The ship of famed Norman Viking William, called "The Conqueror".

 Bayeau Tapestry, manufactured within a generation of the last invasion of England. 

The person who advised the seamstress' may well have seen this ship, perhaps even sailed upon it.  Note the trumpeting herald mounted upon the sternpost, the busy "sailing master" at the mast, the crew commander directing at the bow, and close and inquiring attention being paid by the crew of warriors forward of the mast. Compare with "Gaia", above. Note the smaller vessel in near distance.  This is an "afterboat", a "tender" always accompanying its larger command ship. Usually carried aboard if sufficient space, otherwise towed behind or sometimes sailed independently as here, the Vinland Sagas chronicle an important exploration by one of these "afterboats" along the coast of Vinland.   See:  Saga of Thorvald Eiricksson, below.

This modern exercise in discovery is the culmination of a twenty eight year research endeavor towards that subject and how it relates to a specific site.  It is one of very few of many studies that narrates and deals with the sagas entire without prejudice - as plausible historical record and not myth.

How to use this website!   

Since it may prove difficult to read this material from the screen, and as it deals with matters that require sometimes intense introspective endeavor, we recommend the following procedures:

To follow the literary thread originating with the Vinland Voyagers themselves, go first to the Vinland sagas.  Print these out.  You will need them and they are most interesting as they narrate far more than most can imagine!  Following this, turn to "The Coast of Vinland" page for analysis of why a discovered site must be found within a specific locale and how descriptions may be extracted from sometimes mundane remarks of the ancient adventurers.

If you feel that you would prefer the scientific material, turn first to <Proofpage>, which is the argument as developed through some thirty years of research.  Print this out and maintain for reference and reflection.  If you wish, carry this with you for discussion with associates, for it gains in debate and contains much that is interesting.  The page also contains a comprehensive bibliography.

Following either of these courses, additional information can be had in both "The People of Vinland" and "Lingua Vinlandia" which express and define expected result of a successful argument.  These are interesting in any case and have the merit of establishing the pre-Columbian origins of a famous American Indian Tribe.  While this yields information strictly from the subjective side, it is hoped that it will open study of the objective culture - Vikings/Nor'men - for in their pastoral mode they were not at all like the popular modern rough-hewn perception.  Indeed, some medieval travelers describe Scandinavia of that day as welcoming and hospitable to a fault - even going so far as to say "--there are no pirates among them."

Some pages are lengthy; the website in total is near book length.  Therefore it is designed that pages of interest be printed out for timely perusal, minute scrutiny and intense reflection.  The program may be divided into parts: one, Proofpage, with its more readable companion piece Plain talk: and two, the cumulative argument of collateral evidence that supports it.   

Visiting Vinland landfalls and viewing from space.  An exercise with Google Earth® which replaces map pages and two others. Download Google Earth free from web and follow the Vinland Voyagers along the coast to their destination. Locate landings within meters. The exercise coordinates Saga descriptions with real places and you can observe these yourself through modern space photography.  This  ---  is adventure !!

A collection of Vinland artifacts.  Google Earth® comparisons, as above. Over the centuries, residents in New England have discovered numerous artifacts that have led to speculations that Vinland had been somewhere in the area. Here are those I have discovered in the legends of colonial America.

Update news;   The Page "About"  has been re-written with an extensive FAQ section.  The website is now five years old and we have received many queries..  It is a good page for those re-visiting the site and also newcomers.     See: Notes

In a nutshell:  a condensation of the program organized in a comprehensive manner.

   Introduction  (series)  -- a good start if the now 35 year old program is examined.  This and the following four pages are explanatory preambles.

  The Vinland Sagas:  Dealing with all the information.  So far as is known this is the only Vinland study that publishes the Sagas entire as a narrative chronicle and then attempts answer to questions posed therein.  A glorious but unsung tale, it seems to us that these Sagas are especially good for younger folk - maybe from 3rd to 4th grades and up. 

The following five pages constitute the Vinland narratives from start to finish. Because they are complete and in chronological sequence, they yield clues from first to the very last. They were compiled from an intense reading program that was exclusive for three years and ongoing for thirty- five more. 

The preserved texts and folklore in Iceland are fragmented and disorganized. As a result, this chronicle is, perhaps, the most coherent form to be found in the English language.

The narrations that follow result from a three year reading program commencing in 1976 and which has been in ongoing review ever since. Those wishing further insights are directed to: "The Sagas of the Icelanders, A Collection", edited by Örnólfur Thorsson, pub. Leifur Eiricksson Press, Ltd.1997 and Viking Penguin Group, 2000: isbn 0-670-89040-5. This excellent work demonstrates literary superiority and persistence of Icelandic folklore in a number of selected Sagas. Several deal with the Vinland Sagas and a short section makes verbatim comparisons between Flateybok and Houksbok, two major sources of Vinland material. I was pleased to find that these translations from Old Norse by a linguist familiar with that language compares closely with my own reading derivations. 

