The Contents and Map List have all been linked, so you can jump down to the page or map. Use your BACK button to return here. Everything in the book is not linked here, so be sure to scroll through the book and use these links as bookmarks or for quick reference.

Map List

Maps are in order as they appear in the book. Maps in purple are individual maps.

Maps in red groups are found on the same picture, you may need to scroll down a bit to see the one you want.

You can search the Internet to find the original maps sketched in this book, copies could not be attained until now.

They are all sketched from the originals found in libraries and books, all are accurate.

Map of the Earth drawn in 1571, the great Renaissance geographer Gerardus Mercator,

whose studies and works were an invaluable contribution to geography and the art of navigation. (Western Hemisphere)

Americae Sive Novi Orbis No Va Descriptio- Ortelius, Abraham, 1527-1598

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all who have participated in the making of it and have been staunch supporters of lifting the veil over the long hidden truths of Nova Scotia. It is dedicated to you, the reader, who it was written for.

And in memory of John Robert MacNeil, aka…John Bear, Manikean, Mooin and Manfred Icarus Kean “Chapbook Man” extraordinaire…for your tireless and generous effort in bringing the truth of Cape Breton's history to all of us with your book Basket Stories. For the love you had for your family and friends, for your belief in yourself enough to write down your revelations for others to learn from; and especially for your love of the Mi’Kmaq people and your diligence in showing us who they truly are. We all miss you JB, you will never be forgotten. Till we meet again here in the Kingdom of Heaven…

From life to life

we live and we die,

sharing a dirge

or a lullaby,

sharing an hour

or a whole lifetime,

leaving in old age

or in our prime.

We were brothers once,

sisters as well,

perhaps even lovers,

who can tell.

We were together then

for a moment or more.

We'll be together again,

of this I am sure.

And after the march

when we are laid to rest,

we'll plot our return

and do our best

to be lovers again

or brothers-in-arms,

or sisters or friends,

drinking love's charms.

-John Bear MacNeil-

The Secret City

By Joan Hope

Copyright © 2008 Lisa Stone. All Rights Reserved.

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The Library of Hope

Front Cover Painting Adaptation by John Bear MacNeil

Original Painting by Joan Hope

Foreword

When we first began to read about the Holy Grail mysteries several years ago we were intrigued the trail of the Grail was leading to Nova Scotia, Canada. With many of us being from Nova Scotia, it was all the more enthralling to learn, as many things being written about were in our own backyards to find. In our studies we learned of a possible castle in Nova Scotia, an ancient one, pre-Columbian, set in the highest hills in the middle of the west of the province. How could this be? Who discovered this castle and when?

We quickly learned that it was a woman who discovered this castle, a very intriguing woman, a woman that was being shunned because of it. Instantly, when we read that she was accused of being a witch and a threat to her neighbours, we knew she had uncovered a secret.

Not believing anything negative written about her character we sought her out. First finding out that she had written a book about digging up the castle called “A Castle in Nova Scotia” and it was being sold in the very town where she had found the castle, because many of the people in the town and the Nova Scotia government knew it to be true and promoted the finding in tourist publications for 11 years for people to come and see it. All of that changed though, and you’re about to find out why.

After reading the book and the amazing things she wrote, we tracked her down since she had moved from the town in 1990. Locating Joan and her husband we began to correspond and visit. A beautiful friendship and kinship began to unfold.

We were astonished to find out that Joan has written 5 books about her experiences and that they were extensive and other worldly. The truth was told to us, the truth of lies and betrayal, secrets and cover-ups, threats and injustices, but also of great hope, joy and glory to come. Without a second thought we took the reins, as Joan has been somewhat disabled in a car accident and is a shut in. Having travelled the world, she discovered the Castle over 30 years ago. She gave us access to all her data and permission to publish her books, which she has never stopped writing, never stopped investigating, to this day she goes on.

We are going to finish this Joan; it is our destiny to do so. We have our swords and our pens and the Angels who guide us. Tears of joy and hope are flowing now, as the truth sets us free. Thank you Joan and Ron…for everything you have done and sacrificed for the rest of us and the good of mankind.

With infinite love and gratitude,

Lisa, Deborah, John & everyone involved.

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake:

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”

Matthew 5:10 (KJV)

Sebastian Munster, Western Hemisphere 1569 (circa)

Introduction

Legends concerning a place or places in North America called Norumbega have been extant ever since John Cabot reached our shores in 1497 and particularly since the colonization of New England was begun by the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620. By that time, however, the name had mysteriously disappeared from the map. How and why did this happen? Was Norumbega ever actually there at all? Argument for and against has persisted ever since, and with it the mystery and the myth -if such it was.

A glance at one of the mid-sixteenth century maps, such as those produced by Mercator, shows Norumbega to have been south of New France, roughly covering what are known today as the Maritime Provinces of Canada. New France is no myth: it later became Lower Canada and is now the Province of Quebec - with a few border adjustments. Yet the adjacent colony, often described in contemporary writings as "Norse" or "Norman" has mysteriously disappeared from history. This is all the more amazing when it is noted that part of today’s Quebec - notably The Gaspé and Anticosti Island - as well as part of Maine, was once within the borders of Norumbega.

Further examination of sixteenth-century maps reveals that there were in fact two Norumbegas (spelling varied in those days but they are easily identified). Apart from the territory of Norumbega there was also a city, shown as within its bounds to the south and described in contemporary writings as being a city of furs and gold about fifteen miles inland from the Bay of Many Islands. Several of the maps mark Norumbega City with a small sketch of a castle. But its exact location has always been a matter of dispute, particularly because of the inaccuracies and variations in the maps and to a lesser extent because of the complete omission of the peninsula now known as Nova Scotia. It should, however, be noted that the original Nova Scotia as designated after the King James Charter of 1621 comprised the entire territory of what had been Norumbega, including parts of Quebec and Maine.

By that time maps were more accurate and since the beginning of the century the missing peninsula had been appearing on them, marked as "Souriquois"- a French version of its actual name, Sudhrike - and later as "Acadya" on Champlain's map of 1613.

Here, then, we have the story of the disappearance of the territory of Norumbega, together with Sudhrike: after Champlain both were absorbed into New France and the name "Acadia" substituted for "Souriquois". But by the 1620s the entire territory of Norumbega and that of the attached peninsula had been taken out of New France to form New Scotland or, since the Charters of 1621 and 1625 were written in Latin, Nova Scotia.

But what of Norumbega City - the city of furs and gold? It had by then disappeared off the map altogether and has never been found since.

Hence the myth and the mystery.

Part 1

Chapter I

Norsemen, Vikings, Normans, Greenlanders, Vinlanders

The activities of the Norsemen, including their transatlantic voyages and exploration, have come down to us in both written records and sagas- verbal accounts which were eventually written down. Their traces have been left in the form of artifacts, foundations of buildings, legends, including those of native North Americans and descendants. The Norsemen were tall and fair or red-haired, and these characteristics may be found among people living in "Norse" or "Norman" areas - for instance, the Norman French are markedly taller than those living elsewhere in France. Even where few or no descendants are to be found, place-names indicate a Norse presence sometime in the past. Place-names ending, for instance, in -vik, -wyk, -wick and variants tell us of a creek originally named by Norsemen who actually called themselves the “Creek people” – Vikings. Similarly, we find names such as Bradford, Brador and even La Brador - all of which probably started out as "Broad-fjord" in Old Norse. The French wrote Brador as "Bras d’Or", and may have had a hand in putting the definite article before the name farther north, giving us Labrador, which in turn was picked up by the Portuguese as their own word, labrador leaving posterity with an anachronistic legend to puzzle over, about a farmer or farmers in a land where farming is impossible.

