurp all authority for the crown. To this the proud jarls would not submit; and, feeling themselves degraded in the eyes of their retainers, they resolved to leave those lands and homes which they could now hardly call their own. Wither, then, should they go?

THE COLONIZATION OF ICELAND

In the cold North sea, a little below the Arctic circle, lay a great island. As early as the year 860, it had been made known to the Northmen by a Dane of Swedish descent named Gardar, who called it Gardar's Island, and four years later by the pirate Nadodd, who sailed thither in 864 and called it Snowland. Presenting in the main the form of an irregular ellipse, this island occupies an area of about one hundred and thirty-seven thousand square miles, affording the dull diversity of valleys without verdure and mountains without trees. (23) Desolation has there fixed its abode. It broods among the dells, and looks down upon the gloomy fiords. The country is threaded with streams and dotted with tarns, yet the geologist finds but little evidence in the structure of the earth to point to the action of water. On the other hand, every rock and hillside is covered with signs that prove their igneous origin, and indicate that the entire island, at some distant period, has already seethed and bubbled in the fervent heat, in anticipation of the long promised Palingenesia. Even now the ground trembles in the throes of the earthquake, the Geyser spouts scalding water, and the plain belches mud; while the great jokull, clad in white robes of eternal snow-true priest of Ormuzd-brandishes aloft its volcanic torch, and threatens to be the incendiary of the sky.

The greater portion of the land forms the homestead of the reindeer and the fox, who share their domain with the occasional white bear that may float over from Greenland on some berg. Only two quadrupeds, the fox and the moose, are indigenous. Life is here purchased with a struggle. Indeed the neighboring ocean is more hospitable than the dry land. Of the thirty four species of mammalia, twenty-four find their food in the roaring main. The same is true of the feathered tribes, fifty-four out of ninety being water-fowl. Here and there may be seen patches of meadow and a few sheep pastures and tracts of arable land warmed into fruitfulness by the brief summer's sun; yet, on the whole, so poor is the soil that man, like the lower orders, must eke out a scanty subsistence by resorting to the sea.

It was toward this land, which the settlers called Iceland, that the proud Norwegian jarl turned his eyes, and there he resolved to found a home. The first settler was Ingolf. He approached the coast in the year 875, threw overboard his sea-posts, (24) and waited to see them touch the land. But in this he was disappointed, and those sacred columns, carved with the images of the gods, drifted away from sight. He nevertheless landed on a pleasant promontory at the south-eastern extremity of the island, and built his habitation on the spot which is called Ingolfshofdi to this day. Three years after, his servants found the sea-posts in the south-western part of the island, and hither, in obedience to what was held to be the expressed wish of the gods, (25) he removed his household, laying the foundation of Reikiavik, the capital of this ice-bound isle. He was rapidly followed by others, and in a short time no inconsiderable population was gathered here.

But the first Scandinavian settlers did not find this barren country entirely destitute of human beings. Ari Frode, (26) than whom there is no higher authority, says: "Then were here Christian people whom the Northmen called papas, but they afterward went away, because they would not be here among heathens; and left behind them Irish books, and bells, and croziers, from which it could be seen that they were Irishmen." He repeats substantially the same thing in the Landanama Book, the authority of which, no one acquainted with the subject, will question, adding that books and other relics were found in the island of Papey and Papyle, and that the circumstance is also mentioned in English books. The English writings referred to are those of the venerable Bede. (27) This is also stated in an edition of King Olaf Tryggvesson's Saga, made near the end of the fourteenth century.

The monks or Culdees, who had come hither from Ireland and the Isles of Iona, to be alone with God, took their departure on the arrival of the heathen followers of Odin and Thor, and the Northmen were thus left in undisputed possession of the soil. In about twenty years the island became quite thickly settled, though the tide of immigration continued to flow in strongly for fifty years, so that at the beginning of the tenth century Iceland possessed a population variously estimated from sixty to seventy thousand souls. But few undertook the voyage who were not able to buy their own vessels, in which they carried over their own cattle, thralls, and household goods. So great was the number of people who left Norway, that King Harold tried to prevent emigration by royal authority, though, as might have been predicted, his efforts were altogether in vain. Here, in Iceland, therefore, was formed a large community, taking the shape of an aristocratic republic, which framed its own laws, and for a long time maintained a genuine independence, in opposition to all the assumptions and threats of the Norwegian king.

THE SETTLEMENT OF GREENLAND

But as time passed on, the people of Iceland felt a new impulse for colonization in strange lands, and the tide of emigration began to tend toward Greenland in the west. This was chiefly inaugurated by a man named Eric the Red, born in Norway in the year 935. On account of manslaughter, he was obliged to flee from Jardar and take up his abode in Iceland. The date of removal to Iceland is not given, though it is said that at that time the island was very generally inhabited. Here, however, he could not live in peace, and early in the year 982, he was again outlawed for manslaughter by the Thing, and condemned to banishment. He accordingly fitted out a ship, and announced his determination to go in search of the land lying in the ocean at the west, which it was said, Gunnbiorn, (28) Ulf Krage's son, saw when, in the year 876, he was driven out to sea by a storm. Eric sailed westward and found land, where he remained and explored the country for three years. At the end of this period he returned to Iceland, giving the newly discovered land the name of Greenland, (29) in order, as he said, to attract settlers, who would be favorably impressed by so pleasing a name, which, however, did not originate with him.

