|
| |
"Helge
Ingstad and his wife conveniently concluded that since they had found a bona fide Viking
site, then ipso facto it must be Leif's Vinland. Great for
publicity, but bad for truth."
Disregarding Fact to Suit Theory
Today
many scholars concur, albeit wrongly, that Vinland the Good was a bleak,
inhospitable spot on the northernmost tip of Newfoundland - L'Anse aux Meadows.
This theory ignores virtually EVERY
recorded fact about Vinland. Instead it relies solely upon the fact that a
genuine Viking Age settlement was excavated there.
Helge Ingstad and his wife, who led the work at this site, conveniently
concluded that since they had found a bona fide Viking site, then ipso facto it
must be Leif's Vinland. Great for publicity, but bad for truth. To support this
premise they and subsequent adherents to this prevalent theory have had to
ignore or explain away essentially all data regarding Vinland and its
attributes.
A primary example is the attempt to raise questions about the very name "Vinland."
The semantics of 'vin' have been raised as a feeble defense for
the Newfoundland site--the claim being that the word actually referred to grass
and not grapes or wine. This flimsy effort to distort truth hinges on the
fact that at one time 'vin' did have such a meaning in the Norse
language. But, it fails to mention the trifling fact that such usage went
out centuries prior to Leif's time. Such shifts in usage and meaning over
time are common. A simple example in modern American English is the word
'gay.' In Leif's time 'vin' meant wine or grape vines.
But semantics aside, there can be no question of the word's intent because the
sagas do not just mention "Vinland" in passing. There are many
specific saga references to grapes, grape vines, and, perhaps with an eye to
commercial enterprise, the wine-making possibilities thereof. Though such
strong data can leave no room for doubt, they are corroborated independently.
German cleric Adam of Breman, after his circa 1068-69 visit with the Danish King
Svein wrote that the king spoke of a place "called Vinland because of the
vines producing excellent wine grow wild there . . ." He went on to
add that, "It is not from any fabulous imaginings that we have learned
this, but from the reliable reports of the Danes."
It has been argued--by historian/writer Magnus Magnusson for one--that Adam of
Breman's report can be dismissed because in the same extensive manuscript the
German cleric has some errors elsewhere. Should we also dismiss the many
verifiable portions of his work- a work that is widely referenced- because he
was not infallible? Obviously not. Given that his account of Vinland
matches that recorded in far off Iceland more than a century later, it cannot
be dismissed. It stands firmly as a source.
All of this is very critical to placing Vinland, because if wild grapes were
indeed a factor--a fact that is firmly established in spite of the best wishes
of Helge Ingstad and his followers--then Vinland cannot be at L'Anse aux
Meadows. Wild grapes do not grow anywhere near that far north.
Realizing this, the Ingstad camp has tried to argue that Leif did not really
find grapes but some other wild berries instead. This absurd contention
again ignores the specific references to grapes and wine-making in
the sagas and Adam of Breman's work. As with the semantics argument, this
one falls apart when scrutinized.
Thus the very name Vinland and its reason for being so named preclude the L'Anse
aux Meadows site from even being arguably part of Vinland.
More
on L'Anse aux Meadows to come. Thanks for your patience!
|