Some of the records and sagas that have come down to us include the Icelandingbok- The Book of the Icelanders. From this we learn, amongst other things, that “Eric the Red” was the name of a Breidafjord man…”who went to Greenland and founded a settlement there.” The Bradford, Brador or Bras d'Or referred to was in Iceland. The book of a settlement in Iceland itself is called Landnamabok. Norse settlement in Iceland is believed, to have started in 874: the Icelandic Parliament dates from 930 and is the oldest in Europe. The Norsemen were preceded in Iceland by Irish hermits, who had been there since the beginning of the same century.

Flateyjarbok includes Greenlandings Saga - the Greenlanders’ saga, which deals mostly with the activities of Erik the Red's family.

Eirika Saga Raude- Erik the Red's Saga- or Thorfinns Saga Karlsefnis (Thordsrsonar), was written for Icelanders, of whom Karlsefni was one, and so tends to concentrate more on him than on Erik, who had been forced to leave. Hauksbok also covers the story of Karlsefni, as written down by Hauk Erlandsson sometime before 1344 who claimed he had improved on the earlier versions.

Einers Thattr Sokkassenar or Greenlandings Thattr that tells the story of Einar Sokkesson of Greenland, one of Erik's descendants still living at Erik's home there.

There are others, such as the Greatest Saga and Olaf’s Saga, as well as Skalholtsbok where references to the lands across the Atlantic may be found, the last-named being another version of Karlsefni's story.

It now seems strange, in the light of the Ingstad discoveries at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, now an internationally-recognised historical site, that until recently all the accounts indicated above were dismissed by many as mere myth. Not that the Norsemen were alone: it now seems certain that the Irish crossed the Atlantic at least as early as the sixth century, and there is some evidence that the Libyans did so even earlier. In many early writings, stories of white-skinned inhabitants appear, again indicating earlier visitors from Europe or the Mediterranean. And in 1583, when Sir Humphrey Gilbert landed in Newfoundland, he found that the people were white.

In the 10th century Bjarni of Iceland lost his way when he sailed west and sighted the lands where Leif was later to follow. Another who also lost his way was Gudleif Gudlangson, who found a land inhabited by white men. But, being warned that they were Irish and could kill him, he left.

A land of white men is mentioned in Erik the Red's Saga as having been described by the native skraelings, who said they had seen them carrying poles with "rags" attached, and that they ware also dressed in white. From this description they would appear to have been monks, possibly Irish monks. The account of the Zeno voyages of 1398 includes a description of landing on the Island of Icaria, said to be inhabited by Irishman and ruled by a descendant of Icarus, son of Daedalus.

All indications are that, according to legend, many people crossed the Atlantic long before even Leif Erikson did so. There is no doubt that many "unofficial" crossings occurred - fishermen and others who were blown off-course and perhaps never returned.

It is, however, now a known fact that the Norsemen did so and that they built houses as described in the sagas, and certainly for a time settled at least at L'Anse aux Meadows.

Great sailors that they were, and explorers too, who can doubt that from that base and possibly others farther south, they explored the entire North American coast? Faint traces of them continue to re-appear: a coin found in Maine, a stone in Nova Scotia with an inscription said to be in runes; native legends of "round-eyed" men, a stone carving showing a marriage between one of them and a native girl; a statuette of a man in Norse-type clothing.

Is it likely that Vikings -creek people- would, have founded such an inland city? Or was it really a Micmac city, as some authorities have suggested? Could it have been a Norse city with Micmac inhabitants? That fifteenth-sixteenth century traders were bringing back furs from Greenland and North America is certainly indicated in contemporary portraits. It could have been, as suggested by con- temporary observers, a trading-post. Nobody really knows who set up the earliest trading-posts, or where. "Rich in furs and gold'' was the description accorded to Norumbega City. Are we to assume that gold was mined and traded there too? Were the inhabitants aware of its value? If not, the Norsemen certainly were: Viking gold is part of the European heritage and many examples of the gold ornaments they wore have been found and preserved.

Not all Norsemen built ships or sailed the high seas, nor even all Vikings: the average family lived inland, most being farmers. Even among the Vikings, most stayed by the creeks from which they took their name. Doubtless many were fishermen and worked from small boats in-shore. Vikings were not necessarily kings, as some people seem to have assumed, but it is true that some came from aristocratic families who later produced kings. These were those who organised expeditions and went to sea with fleets of ships. Not all were interested in conquests: many were merchants and explorers and have been referred to as merchant princes or sea-kings. Like their warrior compatriots, they bore the title jarl or earl. In those days the title jarl was synonymous with that of king. Jarls were more important than the earls we know from later times and were looked upon as kings, though in early times each was a king without a country. A jarl usually ruled over his community rather than over specific territory; yet all were, in one way or another, engaged in a search for territory. The reason for their plight will become evident later, when we consider how and why they came to Norway.

Norsemen were divided into three classes, with the jarl or Chieftain and his family at the top. He was an aristocrat, descended from a family who had been chosen centuries earlier as "best rulers". The word is derived from two Greek words having that meaning. These noble families had fair, yellow or reddish hair, rosy cheeks and keen eyes that were sometimes but not always blue. Apart from their prowess as seafarers, they were excellent equestrians and javelin-throwers, enjoyed games of chance- dice have been found among their artifacts - and could fence, swim and, if occasion arose, make war. Below the jarl came the karls or yeomen, farmers’ adept at breaking-in oxen, making ploughs, carts and other vehicles and implements, and at building-construction. They, too, tended to be fair, ruddy-complexioned and strong, but less tall; sometimes described as phlegmatic and happy with their lot, easily moved to laughter.

The third and lowest class was that of the thralls, who were virtually slaves. Broad-backed and strong, they were very different from the jarl and his yeomen, black-haired and swarthy of complexion with stubby fingers, and coarse features. To them was allotted all heavy work: loading and unloading ships, lifting and carrying, fence-building and maintenance, manure-collection and spreading, tending and controlling farm animals, including goats and pigs, digging peat and carting it from the bogs, stacking it for winter use. Their children helped with lighter but related tasks, such as goat-herding.

Whenever a jarl moved, he took all these men and their families and all the animals with him.

