Markland
Faroe stamp with the Viking voyages in the North Atlantic - on the Skálholt map based
Markland is an area on the northeast coast of North America that was discovered around the year 1000 by the Viking Leif Eriksson and his men. It was a flat, forested land and the Vikings named it Markland , which means “woodland”.
About the trip of the group around Thorfinn Karlsefni , coming from Helluland , it says in the Eiríks saga rauða :
- “After that, they sailed with northerly winds for two half days, and then land appeared before them, and on top of it a large forest and many wild animals. An island lay in the southeast, down from this land. They found bears on this island, and so they named the island Bjarney. But the main land on which the forest was located was called Markland. Then, after two half days had passed, they saw land and sailed under it. There was a cape there that they were heading towards. They cruised along the land and left it on the starboard side. "
It is not known for sure which area this marquee corresponds to, but it is likely to be the coast of Labrador . The island to the southeast of Markland corresponds to Belle Island , as Newfoundland is far too big to be seen when sailing past. Even Belle Island, with its 52 km², is not a small island, but clearly recognizable as an island from close up and due to its solitary location in the sea.
Footnotes
- ↑ [1] , Chapter 8, 1st half of the 4th paragraph of the Erik saga in the English translation by J. Sephton, 1880
swell
- Krämer, Walter (Ed.): The discovery and exploration of the earth . FA Brockhaus Verlag, Leipzig, 1976.