The summer after his return to Iceland, he sailed once more for Greenland, taking with him a fleet of thirty-five ships, only fourteen of which reached their destination, the rest being either driven back or lost. This event took place, as the Saga says, fifteen winters (30) before the introduction of Christianity into Iceland, which we know was accomplished in the year A.D. 1000. The date of Eric's second voyage must, therefore, be set down as 985. (31)

But, before proceeding to the next step in Icelandic adventure, it will be necessary to give a brief sketch of the progress of the Greenland colony, together with a relation of the circumstances which led to its final extinction.

THE PROGRESS OF THE GREENLAND COLONIES

There is but little continuity in the history of the Icelandic occupation of Greenland. We have already seen that the second voyage of Eric the Red took place in the year 985. Colonists appear to have followed him in considerable numbers, and the best portions of the land were soon appropriated by the principal men, who gave the chief bays and capes names that indicated the occupants, following the example of Eric, who dwelt in Brattahlid, in Ericsfjord.

In the year 999, Leif, son of Eric, sailed out of Greenland to Norway, and passed the winter at the court of King Olaf Tryggvesson, where he accepted the Christian faith, which was then being zealously propagated by the king. He was accordingly baptized, and, when the spring returned, the king requested him to undertake the introduction of Christianity in Greenland, urging the consideration that no man was better qualified for the task. Accordingly he set sail from Norway, with a priest and several members of a religious order, arriving at Brattahlid, in Greenland, without any accident (32) His pagan father was incensed by the bringing in of the Christian priest, which act he regarded as pregnant with evil; yet after some persuasion on the part of Leif, he renounced heathenism and nominally accepted Christianity, being baptized by the priest. His wife Thorhild made less opposition, and appears to have received the new faith with much willingness. One of her first acts was to build a church, which was known far and wide as Thorhild's church. These examples appear to have been adopted in both Iceland and Greenland at about the same period, (33) though its acceptance did not immediately produce any very radical change in the spiritual life of the people. In course of time a number of churches were built, the ruins of which remain down to our day. (34)

In the year 1003, the Greenlanders became tributary to Norway. The principle settlement was formed on the western coast. What was known as the eastern district did not extend farther than the southern extremity toward Cape Farewell. For a long time it was supposed that the east district was located on the eastern coast of Greenland; but the researches of Captian Graah, whose expedition went out under the auspices of the Danish government, proved very conclusively that no settlement ever existed on the eastern shore, which for centuries has remained blocked up by vast accumulations of ice that floated down from the Artic seas. In early times, as we are informed by the Sagas, the eastern coast was more accessible, yet the western shores were so superior in their attractions that the colonist fixed his habitation there. The site of the eastern settlement is that included in the modern district of Julian's Hope, now occupied by a Danish colony. The western settlement is represented by the habitation of Frederikshab, Godthaab, Sukkertoppen and Holsteinborg.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH

In process of time the Christians in Greenland multiplied to such an extent, both by conversions and by the immigration from Iceland, that it was found necessary, in the beginning of the twelfth century, to take some measures for the better government of the church, especially as they could not hope much for regular visits from the bishops of Iceland. They, therefore, resolved to make an effort to secure a bishop of their own. Eric Gnupson, of Iceland, was selected for the office, and proceeded to Greenland about the year 1112, without being regularly consecrated. He returned to Iceland in 1120, and afterward went to Denmark, where he was consecrated in Lund, by Archbishop Adzer. Yet he probably never returned to his duties in Greenland, but soon after resigned that bishopric and accepted another, (35) thus leaving Greenland without a spiritual director.

In the year 1123, Sokke, one of the principal men of Greenland, assembled the people and represented to them that both the welfare of the Christian faith and their own honor demanded that they should follow the example of other nations and maintain a bishop. To this view they gave their unanimous approval; and Einar, son of Sokke, was appointed a delegate to the court of King Sigurd, of Norway. He carried a present of ivory and fur, and a petition for the appointment of a bishop. His mission was successful, and in the year 1126 Arnald, the successor of Eric, (36) came into Greenland, and set up the Episcopal seat at Gardar. (37) Torfaeus and Baron Holberg (38) give a list of seventeen bishops who ruled in Greenland, ending with Andrew. The latter was consecrated and went thither in 1408, being never heard of afterward.