For over 350 years the jarls lived in this way, each a little king in his own right. Then in 872 one of them, Harald Fairhair, declared himself King of Norway, and everything changed. He was succeeded by Erik Bloodyaxe who killed four of his brothers and oppressed his people. They therefore sent for Hakon, who had been fostered in England by Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, at which Erik Bloodyaxe knowing the people had turned against him, fled. Hakon arrived in Norway and began his rule In 945: he was their first Christian King. The bishops and priests upon whom he called to Christianise the country also came from England. In 995 a second Christian King was brought, this time from the Faroes - Olaf Trygvasson, the king who was soon to convert Leif Erikson to Christianity and to give him the task of Christianising Greenland in the face of his father's unshakable faith in the pagan pantheon and in Thor in particular. This pantheon was roughly equivalent to those of Greece and Rome, the names of the gods varying according to the nationality of the worshippers. Thor, the thunder-god, was the equivalent of Zeus or Jupiter. The Norse gods, however, were not immortal, and were menaced by evil in the form of the Giants and Loki; nor does Valhalla seem to have been derived from Greece or Rome.

Gothic tribes, Teutons in particular, were already in north-western Europe when the ancestors of the Norseman arrived there after the Fall of Rome; it was probably from there that they had acquired their pantheon, adding it to that of an older pagan religion. Although the newcomers brought their own men to their new home, they took others from the indigenous population, both serfs and thralls. Some of the thralls may have belonged to an earlier people, described by some authorities as having been originally a dwarf race.

The events after Harald Fairhair became king of Norway may be seen as a revolution, bringing Norway into line with its neighbours such as Denmark and Sweden. Its final phase was Christianisation.

The Norse jarls, who had long enjoyed their freedom and independence, naturally resented Harald's dominance and that of his successors. Some opposed the king or broke his laws, including Erik the Red's father, Thorvald, and as a result were exiled to Iceland; others fled there to take refuge. Eventually they established their own democratic parliamentary rule in the form of the All-Thing- democratic, that is to say, in the Greek sense: only the jarls and their families were involved.

Harald and his successors, however, regarded all Norse-occupied lands as coming under their jurisdiction. Erik the Red, who was to remain ardently attached to Thor for the rest of his life, was doubly resentful, longing even more for his old independence. He and his father, having come to Iceland among the later waves of immigration, had had a hard time finding land suitable for farming that was not already occupied. Then, no sooner had he settled on land of his own, then his thralls in the course of their work caused a land-slide, and this eventually involved him in a fight with a particularly nasty jarl known as Eyolf the Foul. Eyolf killed Erik's thralls, and in return was himself killed. But much to Erik's chagrin, the All-Thing refused to regard this as an act of self-defense, valuing the life of one jarl as above those of several mere slaves. Banished from Iceland for three years, Erik sailed west to Greenland and determined not only to establish himself there but, once his three years were up, to entice others to join him in colonisation. Icy and forbidding though he found most of Greenland to be, he embarked on his plan to promote it as a pleasant land, excellently-suited to settlement; that was why he called it Greenland.

It is claimed that Erik was the first real-estate promoter in history.

Essential to every jarl were his dais-posts: without them he could not sit on his little throne and hold court in the traditional kingly fashion. They also traditionally performed another essential function: when a jarl found new land on which to settle, he would determine the best place to build his new home by hurling the posts into the sea. The place where they were washed up was deemed to be the most propitious for him to start building. At one point during Erik's flight from his enemies after the land-slide, he was forced to lend his dais-posts to a neighbour for a while - then had to fight a minor war to get them back.

Cold though it was, even at that time when Greenland was going through one of its rare warmer periods, Erik found peace at his new home there at Brattahlid in Eriksfjord. He had been forced to leave his three young sons behind in Iceland with a foster-father, Tyrkir the German. At the end of the three years they joined Erik in his new land.

Erik the Red is believed to have lived from about 950 to about 1005, so would have been in his twenties when he came with his father to Iceland. Leif is believed to have been born to Erik and his wife Thorhild in 97l, so would have been little more than ten years old at the time he and his brothers, Thorstein and Thorvald, were taken to Greenland. He is believed to have died around 1025, leaving one son, Thorkel, born about 998.

These dates indicate that they lived at a time when other "creek-men" from lands like Denmark and Sweden, as well as from Norway, were engaged in what later became known as the Viking raids on the British Isles and Europe. Stories of the exploits of Vikings both Norse and Teutonic must have been told by the light of the flickering fire during the long winter evenings at Brattahlid. They date back to at least the 8th century -Beowulf's story, for instance, which deals with the royal families of Denmark, Sweden and South Sweden, then a separate country. The story would have been especially interesting to Erik, since one of the usurpers was an ancestor to his close associate, Thorfinn Karlsefni, who himself was trying to move west to Vinland and in the end succeeded in doing so.

Erik was particularly anxious, once Leif had found the new land and established houses there, to send one of his other sons out, who were more tolerant towards the old religion. Unfortunately both died: Thorvald because he foolishly alienated the indigenous "skraelings" or "shrieking men" as the Norsemen called them; and Thorstein while still in Greenland, of what must have been influenza. Leif, having become a Christian and converted his mother, amongst others, to that religion, was no longer trusted by Erik, and this may be why he gave support to Karlsefni's voyage west - he having also married Thorstein's widow, Gudrid. It seems that whatever Leif might have wished to do regarding Vinland, he was to do it alone. That he was still interested is indicated by his insistence that he would only lend his buildings to others. It is now believed that the place where Karlsefni temporarily settled – Straumfjord - was at what is now known as L'Anse aux Meadows, near the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. But Leif describes his landfall at the time of his voyage of discovery as being much farther south, where night and day were almost equal and the climate warm. It was from there that he returned as the wealthy "Leif the Lucky", towing a boat full of ''grapes" that had been found there, initially by Tyrkir. Nobody can believe that Leif’s cargo really consisted of grapes or any other fruit, which obviously would not have survived the voyage home. Nor would they have made him wealthy.

There was, however, something else in the new land that could have made him a rich man, and about which he would not have wished to talk: gold. This would have provided an added incentive for Leif to abandon war- torn Europe for a new life in the lands across the Atlantic.

So far, the kings of Norway had laid claim to every new land where Norsemen had settled - even Greenland, northern Scotland and the Hebrides. Leif must have been determined, and Karlsefni likewise, that this must never be the fate of Vinland.

Here, in his secret lands across the sea, we may discern the germ of what was to become Sudhrike- the Southern Domain, south, that is to say, of Greenland and possibly also of Mer Rika, the Kingdom of the Sea, from which the name "America" was, according to some Norwegian authorities, derived.

Early in the eleventh century, after the death of Erik, Leif’s descendants disappear from history. Not only did they have their secrets to keep, the ongoing wars and conquests were of more interest to historians. In 1014, the powerful Norse Earl of Orkney was defeated during a campaign against Ireland. Between 1014 and 1028 Danish Cnut subdued and ruled the northern part of England. Harald Hardradi, “Thunderbolt of the North" and a Norseman, took advantage of quarrels between later claimants and captured the land in 1066, only to be defeated by Harold Godwinson, who himself was then attacked, defeated and killed by former Norsemen who had taken part of France and crossed the Channel to take England. In Brittany, too, Norse invaders had been ruling for over a hundred years. Alan the Great, who died in 907, was the last Count (equivalent to Earl) of Brittany of that line, and the last to rule the entire country. He had no sons, but his grandson, Alan of the Twisted Beard, was, like Hakon, a foster-son of Athelstan, and ruled from 917-52, retrieving some of his country's lost territory. But the 11th century proved to be a troubled time for Brittany, too, and when the new line also died out, the country went through marriage to the Dukes of Normandy.

