Brattahlíð
| Brattahlíð | ||
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| Brattahlid (steep slope) |
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| Commune | Narsaq | |
| Geographical location | 61 ° 9 '8 " N , 45 ° 30' 54" W | |
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| Residents | 0 |
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| Time zone | UTC-3 | |
| particularities | former Viking settlement | |
Brattahlíð (also Old Norse Brattahlid , steep slope ' ) is an abandoned settlement near the Greenland town of Narsarsuaq ; today's name is Qassiarsuk . Of particular archaeological interest are the foundations of the first Christian church in Greenland, the church of Brattahlíð . This is said to have been built around the year 1000 at the endeavors of Þjóðhildr , Erik the Red's wife .
background
Remains of a nave were found near the church foundations. The building was 53 m long, 14 m wide and had peat walls that were up to 1.5 m thick.
The area around Brattahlíð is still considered to be one of the most productive agricultural areas in Greenland. Brattahlíð is located in the innermost part of Tunulliarfik (Eriksfjord), sheltered from the cold and foggy weather on the coast .
The first thing place in Greenland was located near Brattahlíð . Similar to the Icelandic Althing , meetings were held here and justice was given.
Erik the Red was banished from the Thing in Iceland and went out to sea to discover new land. He got to Greenland and sailed into a fjord he called Eriksfjord. There he wintered several times on a small island. He then drove back to Iceland, disregarding the ban, and convinced around 1,000 people to move with him. The emigrants built longhouses in Greenland and made a living by keeping cattle and hunting reindeer , seals and walruses . The influx of emigrants continued. When new settlers brought an epidemic to the village in 1002 , Erik the Red fell ill and died in 1003. The Greenland colony was able to recover from the epidemic and reached a maximum population of up to 5,000.
Possibly due to a deterioration in the climate ( Little Ice Age ), the connection to Europe was broken at the beginning of the 15th century, and the colony went under at the end of that century.
literature
- Poul Nørlund , Mårten Stenberger , Magnus Degerbøl , Niels Nielsen , William Ernest Calvert : Brattahlid . In: Meddelelser om Grønland . tape 88 , no. 1 . Museum Tusculanum Press, 2010, ISBN 978-87-635-2426-1 , ISSN 0025-6676 (first edition: CA Reitzel, 1934, reprint).
Web links
- Viking Archeology: The Settlement at Brattahlid (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brattahlíð | Follow the Vikings. In: followthevikings.com. Retrieved October 20, 2019 .
- ^ Klaus Böldl, Andreas Vollmer, Julia Zernack: Þjóðhilds Kirche . In: The Vínlandsagas: Icelandic sagas . ischer E-Books, 2011, ISBN 978-3-10-401687-0 ( books.google.de ).
- ^ Eva Firzlaff: Blue Icebergs and Erik the Red. ( deutschlandfunk.de ).