MAS 2303 VÍNLAND MYTH AND REALITY FINAL READING






MAS 2303

MAS 2303 Vínland - Myth and Reality


Final Reading List


Introduction:

The Vinland Sagas. The Norse Discovery of America. Grænlendinga saga and Eirik’s saga. Translated with an introduction by Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Pálsson. Penguin Books 1965.

Essential:

Introduction Pp 7-43 36 pages

Grænlendinga saga Pp 49-72 23 pages

Eirik’s saga Pp 75-105 30 pages



Part A The Fortunate Isles and the Icelandic sagas:


Adam of Bremen. English Edition. Scholia on Vinland

Ári fróði: The book of Icelanders, See extracts in Lecture A2


Brendan - The voyage of saint Brendan: Journey to the Promised Land

Navigation Sancti Brendani Abbatis Translated with and introduction by John J. O’Meara. Dolmen Texts 1. The Dolmen Press 1982 84 pages (small)


Bruun, Daniel 1918 The Icelandic Colonization of Greenland and the Finding of Víneland. Copenhagen Pp 51-72 (The actual number of pages is only 14, as a number of indifferent pictures have been removed from the Master copy)

Do also note that the translations from the Book of Icelanders are not very accurate, see Lecture A2 for a better translation (and Norse standardized text) 14 pages


Halldórsson, Ólafur 2001: The Vinland Sagas. Pp 39-50 in: Andrew Wawn and Þórunn Sigurðardóttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vínland. Sigurður Nordal Institute. Reykjavík

11 pages


Konstam, Angus

2005 Historical Atlas of the Viking World. Mercury Books, London.

Pp100-111 = 11 pages


Nansen, Fridtjof

1911 In Northern Mists. Vol. I. New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company.

Essential:

Chapter V: The awakening of medieval knowledge.

King Alfred, Ottar, Adam of Bremen Vol. I Pp 168-202 34 pages

Chapter IX: Wineland the good, the Fortunate Isles, and

the discovery of America Vol. I Pp 312-384 72 pages

SUM 117 pages


Þórláksson, Helgi 2001 The Vínland Sagas in Contemporary Light. Pp 63-77 in: Andrew Wawn and Þórunn Sigurðardóttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vínland. Sigurður Nordal Institute. Reykjavík 14 pages


Interesting:

Chapter IV The Early Middle Ages, Vol. I Pp 125-167 42 pages


Axel Anthon Bjørnbo, 1909. Essay: ”Adam of Bremen’s view of the North”. Referenced in Nansen 1911 vol. I p. 201, see lit. list Vol. II., reproduced map vol. I P 186 See Lecture A1


O’Loughlin, Thomas

1999 ‘Distant Islands: The Topography of the Holiness in the Nauivatio Sancti Brendani’ in: Marion Glascoe (ed.): The Medieval Mystical Tradition: England, Ireland. Wales (Woodbridge 1999), Pp 1-20.


O’Loughlin, Thomas

2000a Journeys on the Edges. The Celtic Tradition. Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series. Orbis Books, New York.

Essential:

Introduction Pp 15-17 3 pages

Chapter 1. Is there a Celtic Spirituality? Pp 19-33 14 pages

Chapter 5. Journeys of Faith. Pp 80-98 19 pages

SUM 36 pages

Interesting:

Chapter 2. A Walk in Two Worlds

+ Chapter 3. Living on the Fringes Pp 34-63 30 pages

SUM 30 pages

Thomas O’Loughlin

2000b Celtic Theology. Humanity, World and God in Early Irish Writings. Continuum, London & New York

Essential:

Barrind’s island in the Nauigatio Sancti Brendani Pp 193-196 4 pages

Interesting:

Chapter 10 (including Nauigatio above) Pp 185-202 17 pages


See also Sigurðsson, Gísli 2000 in section B below for a short version and discussion of the Vinland sagas



Part B Vikings in Canada


Ingstad, Anne Stine

1977 The Discovery of a Norse Settlement in America. Excavations at L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland 1961-1968. Universitetsforlaget (Norwegian University Press) Oslo – Bergen – Tromsø

Introduction Pp 21-24

Newfoundland in Prehistoric Times

House A Pp 131-167

Conclusion Pp 233-245 55 pages






The following papers are all in

William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 2000


Cox, Steven L. 2000 A Norse Penny from Maine. Pp 206-207 Odess, Daniel, Stephen Loring, and William W. Fitzhugh 2000: Skraeling: First Peoples of Hellduland, Markland, and Vinland. Pp 193-205 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History.