As it happened, however, not all the lines had died out.

A cadet line of this Norse-descended family was in England at the time, and as the FitzAlans was destined to provide a line of hereditary Stewards of Scotland who eventually would inherit the throne itself. Of these, another cadet line was destined to inherit the great wealth that had accrued to the descendants of Leif Erikson.

Through the Viking raids and related wars the descendants of the Old Norse aristocrats gained ascendancy in Europe. Their exploits continued to engage the attention of historians, who at the same time tended to ignore those of less belligerent men.

Erik's descendants had other ideas in mind by which they hoped to prosper and win their way through, without recourse to war. The fact that historians ignored them would work to their advantage.

Secrecy was the essence of it all.

Notes and Background to Chapter I

Dates: Many are approximate, especially those pertaining to Greenland, whose annals were lost. Some authorities place Leif Erikson’s voyage of discovery as late as the first decade of the llth century. But it was after his return that he was at Olaf’s court, and he died in 1000, having reigned since 995. The most likely date for Leif's Atlantic crossing would appear to be about 996.

Ships: The ships used by the Norse explorers have sometimes been described as long- ships - sleek, narrow and fast, with a single large, square sail, and bow and stern carved, to represent fierce animals and riding 15 feet above the water. These, however, were war-ships: they might be 70 feet long with a mast about 40 feet tall and 25 or 30 pairs of oarsmen, but they were only 16 feet in the beam. The knarr or ocean-going merchant ship, naturally had to carry trained men and arms in ease of attack, but it needed a crew of only 15-20 men and had oarsmen only at either end, 10 pairs in all. The knarr, like the smaller byrding and busse, was designed for cargo: broader, rounder, with a deeper draft and perhaps only 60 feet long. It was also slower, doing perhaps 4 knots, and more durable, and could sail into the wind or before it.

Clothing, Armour: Carvings, tapestries and other evidence suggest warm, practical every-day wear: skirts-like garments or trousers to the ankles, stout leather shoes, cape or cloak fastened with pin or brooch, conical leather cap. In severe weather, a hooded cloak might be worn. Contrary to popular belief, their warriors did not wear round helmets with horns on top. They carried light wattle shields, easy to transport, and if they wore helmets at all, they were plain and practical, with ear-shields and face-masks.

Norsemen and Normans: 898: Norseman Rolf or Rollo arrived in what was to become Normandy. 911, the province was ceded to him. His grandson became the first Duke.

All the great Norse families, whether settled in Norway, Denmark, Iceland or elsewhere, were part of a vast, inter-related family. Harald Fairhair was Thorfinn Karlsefni’s cousin. The Dukes of Normandy were cousins to the Earls of Scotland. All were descended from Ragnor Lodbrok, son of Sigurd, king of Denmark and descended from the Yngling Kings of Sweden. Leif Erikson was linked by marriage to this network through Thorfinn Karlsefni. There must have been many other connections that were not recorded.

Names: Every Norseman had a given name and a patronym: Leif, son of Erik, so Leif Erikson. The name applied to women: Thorhild daughter of Jorund Atlisson, so Thorhild Jorundsdottir. Many also had a nickname that became more important than his own patronym perhaps because it distinguished him from all others of the same name and patronym: Ragnar Lodbrok or Shaggy-breeches. It was from their nicknames as well as from their patronyms that surnames were later to develop which would distinguish one family from another. Natural children could take the same patronym as their half-brothers and sisters: Freydis Eriksdottir. Frey was the fertility-god, and the great Frey festival, during which young men choose temporary partners, was held every nine years. Paternity was known and children named accordingly.

The Norse Home: This was very simple, consisting of a long, narrow hall perhaps twelve feet wide, with a rough stone hearth in the middle, a hole in the roof for smoke to escape and the lateral walls lined with wooden benches which also served as beds. Here food was cooked, water being brought in from a nearby stream or spring. At some distance from the hall, a pit was dug and a privy constructed above. We know from the sagas that there was room for at least two inside. Building material were stone, sods and wood: stone and sod walls, wooden roofs. Thorhild, when she became a Christian, had her own stone church built, and its ruins remain. It is known as “Thiodhild’s church,” as she also changed her name, rejecting Thor in favour of God.

Background: England: 866: Invasion by Ragnar Lodbrok's sons, Halfdan, Ubbi and Ivar the Boneless: took York and much land; fear of Danish invasion followed.

871: approximately: Based in England, Ivar attacked Dublin and Ubbi invaded Anglia, while Halfdan ruled from his seat in London.

878: Cornish Celts defeated Norsemen in Devon, and Alfred the Great drove all "Danes", i.e. Vikings, out.

899: Death of Alfred the Great, England almost intact.

971: Death of Hakon the Good in battle. His son, Sigurd of Lade, then ruled Northern Norway, but Erik's widow and remaining sons took Middle Norway. Hakon of Lade succeeded in the North but had to flee from the tyrants of Middle Norway. Hakon of Lade had a son, Erik, and a nephew, Gold-Harald, who killed Harald Greycloak, son of Erik Bloodyaxe; but later, in civil war with his uncle, he lost and was hanged. Harald Blue-tooth of Denmark, with whom Hakon of Lade had taken refuge when he fled, joined Hakon of Lade in taking all Norway. Hakon became Earl of the West and North, while Harald Fairhair's great-grandson, Harald the Greenlander, ruled Southern Norway.

Russia: 862: State founded by Norse trader, Rurik: capital Novgorod.

Orkney: 911: First Earl, Sigurd, brother of Rognvald, whose son Rolf or Rollo founded Normandy in that year. His son, Halfdan, inherited but was killed by Rolfs brother "Peat" Einar, who became third Earl. Einar was a dark man, hence is nickname: his father, Rognvald, had married a slave-girl, believed to be Egyptian. These two were the progenitors also of the Earls of More and the later Dukes of Normandy. Scotland was sparsely populated, so when the Norsemen came they were not absorbed into the indigenous population as they were elsewhere. Sigurd, first Earl of Orkney formed an alliance with Thorstein the Red and his Mother, Aud or Unn the Deep-thinker, who came from the Hebrides.

The Hebrides, then known as Sudreyar - The Southern Isles: 705, 802, 806: Norsemen plundered Iona, centre of Celtic Christianity since 563, and invaded Skye. Ketil Flatnose was first ruler there, but the islands eventually came under Norway. His son was Bjorn the Easterner and his grandson, Ottar. Ottar’s daughter, Grelod married Thorfinn “Peat” Einarson, whose Father was Third Earl of Orkney.

845: Death of Thorgest, drowned by the local king.

853: Olaf the White of Dublin, descended from the Uplanders of Norway (as were the Earls of Orkney and the Dukes of Normandy) married Aud the Deep-thinker, daughter of Ketil Flatnose of the Hebrides. From Dublin, he and a Dane called Ivar attacked Scotland. Olaf was married three times, his third wife being daughter of Kenneth Macalpine, King of Scots 843-60, i.e. Kenneth I.

870: Birth of Kjartan, five generations after Olaf and Aud. During his reign Dublin was attacked by Norsemen from the Hebrides.