  Bjarne Herjolfsson's Saga;    Reluctant pioneer. One ship, crew size unknown: estimated ten men as normal cargo ship complement..

  Leif Erickson's Saga;    Fortunate and noble pioneer - Leif the Lucky, "--fair and just in all his affairs".  (See note concerning his name; below.) One ship: crew size thirty five men.

 Thorvald Erickson's Saga;    Opportunist pioneer. One ship: crew size, thirty men. This Saga defines the coastline of Vinland, enumerating at least 10 described landfalls near Leifsbudir itself.

 Thorstein Erickson's Saga   ----- unluckiest of men. Did not reach Vinland.

A most extraordinary family Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefni, his wife, Gudrid Thorbjornsdottir and their sons Snorri and Bjorn. Settlers, colonists, perhaps the first of history's renaissance people.  The most informative of Sagas detailing the site itself. Three ships: crew size var. 151/168; at least ten (estimated) of whom were women.

  Freydis Ericksdottir's Saga;   Macabre tale of villainy. Two ships: crew size 55 persons of whom at least 6 were women. This saga defines the range of traverse between Greenland and Vinland.

   About;  All new -- and a bit of poetry thrown in.

   What's New; -- some background on where we stand.

   Discovery;  detailing and locating a target site. Below will be found a mapping exercise which develops the theme into a view of reality.  18 landings and landfalls upon the coast of Vinland itself were clearly and sometimes vividly described enroute to Leif Erickson's famous camp.

     The Coast of Vinland;     Dealing with the whereabouts of Leifsbudir ("Lohfs-booth-ur" - Leif's camp) and Hop.  What the sagas say about the legendary coast of Vinland, the three settlements, its many described landfalls, its distance, direction, topography and description from the five expeditions and over two hundred people who voyaged there.

   Proofpage;    This is our formalized announcement - an argument that is based on a published and  accepted "observed phenomena" coupled with scientific doctrine which may be stronger than any potential counter-argument.  Advanced material for college level and upwards:  Genetics, immunology issues.

   Plain talk version of the above page, clarifying and demonstrating the strength of the element in question as proof.

  Roger Williams and the Separation of Church and State;  Since this early American colonist's records are vital to our study - he is a "source" of impeccable credentials - we publish this essay for general, as well as specific knowledge.  It has been updated and improved with new information and insights this September of 2003.  Williams was the first of many to notice so many coincidental cultural and linguistic traits in the Indian population as to suggest their origins had been in Europe.

Haley's Comet over England, near Easter of 1066. 

 From Bayeau Tapestry, made in the year following the death of the English Norman, Harold Godwinson

These people are Viking stock, contemporary with their cousins across the Channel in Normandy, as well as contemporary Greenlander/Icelander Settlers in far off Vinland, all of whom dressed , spoke, and acted in similar fashion.  Archeological exhumations of Greenland Viking cemeteries indicate that Greenlanders also dressed in this manner. At the time of this sighting, Vinland was as yet an active, pioneering settlement. Note clean-shaven men with neatly trimmed mustaches and absence of steer horned helmets, which appear nowhere in the long and battle strewn tapestry, nor elsewhere in Viking culture.  "Commoners" to left, "Nobility" (King Harold Godwinson) to right.  This celestial event, observed all over the Northern hemisphere, was doubtless also an object of awe on the Western side of the Atlantic where the first generation of admixed Europeans and Americans had but recently matured.

The Vinland settlers left traces ! And some of the travelers remained in the New World, if we can believe our genetic inferences.  There also existed many social and linguistic traces of a remarkable people that are evident in the pages below.

   The People of Vinland;   in two parts.  Roger Williams introduces these remarkable people to history and the Vinland hegira.  Interesting comparisons with Viking culture.  And the astonishing news that Narragansetts referred to the constellation Ursa Major as the "Great Bear".  Could there be some historical experience in their collective memory of these same seven stars so close and coincidental with Greek mythology ? We have been unable to locate anyone, anywhere, who can see a resemblance to a bear in that arrangement of stars.  So why did the Narragansetts so see it? 

   The Language of Vinland:    in two parts.  From Roger Williams and other "founding fathers" who noted anomalies in the culture of that district.  Interesting comparisons with Old Norse of the Greenland and Iceland settlers.

Feedback - getting in touch with us.  This page appears to have an erratic performance.  Please note specific instructions to by-pass electronic interference attempts.

Viking seamanship ----  from eyewitness observers.

