Read Vikings in America Online
Authors: Graeme Davis
Guttorm Sigurdsson (1204)
Inge BÃ¥rdsson (1204â17)
Erling Steinvegg (1204â07)
Filippus Simonsson (1207â17)
HÃ¥kon IV HÃ¥konsson (1217â63)
Skule BÃ¥rdsson (1239â40)
Magnus Lagabøte (1263â80)
Eirik Magnusson (1280â99)
HÃ¥kon V Magnusson (1299â1319)
The Union of Sweden and Norway (1319â43)
Magnus Eiriksson (1319â43)
HÃ¥kon VI Magnusson (1343â80)
The Union of Denmark and Norway (1380â96)
Olav IV HÃ¥konsson (1380â87)
Margaret I (Margrete I) (1387â89)
Eric VII of Pomerania (1389â1442)
The Kalmar Union (1397â1536)
Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1397â1523)
Christopher III of Bavaria (1442â48)
Carl I (Karl Knutsson Bonde) (1449â50)
Christian I (1450â81)
Hans (1481â1513)
Christian II (1513â23)
The Norwegian king list contains many examples of two men claiming the throne, and both reigning over part of Norway during a period of civil war. Norwegian kings frequently ruled neighbouring countries. Thus Knut the Great â Canute â was King of Norway, King of Denmark and King of England.
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1
. A forceful criticism of forged Viking artefacts and curious theories is contained in the chapter “Buckram Vikings” in Wahlgren (1986): “Let oddball deviancy be taken for what it is. Seen with the humour it deserves the occasional hoax, the inevitable daffy theory, help to give us perspective on the equivocal human condition” (p. 120). While undoubtedly right to warn against the strange theories and forgeries which seem to gather around the topic of Vikings in America it has to be noted that the twenty or so years since the publication of Wahlgren's book has seen evidence appear which supports theories which Wahlgren may have seen as “daffy”.
2
. The idea of Vikings in California is promoted by numerous web sites, including an eBook
The Last Viking
by John N Harris (1999) at
http://www.spirasolaris.ca
. Here Vinland is identified with California. Evidence is in my view very thin indeed, though not totally lacking. Certainly the evidence is too slight to persuade me that the Vikings managed voyages through the ice-choked North West passage and Bering Straight. Unless some unexpected, strong, new evidence should come to light I do not see how this theory can be upheld. A Knights Templar colony in the New World on Viking foundations is a staple of much of the extensive popular writing around the Templars. An example is Steven Sora's
The Lost Colony of the Templars, Verrazano's Secret Mission to America
(2005). These ideas need evidence if they are to be taken seriously.
3
. The Vikings fought for the Byzantine emperors at least from the early tenth century. A Viking bodyguard was adopted in 988AD by Byzantine Emperor Basil II, with an initial strength of 6,000 Vikings, later formalised as the Varangian Guard. Over four centuries in countless battles throughout the Mediterranean region the Varangian Guard became famed for its un-swerving loyalty, for its military excellence, and for its brutality.
1
. “Ohthere sæde his hlaforde, Ãlfrede cyninge, thæt he ealra Northmonna northmest bude” â Othere told his lord, King Alfred, that he of all the North Men lived the furthest north.
2
. The two major sources of information for Viking ships are the two Viking ship museums:
The Viking Ship Museum
, Roskilde, Denmark, and
The Viking Ship Hall
, Oslo, Norway. Several replicas have been built and sailed on routes known to have been used by the Vikings, including the North Atlantic.
3
. A description of the fleet of Sweyn Forkbeard on a visit to Normandy in 1013 from
Encomium Emmae Reginae
(otherwise known as
Gesta Cnutonis Regis
), an encomium written around 1041 in honour of Queen Emma of Normandy.
4
. The first historical use of the name Pict is of course later, but it has long been conventional to use the name Pict for the people who built the brochs.
5
. The Irish discovery of the Faroe Islands is firmly accepted in the Faroe Islands, and was a subject of a 1994 Faroese Post Office commemorative stamp. The archaeological record shows oat pollen from 650
AD
, demonstrating that the islands were inhabited from at least this time. The Irish seem to be the only candidates.
6
. Sigmundur Brestisson's story is told in
Faereyinga Saga
. He brought Christianity to the Faroe Islands in
AD
999 by the expedient of offering the head man of the Faroe Islands the choice between beheading or accepting Christianity. In a subsequent fight Sigmundur supposedly escaped death by swimming from Skuvoy to Suthuroy islands (an improbable if not wholly impossible distance in view of the cold waters), only to be murdered on his arrival in Suthuroy.
7
. The story of the voyage to Thule Ultima is from Diodorus Siculus (book V), itself a restatement of now lost work by Timaeus and from an informant Pytheas of Marseilles. The voyage is often called Pytheas's voyage, though there is no reason to think Pytheas himself made it â rather he reported on it. Scholarly reflection on the story has yielded remarkably little to add to the bare outline of the narrative. Writers have been consistent in reflecting admiration for the achievement of the Pytheas voyage.
8
. The large coracle which was used for sea voyages is sometimes called a
currach
, with the name
coracle
reserved for the single person boats used on rivers and lakes. However
currach
does not have wide currency, and I have used
coracle
throughout.