914: Rognavald, grandson if Ivar the Boneless, great-grandson of Ragnar Lodbrok, took Waterford. Strongholds in Ireland at the time were Dublin, Waterford, Wexford, Cork and Limerick.

916: Sigtrygg re-took Dublin, which by that time the Norsemen had lost. He was brother to Rognavald.

The Irish called the Norsemen “the foreigners" naming them according to where they had established themselves: "The Dublin foreigners”, and so on. But Ireland was well populated and in the end the “foreigners” brought in by the conquering Earls were absorbed.

945: Olaf Sigtryggson, having attacked York and been driven off, took Dublin and established himself there. Olaf's wife was Gormlaith, sister of the King of Leinster.

999: Olaf's son, Sigtrygg Silkbeard, was defeated by Brian Born, King of Munster, with whom he then entered into an alliance.

1014: Leinster in rebellion against Sigtrygg Silkbeard, who went to Orkney to ask the Earl, Sigurd the Stout -a Norsemen large in every direction - to help. He then approached Brodir of the Isle of Man. With their assistance Brian Born was killed and the Norse alliance with Munster ended. The death of Sigurd the Stout was also reported, and Thorfinn the Mighty, his son, ruled until his death in 1064-65, aided by his brothers.

1034: Death of Sigtrygg Silkbeard of Dublin, who during his reign introduced coinage into Ireland for the first time.

900: Alan the Great ruling at about this time, last to do so over whole country.

917-52: Alan of the Twisted Beard, who became Duke in 937. Grandson of Alan the Great, he regained much lost territory. He was another foster-son of Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great.

Iceland: 870 or earlier; Discovered by Norsemen who tried to settle but it was too cold for their cattle, who died. They found Irish monks there.

874: First Norse settler, Ingolf Arnarson; threw his dais-posts into the sea and built where they washed up, according to custom. This became the site of the capital, Reykjavik. Original 400 families - Norse, Irish, Hebridean and mixed- are listed in Landnamabok. All-Thing and system of law were established; literature developed. Like all Norsemen, they were adaptable and open-minded; those who settled in Normandy displayed similar traits. The Norse families brought with them serfs who were not necessarily Norse: many were Celts. They had no kings: "We are all equal”. But 39 dominant families arose among them.

1000: Coming of Christianity: Saxon priest, Thangbrand, had arrived three years earlier and at first failed, but brought the people round by persuading a pagan priest, Thorgier, to speak in his favour. A vote was taken and Iceland adopted Christianity.

Customs: Wherever the Norsemen went, they adopted the customs and names of the indigenous people, and to a certain extent their dress.

Democracy: They brought with them their own culture, law & organisation - particularly democracy.

Sagas: Chronology, Sequence of Events

Greenlanders’ Saga was originally incorporated into The Great Saga of Olaf Trygvasson (d.1000) and copied into Flateyjarbok in late 14th C.

It is as was told by and for Christians, Erik the Red’s Saga & Derivatives: These tell the story from Icelanders’ viewpoint; written down about 300 years after the Greenlanders' Saga, does not mention Leif's visit to Thorgunna, says that Erik died before Christianity, describes Thorvald's fatal visit to Vinland as taking place as soon as Leif returned from there, followed by Thorstein's desire to go there and give him a Christian burial. Karlsefni’s voyage follows, then that of Freydis. No mention either of Leif's important visit to Olaf Trygvasson or his mission to Christianise Greenland, his mother's conversion, her church, or the estrangement between her and Erik. All these matters are dealt with in Erik's Sagas. Thorstein's abortive voyage, marriage and death preceding Thorvald’ s voyage, which, with that of Freydis, in this version takes place along with Karlsefni's expedition. Nobody now knows which sequence is correct.

Possible Sequence of Events:

950: Birth of Erik the Red in Jaedir district, Norway. In south-west.

963-4: Erik’s father, Thorvald, to Iceland with wife and family. Hornstrandir.

970(?): Erik’s marriage to Thorhild and move to set up own home, Vatnshorn.

971(?): Birth of Leif; later Thorstein, Thorvald (also Freydis).

981(?): Erik to Greenland for 3 years then brought family there.

985: Colonisation of Greenland; Bjarni Herjulfson blown west to new lands.

995: Olaf Trygvasson’s reign started in Norway.

996(?): Leif to Vinland (995-6?), rescuing Thorer on way back; wife Gudrid.

997: Leif’s visit to Olaf of Norway, visiting Thorgunna, Hebrides, on way.

998: Leif’s return to Greenland with priests & mission to Christianise.

999: Abortive voyage by Erik & Thorstein.

1000: Death of King Olaf. Thorgunna & Thorkel Leifsson to Iceland.

1000(?): Thorstein’s marriage to Thorer’s widow, Gudrid; to Western Settlement; death of Thorstein. Return of Gudrid to Brattahlid.

1003-4: Thorfinn Karlsefni’s marriage to Gudrid, followed by expedition to Vinland with Thorvald & Freydis; two winters there, birth of Snorri Thorfinnsson at Straumfjord; visits to other parts, including Hop; Death of Thorvald on Labrador coast at hands of natives.

1005(?): Karlsefni and family back to Greenland, but had not found Leif’s southern bay, site of the “grapes”. Death of Erik. (?)

1006(?): Freydis’s quarrels with male partners; their murders; her return to Greenland in shame.

All had failed to find Leif’s Vinland and the “grapes”.

Chapter II

The Nature, Customs and Origins of the Norsemen

The Dark Ages lasted approximately a thousand years, from the fall of the Roman Empire in the mid-fifth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the fifteenth century. Perhaps it is because it was during this period that the Norsemen arose that so little attention has been paid to their origins. We know that they "appeared" in about the eighth or ninth century, or at least they made their presence known at that time.

The Roman Empire collapsed between 410 when Rome was sacked by the Visigoths and 476, when the last emperor was deposed by Odoacer, a chieftain of the Heruli, who had allied themselves with the Goths. The period leading up to 476 had been one of chaos, the Eastern Empire having split from the West during the reign of Diocletian (283-305), resulting in the emergence of the Byzantine Empire based on Constantinople (formerly Byzantium, now Istanbul). This had weakened the Western Empire, which for centuries had been subject to attacks from “barbarian” or bearded tribes - the Romans being clean-shaven.

The Goths were Germanic and divided into the Western Goths or Visigoths and the Ostrogoths early in the fourth century. The Huns, who attacked them, were not - contrary to popular belief - Germans. They first made themselves known in northern central Asia in the third century B.C, as hordes of Asiatic warriors mounted on horses. After occupying China, they turned their attention to Europe via the Volga Valley. It was their attacks on the Ostrogoths and Visigoths that forced the German tribes to migrate and eventually to destroy the weakened Roman Empire. Atilla, based in Hungary, is the one whose name is best-remembered, perhaps because he penetrated to Gaul. But there he was defeated in 451 and the Huns were forced to withdraw after his death. Their name is perpetuated in that of Hungary, but the fate of these once-powerful tribes is unknown.

