Helluland
| number | Possible correspondence |
|---|---|
| 1 = Baffin Island | Helluland, Bjarneyjar |
| 2, 3 = Labrador | Helluland (in the north); Markland (in the south) |
| 4 = Newfoundland | Vinland, Markland, possibly Bjarney |
| 5 = Gulf of Saint Lawrence | Vinland |
Helluland is an area on the northeast coast of North America , which was discovered in or around the year 1000 by the Viking Leif Eriksson and his men. It was apparently flat, icy, poor in vegetation , inhospitable and stony, so that the Vikings christened it “Helluland”, which roughly means “stone slab country” or “rock country”.
region
It is not known for sure which area this Helluland corresponds to, but it is likely to be either Baffin Island or the coast of Labrador . The presence of Northern people on Baffin Island is suggested by several archaeological finds found on Baffin Island as well as neighboring islands.
From the findings of an excavation in the Tanfield Valley on the south-east coast of Baffin Island , it is concluded that a trading post of the Grænlendingar was located at this point , from which trade with the bearers of the Dorset culture was carried out. The findings include yarn , whetstones and the remains of European rats that may have come there on the ships of the Grænlendingar. The dug up yarns and balls of yarn are comparable in their production method with those found in the settlements of the Grænlendingar; however, they often have components from the hair of wild animals such as the arctic fox and muskrat . Furthermore, the remains of a peat sod and stone building were examined and interpreted as being of Scandinavian origin. Radiocarbon analyzes suggest that this site was used until the 14th century.
It could also be that it is in the Baffin Island and adjacent islands to the Erik Saga mentioned Bjarneyjar concerns. Apart from the abundant polar bears there, which are available as namesake, it becomes understandable why Karlsefni's journey first went north to the western settlement, although the goal was in the south-west. Baffin Island was easier to reach from the western settlement; the distance corresponds roughly to that to the northern hunting area. The stated travel time of two half days from the Bjarneyjar to Helluland would seem almost plausible against this background. The distance from Baffin Island to the coast of Labrador is only about 300 km. The dating of some finds, such as yarn remnants, to the period before 1000 speaks for the classification of the Baffin Island as the Bjarneyjar. An area that was already known would not have required a new name after 1000 AD.
About the trip of the group around Thorfinn Karlsefni , starting from Brattahlid in the Ostsiedlung, it says in the Eiríks saga rauða :
“They sailed down land; then to the west settlement (Vestribygd) and the Bjarneyjar (the bear islands). After that they sailed from the Bjarneyjar with northerly winds. They drove on the high seas for two half days. Then they hit land, and rowed along it in boats, and explored it. They found many large, flat stones there. The stones were so big that two men could lie on them, stretched out on their backs, heel to heel. There were arctic foxes in abundance. They also gave the country a name and called it Helluland (Steinland). "
literature
- Patricia D. Sutherland: The question of contact between Dorset Paleo-Eskimos and early europeans in the Eastern Arctic . In: Herbert Donald Graham Maschner, Owen K. Mason, Robert McGhee (eds.): The northern world AD 900 - 1400 . The University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City 2009, ISBN 9780874809558 , pp. 279-299 (English, PDF, 1.5 MB).
- Walter Krämer (ed.): The discovery and exploration of the earth . FA Brockhaus Verlag, Leipzig, 7th edition, 1976, DNB 201390051 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Heather Pringle: Vikings in North America: The Trail of the Cords . Spiegel Online , October 27, 2012, accessed October 29, 2016.
- ↑ Strangers, Partners, Neighbors? Canadian Museum of History, accessed October 29, 2016.
- ↑ Heather Pringle: Evidence of Viking Outpost Found in Canada - Sharpeners may be smoking guns in quest for New World's second Viking site . National Geographic , October 19, 2012, accessed October 29, 2016.
- ↑ Heather Pringle: Vikings and Native Americans by Heather Pringle. National Geographic , November 2012, archived from the original on March 25, 2013 ; accessed on October 29, 2016 (English).
- ^ Second Proven Viking Outpost in North America . The Viking Rune, October 2012, accessed October 29, 2016.
- ↑ The archaeologist Patricia Sutherland, who was involved in the campaign, quoted in Jane George: Kimmirut site suggests early European contact: Hare fur yarn, wooden tally sticks may mean visitors arrived 1,000 years ago . ( Memento of the original from October 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Nunatsiaq News, September 12, 2008, accessed on October 29, 2016 (English): "These finds may represent evidence of contact with Europeans prior to the Vikings' arrival in Greenland."
- ↑ The Bear Islands were apparently known to Greenlanders.
- ↑ See “dægr” in the article Viking ship . The terms “northern winds” and “two half days” are repeated for several sections of the journey.
- ↑ So the stones had a diameter of approx. 3.40 m.
- ↑ The Saga of Erik the Red , Chapter 8, 3rd paragraph of the Erik saga in the English translation by J. Sephton, 1880.