Two interesting views from Bayeau Tapestry, usually accepted as having been commissioned by William the Conqueror's brother Odo, who was, or had been, Bishop of the Cathedral at Bayeau, in Normandy. Odo had been a participant in the invasion fleet and subsequent battles and is depicted at least four times in the famous work of art. The tapestry, usually thought to be of French manufacture, was, instead, sewn by English seamstresses, under tutelage and influence of their invaders. These show the meticulous attention to, and intimate knowledge of seafaring, as well as armor and weaponry.  The ship on left is that of Harold Godwinson on his initial eastward crossing where eventually he was forced to pay obeisance to William.  The sail has been released and allowed to "luff", preparatory to landing, both ships in shallow water mode of transport.  Note the man taking soundings, the lookout at the masthead, the oarsmen ready to "backwater" (reverse or "brake" the ship), and the anchorman ready with yet another "brake" to stop or for mooring on or near a shoreline.  It is risky to beach a ship until the state of the tide is determined. The tense attitude of these men indicates this. 

Still to come: District Artifacts, Crossannes, Pettaquamscutt detail.

"Special note concerning the name of the famous explorer:  the surname - usually supposed - can be found spelled in many ways, and this includes within this website.  It may be cause for confusion for serious researchers, for it appears not to be his true name at all.  "Erick" is derived from a title in ON "Eirik" which is usually translated as equivalent to "Earl", meaning a man of substance and such position as to have a following of combatants.  He was the leader of his family and the central figure in a social group and in Viking life often a ship owner with its crew - both military and nautical.  Leif's father was known as "Erick the Red" (Eirikur Rode) which usually incurs the assumption that Leif's patronymic was therefore Erikson, or some linguistic variant.  However, it has become my belief that in fact the real name of the man we know as Erick the Red was actually Thorvald, thus making Leif's true name "Thorvaldsson".  Erik the Red's hegira from Norway to Greenland is rather difficult to trace and there is some confusion as to whether the man exiled from Norway to Iceland was Erik himself or his own father, Leif's Grandfather.  So this confusing issue can not yet be satisfactorily resolved in our own research, but Leif's cultural persona, if not his true name is "Leifur, Son of Eirikur Rode" - "Leif, Son of Erick the Red", but whose legal patronymic was something different; in my opinion, Thorvaldsson.  "---ur" denotes the nominative case, a specific person or thing.  An Eirik might be one of many, but Eirikur means one man in particular.  This title is thus generally qualified with a further description, usually in the form of what we would tern a "nickname". Here it is "the red" because this man's dominant characteristic was that he had both a red beard and red hair.  (Leif was said to have had the inherited red beard but differed with a head of blond hair.) But other men might be, say, "---the stout", "broadaxe" (from prowess with such), the shrewd", and so on. In Icelandic and Old Norse, the two s's denote possessive as they do in English - Thorvald's Son being Thorvaldsson, so they should always appear in the name - almost true as "Ericksson", more exact and linguistically correct as "Eiriksson".  In the United States the name is commonly abbreviated to "Erickson", "Ericson" or "Erikson" for convenience, but this is considered somewhat an affront to Icelandic scholars and speakers. 

This business of using these colloquial names complicates the issue to the scholar's and genealogist's detriment. In these pages is the common reference to Thorfinn Karlsefni and it seems that the usual use of the last name is in error.  "Karlsefni" is, in truth, yet another colloquial which means something in the order of "some hunk of a man" since "karl" in ON means "strong".  He seems to have been an attractive, and powerful man, maybe a bit pompous, but successful in trade as an implied effective seaman.  I have been in correspondence with an American lady who claims descent from he and his wife Gudrid, not through famed Snorri, but from a second son named Bjorn who may or may not have been born in Vinland. The family returned to Greenland after their three year stay in America to; first, Greenland at a farm (ON "--saettr"?) named "Sandness" ("sandy peninsula") which was located near the "Western Settlement" well north of the more populated "Eastern Settlement".  This may have been Gudrid's inherited property of her first husband Thorstein Eiriksson who had died there of an epidemic disease with Gudrid in attendance. (The place is well known and has been archeologically excavated with the notable discovery of a lump of coal that apparently originated in Rhode Island, USA).  Bjorn might have been born in Vinland, at the farm Sandness, or perhaps later still when the couple had removed yet again back to Northern Iceland.  From this genealogy I was able to discover that "Karlsefni's" true legal patronymn was not "Karlsefni" but "Thordarsson". The family became revered in the culture of the times as devout Catholic Christians.  Following the death of her husband in later years, Gudrid became a "Lady of the Church" and made a pilgrimage to Rome, distant considerably further than her earlier voyage to Vinland.  Both sons Snorri and Bjorn became noted Bishops on Iceland.

All material in this website is copyrighted from past written publication.  The sagas, of course, have long been in the public domain - only access to them has been problematical.  We believe that this website is the only access to the entire series as narrative at this date.  Copy of material herein and dissemination not for profit  to interested parties is here permitted and encouraged with attribution to The Voyage of Wave Cleaver, Inc. and/or its director and researcher,  Frederick N. Brown, 3rd.

End