Into this chaos came the Norsemen, their origin unknown to the people among whom they settled - at first mainly the Germanic tribes of northwestern Europe, Cunningly, they merged into the indigenous population, adopting their names and customs, dressing similarly. The Germanic tribes in that area were apparently the Teutons and the Cimbri who had been defeated by the Romans in 102-101 B.C. Farther south were the Franks, the Vandals and other tribes, whom they would meet later. All were fierce fighters, and the Norsemen knew they must meet them on their own terms if they were to gain their respect. Only then could they introduce their culture and law, which at first they could practise only among themselves. Their long-time desire and ultimate aim was apparently to perpetuate their concept of democracy - something that was entirely new to north-western Europe.

The Norse jarls were literate at a time when most European kings were not: Alfred the Great was the first English king to learn to read and write. It is interesting that to this day Iceland, which is more "Norse" than Norway and whose language is nearer to Old Norse than any other, claims to be a nation of avid readers, with more books per 1,000 of population than in any other part of the world.

The Norsemen were brave, persistent and resourceful, unpretentious yet mindful of their heritage and worth; and they had a good sense of humour. With these characteristics and their ability to put up with Spartan conditions, they remained optimistic of their ultimate success.

They apparently did not tell others where they had come from, but among themselves told stories of the exploits of men like Pericles and Leonidas, and Alexander the Great, and of Pytheas, discoverer of Thule.

The "Viking" Norsemen were the first to arrive: coming by sea, they joined "creek-men" already there, adapting to their new home, dressing just like anyone else. But their ships must, from the outset, have caused comment for they were far superior to any locally-built vessels.

Unfortunately, the Viking raids caused later historians to regard, all Vikings as "northern sea robbers of the 8th to 10th centuries", although some dictionaries prefer "northern sea rovers". One dictionary derivation suggests that the word comes from Old English wic, meaning "camp", and thus "camp dwellers". That from the Old Norse would seem to be much more likely, but there does happen to be a Norse word vikingr, meaning "pirate". This was probably derived from the original word later.

Vikings were of varying national origin and fall into two classes: the marauders, either Visigoths or others who had adopted their war- like practices, and the seafarers - explorers, merchants and traders - who fought only if attacked.

The Teutons worshipped the god Woden, known in the north as Odin: he was the father of their pantheon, among his sons being Thor. His symbol was a raven, the bird that Leif Erikson is said to have displayed on his flag. Thor's symbol was a hammer, identifying him as the god of iron as well as of thunder, and he was also reputed to have a red beard. The Norsemen adopted all these Teutonic myths. Red beards were not uncommon among them, and this may have influenced them towards Thor; but Frey was also more important to them than to their neighbours.

The Norsemen differed from their neighbours in several other respects, particularly in not having a king, but dividing up their territory into many small states, each with its own elected assembly or Thing and its own elected jarl. This was the first time since Athens in classical times that this type of democracy had existed anywhere. The jarls formed what was virtually a nation of kings, each one equal to the next, without a central ruler. The main drawback about this system was that there was nobody to settle disputes between one jarl and the next, which led to much fighting among them that might otherwise have been avoided. Neither the serfs (called yeomen by some authorities, though it is doubtful whether any of them owned land) nor the thralls were allowed to vote at the Thing or to have any say in the way the state was run.

Education, although apparently not emphasised to a great extent in adult life, was regarded as important for Norse children - that is, for those of the ruling families. There were no schools; we hear little if anything of tutors; what were later to become the great universities were still at the monastic stage. Norsemen, whether merchants, traders or warriors, were busy people and it may be assumed that they sent their children away to foster-parents in order to solve their problems. Erik the Red, when forced to spend three years in unknown Greenland, conveniently left his children with their German foster-father, Tyrkir. But when they joined him in Greenland, Tyrkir came with them. In fact, he was not just caring for them, he was obviously educating them.

King Athelstan of England is said to have fostered many boys destined to become great rulers or efficient administrators. Hakon the Good and Alan of the Twisted Beard were only two examples. His court must have seemed almost like a school at times.

Perhaps most important of all, in this way the Norsemen, who had come to the north-west as strangers, were able to ensure that their children knew not only the culture of their forefathers, but that of their neighbouring countries and of the people among whom they were to live; and there is no doubt that the young boys were also taught the arts of war and conquest.

Fostering was a custom that was to persist for many centuries. It was not always evident: sometimes foster-sons were adopted and took the surnames of the families in which they were brought up. This was useful at times when it was necessary for a family to go into hiding. The true identity of such a child would become obvious only in that he would later inherit neither wealth nor title, even if he was the eldest. This was usually passed off by the adopting family as being a family tradition that the eldest should not inherit. In most cases, the real tradition was one of adoption or fostering which, in a trusted family, could take place generation after generation.

Chapter III

The Heruli: Identity & Movements West

In the chaotic years leading up to the final fall of Rome in 476, nobody gave much thought to the Heruli. They came into prominence at that time as the people who went to the aid of the Visigoths and toppled Emperor Romulus Augustus - their chieftain, Odoacer, then being proclaimed King of Italy, with his capital at Ravenna. But Emperor Zeno of the Eastern Empire sent Theodoric the Great of the Ostrogoths to deal with Odoacer. He won, and after making peace with him, he invited him to a banquet on March 15, 493, and had him assassinated. Odoacer is described as of German descent, born in about 435, son of Edice, chief of the Scyrri tribe. Apparently he did not inherit his father's title but instead became chief of the Heruli. The question arises as to whether he was actually a foster-son or adopted. For the Heruli were apparently not connected with the Scyrri or with any other Germanic or Gothic tribe.

One might have expected the Heruli to have tried to avenge their king’s death: instead, nothing happened, and they again disappeared from the pages of history.

This was not their first disappearance: it had all happened before, sometime after the break-up of the empire of Alexander the Great. They were not seen as important then, and such was the case again after 493. To ignore them was a mistake, but it was to work to their advantage.

There was, of course, no reason why anybody should have bean concerned with the Heruli after 493: despite Odoacer's spectacular performance in 476, he had since been defeated several times in battle by Theodoric, and then had foolishly allowed himself to be lured into a trap, where he died in ignominy.

The truth was, however, that the Heruli had other plans afoot. They had not forgotten Alexander or the Golden Age of Pericles. They knew their own Greek culture and traditions had survived in the Eastern Empire, where since Alexander's death in 323 B.C. they had made their home living in Scythia just north of the Black Sea. Until 476 they had been mercenaries in the Roman army, but in that year they had rebelled, joining the Visigoths and putting an end to Roman domination in the West. Although Odoacer himself remained in Italy as King until his death, it was noted that in 489 a people calling themselves Heruli or Eruli were living on friendly terms with the Goths just north of the Danube. They had elected a king whose name was Hrodulfr or Rudolph, the name being derived from ros, meaning red. Presumably he had red hair, though the word does have an alternative meaning, which is "praise". Theodoric is said, to have sent this king a horse.

Around the time of the murder of Odoacer, during the reign of Eastern Emperor Anastasius (491-518) they crossed the Danube and settled in Illyria (now Serbia, part of Yugoslavia). It was apparently after that move that they began their long overland journey north-westwards to a place they referred to as Thule.