The history of Old Greenland is found in the Ecclesiastical Annals, and consists of a mere skeleton of facts. As in Iceland and Norway there was no end of broils and bloodshed. A very considerable trade was evidently carried on between that country and Norway, which is the case at the present time with Denmark. As the land afforded no materials for ships, they depended in a great measure upon others for communication with the mother countries, which finally proved disastrous.

MONUMENTS AND RUINS IN GREENLAND

The villages and farms of the Northmen in Greenland were numerous. They probably numbered several hundred, the ruins now left being both abundant and extensive. Near Igaliko, supposed to be the same as the ancient Einarsfiord, are the ruins of a church, probably the Cathedral of Gardar. It is called the Kakortok Church. It was of simple but massive architecture, and the material was taken from the neighboring cliffs. The stone is rough hewn, and but few signs of mortar are visible. It is fifty-one feet long and twenty-five wide. The north and south walls are over four feet thick, while the end walls are still more massive.

Nor are other monuments wanting. At Igaliko, nine miles from Julian's Hope, a Greenlander being one day employed in obtaining stones to repair his house, found among a pile of fragments a smooth stone that bore, what seemed to him, written characters. He mentioned the circumstance to Mr. Mathieson, the colonial director at Julian's Hope, who inferred that it must be a runic stone. The man was so fortunate to find it afterward, and Mr. Mathieson accordingly sent it to Copenhagen, where it arrived in the year 1830. The runes which were perfectly distinct, showed that it was a tombstone. The inscription was translated as follows:

"Vigdis Mars Daughter Rests Here.

May God Gladden Her Soul."

Another, found in 1831, by the Rev. Mr. De Fries, principal of the Moravian Mission, bore the following inscription in the runic letter:

"Here Rests Hroar Kolgrimsson."

This stone, now in the museum at Copenhagen, was found built into the wall over the entrance of a Greenland house, having been taken for that purpose from a heap of ruins, about two miles north of Friederichsthal. The stone is more than three feet long, being eighteen inches wide in the narrowest part, and about five inches thick. It bears every sign of a high antiquity.

One of the most interesting remains proving the Icelandic occupation of Greenland, is the runic stone found by Parry, in 1824, in the island of Kingiktorsoak, lying in 72 degrees 55' N. and 56 degrees 51' W. It contained a somewhat lengthy inscription. Copies of it were sent to three of the first scholars of the age, Finn Magnusson, Professor Rask, and Dr. Bryniulfson, who, without consulting one another, at once arrived at the same conclusion, and united in giving the following translation:

"Erling Sighvatson and Biorn Thordarson and

Eindrid Oddson, on Saturday Before

Ascension Week, Raised These

Marks and Cleared

Ground. 1135. (39)

The Icelandic colonists in Greenland do not appear to have been confined to a small portion of territory. We find considerable relating to this subject in the chronicle attributed to Ivar Bardsen, (40) the steward of one of the bishops of Greenland; yet, though used extensively by Torfaeus in his " Greenlandia " (41) modern researches in the country prove that it is in some minor respects faulty. In this chronicle, as in the Sagas, the colonists are spoken of as possessing horses, sheep and oxen; and their churches and religious houses appear to have been well supported.

EXPLORATION OF GREENLAND

Much was done, it appears, in the way of exploring the extreme northern portions of the country known as Nordrsetur. In the year 1266, a voyage was made under the auspices of some of the priests, and the adventurers penetrated north of Lancaster Sound, reaching about the same latitude that was attained by Parry in 1827. This expedition was of sufficient importance to justify some notice of it here. The account is found in Antiquitates Americanae (p. 269), and it sets out with the statement, that the narrative of the expedition was sent by Haldor, a priest, to Arnald, the Chaplain of King Magnus of Norway. They sailed out of Kroksfiardarheidi in an open boat, and met with southerly winds and thick weather, which forced them to let the boat drive before the wind. When the weather cleared, they saw a number of islands, together with whales and seals and bears. They made their way into the most distant portion of the sea, and observed glaciers south of them as far as the eye could reach. They also saw indications of the natives, who were called Skraellings, but they did not land, on account of the number of bears. They, therefore, put about, and laid their course southward for nearly three days, finding more islands, with traces of the natives. They saw a mountain which they called Snaefell, and on St. James' day, July 25, they had a severe weather, being obliged to row much and very hard. It froze during the night in that region, but the sun was above the horizon both day and night. When the sun was on the southern meridian, and a man lay down crosswise in a six-oared boat, the shadow of the gunwale toward the sun would reach as far as his feet, which, of course, indicates that the sun was very low. Afterward they all returned in safety to Gardar. (42) Rafn fixes the position of the point attained by the expedition in the parallel of 75 degrees 46'. Such an achievement at that day indicates a degree of boldness quite surprising.

THE DECLINE OF GREENLAND

Of the reality and importance of the Greenland colony there exists no doubt, notwithstanding, the records are so meagre and fragmentary. (43) It maintained its connection with the mother countries for a period of not less than four hundred years; yet it finally disappeared and was almost forgotten.

