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====The Vikings and Exploration====
[[File: Viking_at_MN_Capitol.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Leif Eriksson Statue in front of the Minnesota State Capitol Building in St. Paul]]
The Viking Age began in the late eighth century AD like a bolt of thunder coming from Scandinavia across most of Europe. Many factors contributed to the raids that so epitomized the period. The loose political structure in Scandinavia allowed wealthy warlords to organize warbands to conduct raids, while the lure of easy riches in European monasteries was certainly a pulling factor. The Viking religion, which placed a premium on bravery and the virtue of dying in battle, also led to many young men searching for fame and fortune beyond Scandinavia. <ref> Rosedahl, Else. <i> The Vikings.</i> Translated by Susan M. Margeson and Kirsten Williams. (London: Penguin, 1998), pgs. 148-58; 189-205 </ref> But perhaps just as important as warfare was to the Vikings, was the desire and will to explore.
The Vikings’ outstanding ships and seamanship gave them the ability to travel great distances and the element of surprise in amphibious attacks. As fearless as the Vikings were in battle, they were equally brave on the high seas because to die at sea during exploration was considered just as honorable as dying in the battlefield. <ref> Rosedahl, p. 187</ref>
The Vikings’ shipbuilding skills and technology provided them with the ability to travel long distances in their ships. Viking ships were constructed by overlapping strakes that were joined with iron rivets and then caulked with an animal hair, which gave the ships the ability to maneuver better and travel faster. The sea vessels that the Vikings used for war, and long-distance exploration was low and narrow relative to their length and usually made of oak.
These ships also had a single mast that could be taken down in inclement weather or to go under bridges. <ref> Rosedahl, pgs. 84-85</ref> The cargo ships the Vikings used were a lot less elegant looking than their war/exploration ships, but just as effective for the needed job. They measured about sixteen to twenty-five meters in length and could carry from thirteen to thirty-eight tons of cargo. The deeper and bulkier cargo ships were also different than the warships because they had few oar holes. <ref> Rosedahl, pgs. 89-91</ref>
====The Vikings in North America====
[[File: Vinland_Map_HiRes.jpeg|300px|thumbnail|left|The Controversial 15th Century Vinland Map]]
After the discovery of the Viking settlement in L’Anse aux Meadows, the majority of Norse scholars in the 1960s and 1970s believed that it was synonymous with the enigmatic Vinland. <ref> Larsson, Mats G. “The Vinland Sagas and Nova Scotia: A Reappraisal of an Old Theory.” <i>Scandinavian Studies</i> 64 (1992) p. 305</ref> An examination of the evidence from the site seemed to confirm that idea on some levels: there were as many as ninety inhabitants there during its peak, and iron rivets and slags were found there along with the remains of a blacksmith’s shop, all of which indicate what was intended to be a long-term colony. <ref> Haywood, p. 98</ref> But a more critical examination of flora and fauna mentioned in the Vinland Sagas pointed to a more southerly location for Vinland.
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In the late 1970s, the idea that L’Anse aux Meadows was a permanent colony that functioned as a transit point for Norse explorers heading farther south into Vinland was popularized. The fact that the Gulf of St. Lawrence is the northernmost point where grapes can grow in the wild led scholars to look for Vinland somewhere in that region. <ref> Haywood, p. 98</ref> The Norwegian historian Gustav Storm first forwarded the idea in 1887 that Vinland was located in the modern Canadian province of Nova Scotia, based on flora and fauna of the region. <ref> Larsson, p. 306</ref> Storm’s assessment was refuted because there are no wild grape vines found in Nova Scotia today, but early modern French explorers mentioned them in their observations, and it should be noted that the area was warmer in 1000 AD.
Unfortunately, Kalm’s observations cannot be corroborated by any extant archaeological evidence. The only evidence of a Viking presence south of L’Anse aux Meadows is a coin of King Olaf Kyree of Norway (ruled 1066-1080), which was discovered in Maine. The coin, though, could have ended up in that location in some ways and should not be considered as undeniable evidence of a Norse presence in that region. <ref> Rosedahl, p.275</ref>
====The End of the Viking Experiment in North America====Scholars believe that the Viking colonization of North America only lasted about twenty years. L’Anse aux Meadows was simply too far from the Greenland colonies, which were themselves far from Europe, and the ever bellicose Norse made too many enemies with the indigenous population. <ref> Rosedahl, pgs. 274-5</ref> The Vinland Sagas relate this last point in several passages.
“Karlsefni and his men had realized by now that although the land was excellent, they could never live there in safety or freedom from fear, because of the native inhabitants. So they made ready to leave the place and return home.” <ref> Magnusson and Pálsson, Erik’s Saga, 11</ref>
[[Category: European History]] [[Category: Medieval History]] [[Category: History of the Middle Ages]] [[Category: Historiography]] [[Category: Pre-Columbian History]] [[Category:Wikis]]
[[Category: Viking Age]] {{Contributors}}