Thule had been known to the Greeks and Romans since Pytheas of Massalia made his voyages there around 330-325 B.C. His home, Massalia - now known as Marseille - was then a Phocean Greek colony and its people came from around Thebes. Pytheas, an astronomer, geographer and traveller by profession, was the first man to use astronomical measurements to ascertain exactly where places were on the surface of the Earth: he was in fact the inventor of latitude. In Massalia, he built a tall steeple or gnomen and measured latitude by means of an imaginary line from the tip of the shadow to the top of the gnomen, and thus to the Sun. He was also, therefore, the inventor of the sundial: sundials are gnomens built to a smaller scale.

His calculations, which had to be made at the solstice for the length of the shadow to be right, were complicated, but were to prove helpful to him in his voyages. He sailed to Britain and a land called Belerion which was Cornwall, arriving there from the Continent in four days; later he reached Shetland. But it was Thule that impressed him more than any other land he had seen. It was within the Arctic Circle and he called it the Uttermost Land of the Midnight Sun, and the stories he told on his return ensured that "Ultima Thule” would become legendary. He noted that the people grew and ate oats and green vegetables, that they kept few animals and lacked "the finer fruits" such as were found in the Mediterranean area; and he found it strange that, because of the dampness and heavy showers, they had to do their threshing "in large buildings" - barns. He referred to something strange that was neither land nor water, on which no boat could sail and no man could walk; but it was the phenomenon of the midnight sun that amazed his listeners most.

Pytheas had discovered lands that were unknown to the people of the Mediterranean and southern Europe. Arguments immediately arose that were to persist for centuries afterwards. Some who heard his story disbelieved him; many disputes arose as to whether there really was land or sea where neither sailing nor walking was possible, and later writers on his discoveries tried to identify the phenomenon with polar drift-ice, while others suggested he had come to the edge of a peat-bog. Later, when others followed in his tracks, the argument arose as to whether Thule was an island, as he had described it, or part of Europe. This continues to this day, some claiming that Thule was Iceland, others that it was Norway.

The seafarers among the Heruli seem to have had no doubts as to the identity of the land they were seeking as their new base, which they called Thule: it was in Norway that they settled, and it was to Norway that they arranged to guide their people, whom they had left behind in Illyria. Thule soon became Northmannia; only later still did it become "Norguegia”.

The confusion over whether Thule was an island or not seems to be explained by the description of the land by the new arrivals as "the largest of all islands, ten times as large as Britain". Such a description would fit Scandinavia, which at the time they did not know was attached to the mainland. The Heruli left behind in Illyria, had at the time a king whose task was to lead them overland to Thule: his name was Ochon, possibly an earlier form of Hakon. During their journey across Europe, however, the chiefs who, according to their system of democracy, had voting-rights, decided by majority vote among themselves to try out the experiment of organising themselves without a king. Poor Ochon was therefore not only voted out, but executed. The experiment did not work: disagreements arose between the chiefs, resulting in fighting that might have prevented them from completing their journey. Fortunately they were able to see that their experiment had failed, and so they sent messengers ahead to Thule to warn the chiefs there of their plight and to request that a prince of royal blood be sent to be their new king. They arranged for him to be brought to them at Singidunum (now known as Belgrade), and the messengers duly started back with the prince who had been chosen. It is to be assumed that they ware travelling on horseback.

Unfortunately, due to some accident or illness, the prince died on the way, and the messengers had to go back to Thule to renew their request. This time, to ensure that at least one prince arrived safely, they brought back two, and with them two hundred men. Both arrived without mishap - one being Datios or Todasios, possibly the same as the Norse Tjodrik, and the other his brother Aordos, probably the same as Vard. They arrived at Singidunum to find an experimental ruler already in charge, a Herulian called Svartus who had been living with the Justinians at Byzantium. When he saw that the two princes were supported by two hundred strong men, he fled back to Byzantium alone. This brought the Heruli to the attention of the Justinians, who began to harass them, claiming that Svartus was their rightful king. But the Heruli moved on to the land of the Gepidae (later Siebenburger), also to the south, and thus were able to shake them off. Thence they continued northwards through lands occupied by various Slav tribes and eventually reached Jutland. Here they must have encountered Teutons but passed through these tribes and those of the Danes without engendering violence. Apparently ships were sent from Thule to enable them to complete their journey. It is uncertain how many there were, but a figure of 2,000 was estimated when they were in the Roman army under the Eunuch Narsus at the time when they were brought to Italy before the rebellion.

With them the Heruli brought their great Spring Festival, which later became the Spring Festival of the North and was held when the first rays of the sun appeared each year at the end of the arctic darkness.

Once the Heruli had arrived, the need for a king disappeared and they organised themselves into tribes. Contemporary writers mention varying numbers - 13 and 27. Almost immediately the Heruli - or Norsemen as they now were - started sailing southwards on voyages of exploration. This may have been happening long before the overlanders arrived, since the presence of at least some Heruli in the north-west was noted as early as the third century. They were probably few at that time.

From the beginning, the jarls set themselves up, each in his own territory. The original term was erilar, meaning in primitive Norse, "leader in war". Jarl was a later modification, from which the modern term earl evolved.

The Heruli who became the first Norsemen were tall, fair, inclined to be ruddy in complexion, and lightly-armed. They went into battle wearing a belted tunic of thick woollen cloth, and only leaders or proven warriors were allowed to carry a shield. None wore a helmet or any other armour.

In religion, they accepted the pantheon of the Goths and Danes, but at once relegated Woden to second place, giving precedence to Thor. They were known to have made sacrifices to their gods, but only of dead animals. They apparently found cannibalism being practised by some of the Gothic tribes, who sometimes ate the flesh of their elderly dead, believing that they would thus gain the strength and abilities of the elders whom they had lost. The Heruli wisely rejected this custom.

Among the Heruli, although not among the later Norsemen, a wife was expected to die with her husband and usually chose to hang herself near his grave. This custom may have been picked up during Alexander's Asian campaigns, during which he pushed eastwards to northern India. There it was traditional until recent times for a widow to throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre. Cremation on a funeral pyre was also the rule among the Norsemen at first, which may explain the absence of any skeletal remains in some Norse burial-sites, only the ashes having been buried. Christian burials later took the place of cremation, and the skeletons that have been found testify to the great height of the average Norseman, long thigh-bones being a characteristic.

Since the Greeks used to cremate their dead in classical times, it is not possible to make comparisons, although it is believed that many of them were tall. There is, however, one fact that definitely links the Norsemen to the Mediterranean, and that is their ships. Those being used by them in the tenth century were similar to the old Mediterranean type main mast: square sail, and rudder. The connection is inescapable. And once the south Europeans had made contact and begun to settle in what is now Norway, their ships became more and more numerous in northern waters. In the fifth century, those Heruli who had arrived and settled there were already sailing from Scandinavia, where not only merchant ships but long-ships were being built, enabling a certain amount of raiding to take place along the coasts of Gaul and Spain, and in 455 some of the Herulian ships from the north sailed into the Mediterranean and as far as Lucca in Italy. This type of ship remained in use for 1,100 years: the rigging and sail were the same and ten- and eight-oared ships, square-rigged, were the most common type in northern waters until the nineteenth century.