Many causes led to the suspension of communication, though it is difficult to account for the extinction of the colony, if it actually became extinct. It does not appear ever to have been in much danger from the Skraellings, though, on one occasion, in 1349 or later, the natives attacked the western settlement, it is said, and killed eighteen Greenlanders of Icelandic lineage, carrying away two boys captives. (44)

We hear from the eastern colony as late as the middle of the fifteenth century. Trade was carried on with Denmark until nearly the end of the fourteenth century, although the voyages were not regular. The last bishop, Andreas, was sent out in 1406, and Professor Finn Magnussen has established the fact that he officiated in the cathedral at Gardar in 1409. (45)

From this time the trade between Norway and Greenland appears to have been given up, though Wormius told Peyrere of his having read in a Danish manuscript, that down to the year 1484, there was a company of more than forty sailors at Bergen, in Norway, who still traded with Greenland. (46) But as the revenue at that time belonged to Queen Margaret of Denmark, no one could go to Greenland without the royal permission. One company of sailors who were driven upon the Greenland coast, came near suffering the penalty of the law on their return. Crantz (47) says, that "about the year 1530, Bishop Amund of Skalholt in Iceland is said to have been driven by a storm, on his return from Norway, so near the coast of Greenland by Heriulfness, that he could see the people driving in their cattle. But he did not land, because just then a good wind arose, which carried the ship the same night to Iceland. The Icelander, Biaernvon Skardfa, who relates this, also says further, that a Hamburgh mariner, Jon Greenlander by name, was driven three times on the Greenland island, where he saw such fisher's huts for drying fish as they have in Iceland, but saw no men; further, that pieces of shattered boats, nay, in the year 1625, an entire boat, fastened together with sinews and wooden pegs, and pitched with seal blubber, have been driven ashore at Iceland from time to time; and since then they found once an oar with a sentence written in Runic letters: ' Oft var ek dasa, dur elk drothik,' that is, 'Oft was I tired when I drew thee.'" (48)

LOST GREENLAND FOUND

But, whatever may be the value of the preceding statements of Skardfa, it is clear that Greenland was never wholly forgotten. The first person who proposed to reopen communication was Eric Walkendorf, Archbishop of Drontheim, who familiarized himself with the subject, and made every preparation necessary in order to re-establish the colony; but, having fallen under the displeasure of King Christian II, he left the country and went to Rome, where he died in the year 1521. Thus his plans came to nothing. (49) Christian III abrogated the decree of Queen Margaret, prohibiting trade with Greenland without the royal permission, and encouraged voyages by fitting out a vessel to search for Greenland, which, however, was not found. In 1578, Frederic II sent out Magnus Henningsen. He came into sight of the land, but does not appear to have had the courage to proceed further. Crantz, in his work on Greenland, gives an account of a number of voyages undertaken to the coast, but says that "at last Greenland was so buried in oblivion that one hardly would believe that such a land as Greenland was inhabited by Christian Norwegians." (50)

It remained, therefore, for Hans Egede, (51) in 1721, to re-open communication. Columbus himself did not endure much greater mortification than did this good man for the space of eleven years, during which period he labored to persuade the Danish and Norwegian authorities to undertake the re-discovery. But his faith and zeal finally overcame all hostility and ridicule. On the 2nd day of May, 1721, he went on board the Hope, with his wife and four young children, and landed at Ball's river in Greenland on the third of the following month. Here he spent the best portion of his life in teaching the natives Christianity, which had been first introduced seven centuries before, and in making those explorations the results of which filled the mind of Europe with surprise, and afforded a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Icelandic Sagas.

THE CHARACTER AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NORTHMEN

Let us now return to the consideration of the Icelandic voyages to the American Continent, though not without first seeking a better acquaintance with the men by whome they were performed.

We have already seen that the Northmen were a people of no inferior attainments. Indeed, they constituted the most enterprising portion of the race, and, on general principles, we should, therefore, view them as fitted, even above all the men of their time, for the important work of exploration beyond the seas. They had made themselves known in every part of the civilized world (52) by their daring as soldiers and navigators. Straying away into the distant east whence they originally came, we see them laying the foundation of the Russian empire, swinging thier battle-axes in the streets of Constantinople, carving their mystic runes upon the Lions of the Areopagus, and filling the heart of even the great Charlemagne with dismay. Says Dasent, when summing up their achievements: "In Byzantium they are the leaders of the Greek emperor's body guard, and the main support of his tottering throne. From France, led by Rollo, they tear away her fairest province and found a long line of kings. In Saxon England they are the bosom friends of such kings as Athelstane, and the sworn foes of Ethelred the Unready. In Danish England they are the foremost among the thanes of Canute, Swein and Hardicanute, and keep down the native population with an iron heel. In Norman England," he continues, "the most serious opposition the conqueror meets with is from the colonists of his own race settled in Northumbria. He wastes their lands with fire and sword, and drives them across the border, where we still find their energy, their perseverance, and their speech existing in the lowland Scotch. In Norway they dive into the river with King Olaf Tryggvesson, the best and strongest champion of his age, and hold him down beneath the waves so long that the bystanders wonder whether either king or Icelander will ever reappear on the surface. (53) Some follow Saint Olaf in his crusades against the old [pagan] faith. (54) Some are his obstinate foes and assist at his martyrdom. Many follow Harold the Stern to England, and almost to a man they get their portion of the same soil, while their names grow bright in song and story." Finally, "From Iceland as a base, they push on to Greenland and colonize it: nay, they discover America in those half-decked barks." (55)

THE SHIPS OF THE NORTHMEN

The Northmen were excellent navigators. They were, moreover, it has been claimed, the first to learn the art of sailing on the wind. They had good sea-going vessels, some of which were of large size. We have an account in the Saga of Olaf Tryggvesson of one that in some respects was remarkable. It is said that "the winter after King Olaf Tryggvesson came from Halegoland, he had a great ship built at Ledehammer, (56) which was larger than any ship in the country, and of which the beam-knees are still to be seen. The length of the keel that rested upon the grass was seventy-four ells. Thorberg Skafting was the man's name who was the master builder of the ship, but there were many others besides; some to fell the wood, some to shape it, some to make nails, some to carry timber, and all that was used was the best. The ship was both long and broad and high sided, and strongly timbered.......The ship was a dragon, built after the one that the king had captured in Halegoland, but it was far longer and more carefully put together in all her parts. The Long Serpent [her name] had thirty-four benches for rowers. The head and arched tail were both gilt, and the bulwarks were as high as in sea-going ships. This ship was the best and most costly ever built in Norway." (57)

Laing computes the tonnage of this ship at about nine hundred and forty-two tons, thus giving a length of about one hundred feet, which is nearly the size of a forty-two gun ship. By steam tonnage it would give one a capacity of a little less than three hundred tons, and one hundred and twenty horse power. We apprehend, however, that the estimate is sufficiently large; yet we are not concerned to show any great capacity for the Icelandic ships. All the vessels employed in the early times on the American coasts were small. The Anna Pink, a craft that accompanied Lord Anson in his expedition around the world, measured only sixteen tons. (58) The vessels of the Northmen were every way adapted for ocean voyages.

In nautical knowledge, also, they were not behind the age. The importance of cultivating the study of navigation was fully understood. The Raudulf of Oesterdal, in Norway, taught his son to calculate the course of the sun and moon, and how to measure time by the stars. In 1520 Olaus Magnus complained that the knowledge of the people in this respect had been diminished. In that noble work called Speculum regale , the Icelander is taught to make an especial study of commerce and navigation, of the divisions of time and the movements of the heavenly bodies, together with arithmetic, the rigging of vessels and morals (59). Without a high degree of knowledge they could never have achieved their many voyages.

THE SAGAS AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

We find that the Northmen were well acquainted with other parts of the world, and that they possessed all the means of reaching the Continent in the west. We come, therefore, to the question: Did the Northmen actually discover and explore the coast of the country now known as America?

No one can say that the idea wears any appearance of improbability ; for there is certainly nothing wonderful in the exploit. After conceding the fact that colonies of the Northmen existed in Greenland for at least three hundred years, we must prepare ourselves for something of this kind. Indeed it is well nigh, if not altogether unreasonable, to suppose that a sea faring people like the Northmen could live for three centuries within a short voyage of this Continent, and never become aware of its existence. A supposition like this implies a rare credulity, and whoever is capable of believing it must be capable of believing almost anything.

But on this point we are not left to conjecture. The decision, in the absence of proofs like those furnished by Greenland, turns upon a question of fact. The point is this: Do the manuscripts which describe these voyages belong to the pre-Columbian age? If so, then the Northmen are entitled to the credit of the prior discovery of America. That these manuscrips belong to the pre-Columbian age is as capable of demonstration as the fact that the writings of Homer existed prior to the age of Christ. Before intelligent persons deny either of these points they must first succeed in blotting out numberless pages of well-known history. The manuscript in which we have versions of all the Sagas relating to America is found in the celebrated Codex Flatoiensis , a work that was finished in the year 1387, or 1395 at the latest. This collection, made with great care and executed in the highest style of art, is now preserved in its integrity (60) in the archives of Copenhagen. These manuscripts were for a time supposed to be lost, but were ultimately found safely lodged in their repository in the monastery library of the island of Flato, from whence they were transferred to Copenhagen with a large quantity of other literary material collected from various localities. If these Sagas which refer to America were interpolations, it would have early become apparent, as abundant means exist for detecting frauds; yet those who have examined the whole question do not find any evidence that invalidates their historical statements. In the absence, therefore, of respectable testimony to the contrary, we accept it as a fact that the Sagas relating to America are the productions of the men who gave them in their present form nearly, if not quite, an entire century before the age of Columbus.