The kind of rudder used by the Norsemen was first seen in Egyptian ships, which had two big oars at first, one on either side, to act as rudders. These were later replaced by rudders, which were then also used by the Greeks: each ship had two rudders aft. It was apparently from this type of Mediterranean ship that the Norsemen developed their "Viking" ships, but these had a single rudder on the starboard side. This persisted until the nineteenth century, long after rudders elsewhere had been moved to the stern.

Both Greek and Egyptian ships of this type appear in contemporary rock carvings and on vases. The Norse seafarers could find their latitude but were unable to measure longitude. The instrument they used, which is referred to in the sagas, seems to have been similar to the Greek astrolabe that was used before 150 B.C. This had a carved wooden disc with "teeth" and a rotating straight edge, a pointer and a handle below. At the centre was a second pointer, vertical. With this the Greeks found the "azimuth" of a particular star: the arc it described as it moved across the sky. The Norsemen also sailed by the sun. Knowing either the latitude or the correct time of day, they could use the sun as a "compass”, though if it was cloudy they had to estimate the position of the sun. The sagas also mention "sun-stones": it is not clear what exactly they were - they do not appear to have been used by the Greeks or by later seafarers.

Notes and Background to Chapter III

Dates: More accurate at this time as Romans were keeping records. Papyrus, invented by the ancient Egyptians, had been available to both Greeks and Romans, and also parchment since the 2nd century B.C.

Heruli or Eruli: Probably an etymological connection between Heruli and jarl: erilar, "leader in war". Heruli were a nation of leaders, each of them claiming the right to set up his own small state. (Latin: herus, master.)

Greek Heritage: This was absorbed by Rome, and remained particularly strong in the Eastern Empire, so was not lost to the Heruli.

Knowledge of the earth at time of Heruli:

Oceanus: River believed to encircle disc of the world; everything believed to have arisen from it. Rumours of other lands within it to the west, beyond the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar): Atlantis, Hesperides, Isles of the Blest; lands found by Pytheas and others, but all close by.

Oecumenae: Habitable world, at first lands around Mediterranean, later extended to include north and north-west. Originally conceived as a disc surrounded by Oceanus. Later concept of Outer Sea, called Atlantic in honour of Atlas, believed to hold the world up. In Homer’s time the Earth was seen as a hollow globe; disc of habitable world, Oceanus and, on the other side, Tartarus, with Hades just below the edge of Oceanus. Here ships could fall into the Abyss and fear of this held exploration back.

Spherical Earth: Concept of Pythagoras (508-/494 B.C.) - superseded "floating disc" concept of Anaximander of Miletus (640-548 B.C.).

Zones of Earth defined by Parmenides of Elea (fl. 460 B.C.) sphere with three uninhabitable belts and temperate zones between: one "scorched belt” (equator) and two cold belts beyond the temperate zone.

Flat Earth; Concept persisted side-by-side with Spherical Earth. Believers in flat-earth concept referred to Abyss as Ginningagap.

Trade with islands near Europe included tin from Britain and amber (hardened resin) found in North and Baltic Seas.

Eratosthenes: (approximately 275-194 B.C.) first geographer in scientific sense; used travels of Pytheas in his work, may have been born only 50 years later. Divided Earth into zones based on climate. Made first map of world with lines of latitude and meridians; first man to use such lines; first man to use fixed points. Fixed seven known points on meridian of Rhodes. Calculated circumference of world as 250,000 stadia, i.e. 25,000 miles - 3,400 miles above actual size. Saw Oecumenae as an island surrounded by Atlantic - tides there are proof of this; Caspian Sea "a bay". Believed it was possible to get to India via Iberia (Spain) by sailing "on the same latitude" west. First known mention of this.

Hipparchus and Posidonius were father and son, possessed of a boyish curiosity and a whimsical imagination. They were ardent supporters of Pytheas and may have been related: lack of surnames at the time makes it difficult to identify families. Hipparchus lived about 190-125 B.C. at Alexandria: an astronomer who used the travels of Pytheas in his work; doubted Eratosthenes' theory about Atlantic and tides, but did not refute it; introduced division of globe into degrees. He doggedly led pro-pytheans against anti-Pythean faction led by Polybius (about 204-127 B.C.), who labelled everything north of the Alps as "unknown" and never travelled. Hipparchus appears to have travelled, at least to Syria and Rhodes.

Posidonius (135 B.C. onwards) born Apamea, Syria; lived at Rhodes. Supported theory of sailing west to India, estimating distance as 7000 miles; believed known world an island; calculated circumference of world as 180,000 stadia (18,000 miles), making it too small. Ptolemy later adopted his erroneous calculations and so did Columbus when sailing west. Believed that sun hissed when it sank into surrounding ocean. Used experience of Pytheas in his travels, known to have gone to Cadiz to observe outer ocean. He connected tidal variations with the moon, probably first to do so.

Crates of Mallus: who lived about 150 B.C., made first terrestrial globe, on which Atlantic passed like a belt through 2 poles; 2nd belt was the so-called Equatorial Ocean, so land divided into 4 masses, only Europe inhabited. Was not a geographer but a grammarian; did not travel.

Strabo: Lived about 63 B.C. to 25 A.D., a non-travelling geographer, follower of Polybius; discredited Pytheas; theories not based on any known facts; thought Ireland was “on edge" of the world, said both Irish and Britons ate human flesh.

Mela (fl.43 A.D.), lived at Tingentera, Spain; writer, known for one book, De Chorographia; used Greek sources such as Herodotus and Eratosthenes; mentioned northern land called Germania where "might is right to such an extent that they are not even ashamed of robbery".

Seneca: Born in Spain and was writing about 37 A.D. Wrote of Albino-varus who lived at the time of Augustus Caesar and described expedition by Germanicus to North Sea, about 16 A.D.

Seleucus (fl. mid-2nd century B.C.), mentioned by Hipparchus. Believed Earth rotated around Sun, first man known to mention this; a Babylonian, from Selucium on the Tigris.

Aristarchus of Samos: lived about 260 B.C., said to have believed Earth rotated around Sun, but no written evidence.

Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.): Saw universe as hollow sphere rotating once in 24 hours. His work, Naturalis Historia, 37 books, dealt with what was known up to his time but added nothing to what Mela had stated in 43. A Cavalry Commander who lived in Germania 45-52. Earth centre of universe, stars forming hollow sphere. Referred to Cimbrian Promontory (Jutland) and "sea coast of Sleswick and Germany''. Also Scandinavia and other places.

Agricola (fl. 84 A.D.) sent fleet round Caledonia and proved Britain was an island; Orcades "discovered" and subdued; claimed he had seen Thule, but did not go far enough north for that.

Tacitus (fl.98 A.P.), author of Germania, concerned mainly with Sweden. Mentioned Oenland (Finland) and a "sluggish sea" in north –half frozen. Historian, ethnographer.

Marinus of Tyre (2nd century A.D.) revived theories of Eratosthenes 150 years after his time, and those of Hipparchus and Posidonius and Strabo. Attempted to list and describe every known place by latitude and longitude; perpetuated Posidonius's theories including calculations of Earth's circumference.

Ptolemy or Claudius Ptolemaeus (2nd century A.D.), contemporary with Marinus of Tyre, from whom he obtained details of Posidonius's calculations of circumference of Earth, writing about 150 A.D.