It might also be argued, if it were at all necessary, that, if these Sagas were post-Columbian compositions drawn up by Icelanders who were jealous of the fame of the Genoese navigator, we should certainly be able to point out something either in their structure, bearing, or style by which it would be indicated. Yet such is not the case. These writings reveal no anxiety to show the connection of the Northmen with the great land lying at the west. The authors do not see any thing remarkable or meritorious in the explorations, which were conducted simply for the purpose of gain. Those marks which would certainly have been impressed by a more modern writer forging a historical composition designed to show an occupation of the country before the time of Columbus, are wholly wanting. There is no special pleading or rivalry, and no desire to show prior and superior knowledge of the country to which the navigators had from time to time sailed. We only discover a straightforward, honest endeavor to tell the story of certain men's lives. This is done in a simple, artless way, and with every indication of a desire to mete out even-handed justice to all. Candid readers who come to the subject with minds free from prejudice will be powerfully impressed with the belief that they are reading authentic histories written by honest men. (61)

THE LITERATURE OF ICELAND

Before speaking particularly of the substance of the Sagas it will be necessary to trace briefly the origin and history of Icelandic literature in general.

We have already mentioned the fact that Iceland was mainly settled by Norwegians of superior qualities. This superiority was always maintained, though it was somewhat slow in manifesting itself in the form of literature. Prior to the year 1000, the Runic alphabet had existed in Iceland, but it was generally used for the simplest purposes . (62) History and literature derived no advantage, as the runes were used chiefly for monumental inscriptions, and for mottoes and charms on such things as drinking cups, sacrificial vessels and swords. Yet the people were not without a kind of intellectual stimulus. It had long been the custom to preserve family and general histories, and recite them from memory as occasion seemed to warrant. This was done with a wonderful degree of accuracy and fidelity, by men more or less trained for the purpose, and whose performances at times were altogether surprising. They also had their scalds or poets, who were accustomed both to repeat the old songs and poems and extemporize new ones. Every good fighter was expected to prove himself a poet when the emergency required it. The poet was strongly encouraged. When Eyvind Skialdespilder sang his great song in praise of Iceland every peasant in the island, it is said, contributed three pieces of silver to buy a clasp for his mantel of fifty marks weight. These scalds were sometimes employed by the politicians, and on one occasion a satire so nettled Harold, king of Denmark, that he sent a fleet to ravage Iceland, and made the repetition an offense punishable with death. The Icelandic poets also went to England, to the Orkneys and to Norway, where, at the king's court, they were held in the highest estimation, furnishing poetical effusions on every public or private occasion which demanded the exercise of their gifts. The degree to which they had cultivated their memories was surprising. Old Blind Skald Stuf could repeat between two and three hundred poems. The Saga-men had the same power of memory. This we know may be improved to almost any extent by cultivation. But with the advent of Christianity came the Roman alphabet, which proved an easy method of expressing thought. Christianity, however, did not stop here. Its services was a reasonable service, and demanded of its votaries a high intelligence. The priest of Odin need do no more than to recite a short vow, or mutter a brief prayer. He had no divine records to read and to explain. But the minister of the new religion came with a system that demanded broader learning and culture than that implied in extemporaneous songs. His calling required the aid of books, and the very sight of such things proved a mental stimulus to this hard-brained race. Besides, Christianity opened to the minds of the people new fields of thought. These rude sons of war soon began to understand that there were certain victories, not to be despised, that might be gained through peace, and erelong letters came to be somewhat familiar to the public mind. The earliest written efforts very naturally related to the lives of the Saints, which on Sundays and holy days were read in public for the edification of the people. During the eleventh century these exercises shared the public attention with those of the professional Saga-man, who still labored to hand down the oral versions of the national history and traditions. In the beginning of the twelfth century the use of letters was extended, and at last the Saga-man found his occupation gone, the national history now being diligently gathered up by zealous students and scribes and committed to the more lasting custody of the written page. Among the writers was Ari Frode, who began the compilation of the Icelandic Dooms-day Book, which contained a record of the early settlers. Scarcely less useful was Saemund the Wise, who collected the poetical literature of the North and arranged it in a goodly tome. The example of these great men was followed, and by the end of the twelfth century all the Sagas relating to the pagan period of the country had been reduced to writing. This was an era of great literary activity, and the century following showed the same zeal. Finally Iceland possessed a body of prose literature superior in quantity and value to that of any other modern nation of its time. (63) Indeed, the natives of Europe at this period had no prose or other species of literature hardly worthy of the name; and, taken altogether, the Sagas formed the first prose literature in any modern language spoken by the people. (64) Says Sir Edmund Head, "No doubt there were translations in Anglo-Saxon from the Latin, by Alfred, or an earlier date, but there was in truth no vernacular literature. I cannot name," he says, "any work in high or low German prose which can be carried back to this period. In France, prose writing cannot be said to have begun before the time of Villehardouin (1204), and Joinville (1202). Castilian prose certainly did not commence before the time of Alfonso X (1252). Don Juan Manvel, the author of the Conde Lucanor, was not born till 1282. The Cronica General de Espana was not composed till at least the middle of the thirteenth century. About the same time the language of Italy was acquiring that softness and strength which was destined to appear so conspicuously in the prose of Boccaccio, and the writers of the next century. (65)

Thus, while other nations were without a literature, the intellect of Iceland was in active exercise, and works were produced like the Eddas and the Heimskringla, works inspired by a lofty genius and which will rank with the writings of Homer and Herodotus while time endures.

In the beginning of the sixteenth century, however, the literature of Iceland reached the period of its greatest excellence, and began to decline. Books continued to be written, but works of positive genius were wanting. Yet in Iceland there has never been an absence of literary industry, while during the recent period the national reputation has been sustained by Finn Magnussen and similar great names. One hundred years before the Plymouth colonists, following in the track of Thorwald Ericson, landed on the sands of Cape Cod, the people of Iceland had set up the printing press, and produced numerous works in the native language and the Latin tongue.

It is to this people, whom Saxo Grammaticus points out as a people distinguished for their devotion to letters, that we are indeted for the narratives of the pre-Columbian voyages to America. Though first arranged for oral recitation, the Sagas, as we have seen, were afterward committed to manuscript, the earliest of which do not now exist, while the latest were those preserved in the celebrated Flato collection nearly a century before the re-discovery of America by Columbus.

It is no longer necessary to spend much time in this connection, since the character and value of the Icelandic writings have come to be generally acknowledged, and especially since scholars and antiquaries like Humboldt and Max Muller have fully acknowledged their authenticity and authority.

COLUMBUS AND THE NORTH

It is proper to notice here the fact not a few have imagined that the claims of the Northmen have been brought forward to detract from the fame of Columbus; yet, nothing could be farther from the truth, since no one denies that it was by the discovery of America by Columbus that the Continent became of great value to the Old World, though we must always remember that North America is chiefly indebted to the Cabots, who led the way for English supremacy.

EARLY ENGLISH VOYAGES TO ICELAND

But nothing should deter us from inquiring into the relation held by Columbus to the pilots and geographers of the North, (66) especially since so many fancy that the northern regions were little visited at the period of his activity. Still we find that in the fourteenth century the fisheries were commonly pursued around Iceland, whose people were in regular communciation with Greenland. The English also must have known of Greenland at the time, though, in common with the people of Iceland and Norway, they did not appreciate the importance of this knowledge. In the fourteenth century, proof is found both in the Icelandic and English annals, of the connection between the two countries. The Icelandic contains indications of the arrival of English ships, but it is clear that their coming was so well known as to gain only a casual allusion, the interest standing connected with the news brought. The entries were made at the time, and are now set down in chronological order in accordance with the language of the original. Let us, therefore, notice these entries.

In 1348, news reached Iceland that in England the mortality was so great that 200,000 persons had died. (67) The next year the death of English sailors at Bergen, in Norway, opposite Iceland, was reported, and recorded in the Sagas. (68) This is all that we find at present in connection with the fourteenth century in Iceland; but the reference of the Saga to the great mortality in England is confirmed by Stow's "Annales," which state that the plague reached England in 1348, touching the seaports first. Thence, no doubt, the news was at once carried by fishermen to Iceland. (69) If the voyages of the English to Iceland had possessed greater interest, there would have been some more definite notice in the Sagas. We are free, however, to admire that, early in this century, the merchant trade may have been small, as in 1328 Edward III does not mention Iceland in his " Pro Mercatoribus Extraneis." Nor does he mention Denmark or Norway, but these are included in the general language, " Omnium aliarum Terrarum et locorum extranorunt." (70) Nevertheless, the mandate of Edward III, dated March 18, 1354, recognizes the fact that the king maintained a fleet for service in the "parts Boreal," John de Haddon being the Admiral. (71) It was probably designed to protect the fishermen and merchants from pirates around the north of Britain.

In the Icelandic annals of the fifteenth century, the first clear entry is that of 1407, when news was received of the death of the Archbishop of York. (72) In 1412, it was recorded that five English sailors had separated from their ship and wintered in the island. (73) In 1413, "thirty more fishing vessels came from England." Some of them were blown to the northern part of Iceland, and possibly to the Greenland coast. (74)

In 1415, six English ships sailed to Iceland, and made their port in the Westmann Islands (75) In 1416, six ships anchored in Hafnafiord, in the south-west of Iceland. (76) In 1419, many English ships were wrecked on the coast of Iceland, and a large number of lives were lost . (77) The "Annals," in the present compilation, end with the year 1430, and these six entries are all that we find. If carefully considered, however, it will appear that these mentions really form memorabilia. This will be seen by turning to the English annals for the corresponding period. The first reference to Iceland in the Faedera is that of 1415, when Henry V, for the satisfaction of the King of Denmark, ordered that during the year none of his subjects should presume to visit any of "the coasts of the islands belonging to Denmark and Norway, and especially to the island of Iceland," for the purpose of fishing or trading, "otherwise than according to the ancient custom" ( aliter quam antiquitus fieri consuevit.") (78) This notice was served upon the authorities of the various seaports of England. Here, then, we learn, in connection with 1415, that in the ancient times voyages to Iceland had become frequent. It is clear from the complaint of the Danish king that the old rules respecting traffic had been broken habitually, and that they were now to be observed, at least for one year. Of the exact nature of the ancient law we cannot speak, but it would appear as though the prohibition related to the shore fisheries, which they were not to intrude upon, and hence, when the English went to Iceland, in 1415, they harbored off the coast of the Westmann Islands. The arrival of the ships, under the circumstances, formed a noticeable event, and for this reason it was recorded. The Icelandic Annals add, immediately after mentioning their arrival, that "the ships brought letters from the King of England to the people and chief men of Iceland."

There is, then, a complete agreement between the English and the Icelandic Annals, both showing that an English fleet visited Iceland in 1415-a circumstance which should go very far to establish the general value and credibility of those records of a distant age. (79)

In 1416, the English were again in Iceland, but the Faedera does not mention voyages until 1436, when Henry VI issued a license to John, the Icelandic Bishop of Holem, then in London, authorizing him to engage John May, with his ship "Catherine," for a voyage to Iceland, where May, evidently an old voyager, was to act as his attorney, and transact certain business for him, the Bishop himself not wishing to undertake the voyage. (80) In 1436, Richard Weston, of London, a "stockfishmonger," was well known by the Icelanders (81) In 1440, Henry VI sent two ships to Iceland, with supplies. It was feared that without this aid from England, the sacraments even would be omitted, there being neither wine nor salt in the country, and only milk and water ( lac et aquam ). (82)

In connection with the year 1445, another voyage is indicated by the Admiralty "Black Book," action having been taken against William Byggeman, and two men of Lynn, who visited Iceland in a "dogger," called the "Trinity." They kidnapped a boy whom they brought to Swetesham and held in servitude, contrary to law. (83)

In 1450, a treaty was made between the Kings of Denmark and England, which prohibited trading in Iceland; but a special provision of Parliament exempted Thomas Canynges, Mayor of Bristol, from the prohibition, in consideration of his great services to Iceland. He was accordingly allowed to send two ships thither to load with fish or other commodities. His trade with Iceland was a matter of general knowledge, and thrown additional light upon a certain remark by Columbus.

It should be remembered also, that the Zeno Brothers made their voyage to Greenland, and a part of the American coast called Estotiland, and Drogeo, in 1400; but it is not desirable to dwell upon such a familiar theme here. It suffices to say: The Zeno Map, published with the narrative in 1558, shows that the Zeno family had a knowledge of Greenland that could have been obtained only during the pre-Columbian times. (84)

In this connection the investigator must not overlook the voyage of Skolnus the Pole, which took place in 1476. Hakluyt says that this voyage is mentioned by Gemma Frisius and Girava. (85) It is certainly referred to on an ancient globe of about 1540, preserved in Paris, and known as "The Rouen Globe," whereon, near the north-west coast of Greenland, is a legend declaring that Skolnus reached that point in 1476. This globe seems to antedate Gomara (1553), the earliest author that the writer has been able to consult.

Next, attention should be directed to the voyage of Columbus, of which the Genoese himself gives the following account:

"In the month of February, 1477, I sailed a hundred leagues beyond the island of Thyle, the southern part of which is distant from the equinoctial 73 degrees, and not 63 as some wish it to be; nor does it lie upon the line where Ptolemy's west begins, but much more toward the west. And to this island, which is as large as England, the English come for traffic, and especially those of Bristol. And at the time I was there the sea was not frozen, but in some places the tide rose 26 fathoms (feet), and fell the same." (86) Whoever wrote the life of the Admiral, there is no question but that he made the voyage. Finn Magnussen has pointed out an interesting confirmation of the statement of Columbus respecting the mild weather in 1477, where he shows from the "Annals," the remarkable fact, that, in 1477, snow had not been seen at Eyafjord, in the north of Iceland, as late as March (87).

To this period belongs the voyage of Robert Alcock, of Hull, who, in 1478, was commissioned by Edward IV to send a ship of 240 tons to Iceland, which was "to reload with fish or other goods." (88) He was licensed again in 1483.

Chaucer in the prologue to the Canterbury Tales, shows by his "shipman" something of the activity of the British sailor at this period.

An indication more to our present purpose is found in the poem on "The Policie of Keeping the Sea," which belongs to the middle of the fifteenth century. At that time the northern region was so well known that the author of the poem disposes of the subject briefly:

"Of Island to write is little nede,

Save of stockfish; yet forsooth, indeed,

Out of Bristowe, and costes many one,

Men have practiced the needle and stone

Thider twelve yere, and without perill

Gon and come, as men were wont of old