2 pages


McNaughton, Douglas 2000. A World in Transition. Early Cartography of the North Atlantic. Pp 257-269 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 13 pages


Odess, Daniel, Stephen Loring, and William W. Fitzhugh 2000: Skraeling: First Peoples of Hellduland, Markland, and Vinland. Pp 193-205 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History.

14 pages


Schledermann, Peter 2000: Introduction. A.D. 1000: East meets West. Pp 189-192 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 4 pages


Schmith, Kevin P. 2000 Who Lived at L’Anse aux Meadows? P 217 Odess, Daniel, Stephen Loring, and William W. Fitzhugh 2000: Skraeling: First Peoples of Hellduland, Markland, and Vinland. Pp 193-205 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History.

1 page


Schledermann, Peter 2000 Ellesmere. Vikings in the Far North. Pp 248-256 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 9 pages


Seaver, Kirsten A. 2000 Unanswered Questions. Pp 270-279 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 10 pages


Sigurðsson, Gísli 2000a An Introduction to the Vinland Sagas. Pp 218-224 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 7 pages


Sigurðsson, Gísli 2000b The Quest for Vinland in Saga Scholarship. Pp 232-237 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 5 pages


Odess, Daniel, Stephen Loring, and William W. Fitzhugh 2000: Skraeling: First Peoples of Hellduland, Markland, and Vinland. Pp 193-205 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 13 pages


Sutherland, Patricia D. 2000 The Norse and native North Americans. Pp 238-247 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 9 pages


Wahlgren, Erik 1986 The Vikings and America. Thames & Hudson, London. Pages 121-167

47 pages


Wallace, Birgitta Linderoth 2000a The Viking Settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows. Pp 208-216 Odess, Daniel, Stephen Loring, and William W. Fitzhugh 2000: Skraeling: First Peoples of Helluland, Markland, and Vinland. Pp 193-205 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 9 pages


Wallace, Birgitta Linderoth 2000b An Archaeologist’s Interpretation of the Vinland Sagas Pp 225-231 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 11 pages




PART C THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF VINLAND


Björnsdóttir, Inga Dóra

1999 Leifr Eiríksson versus Christopher Columbus: The Use of Leifr Eiríksson in American Political and Cultural Discourse. Pp 220-226 in: Andrew Wawn and Þórunn Sigurðardóttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vínland. A Conference on the written and archaeological sources for the Norse ettlements in the North-Atlantic region and exploration of America. The Nordic House, Reykjavík 9-11 August 1999. Sigurður Nordal Institute. Reykjavík 7 pages


Blegen, Theodore C.

1968 The Kensington Rune Stone. New Light on and Old Riddle. Minnesota Historical Society. St. Paul Pp 19-91 72 pages


Landsverk, O.G.

1969 Ancient Norse Messages on American Stones. Norseman Press, 1480 Millar Drive, Glendale, California 91206. Sponsor: The Landsverk Foundation. Pp 6-20. 17 pages


McNaughton, Douglas

2000 A World in Transition. Early Cartography of the North Atlantic. Pp 257-269 in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga. Published by Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London, in association with the National Museum of Natural History. 13 pages


Seaver, Kirsten A.

2004 Maps, Myths and Men. The Story of the Vínland Map. Stanford University Press. Stanford, California

Chapter 1 An American Place Named Vínland Pp 1-18

Chapter 5 A Star is Born Pp 144-163

Chapter 8 The Vínland Map as a Narrative Pp 256-296

----------------

89 pages


Wahlgren, Erik 1986 The Vikings and America. Thames & Hudson, London. Pages 98-120 23 pages


Wolf, Kirsten

2001 The Recovery of Vínland in Western Icelandic Literature. Pp 207-219 in: Andrew Wawn and Þórunn Sigurðardóttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vínland. A Conference on the written and archaeological sources for the Norse ettlements in the North-Atlantic region and exploration of America. The Nordic House, Reykjavík 9-11 August 1999. Sigurður Nordal Institute. Reykjavík 13 pages


TOTAL 859 pages

+

Resources for seminars and papers (extra)


EXTRA RESOURCES FOR SEMINARS ETC:


Ingstad, Anne Stine 1977 The Discovery of a Norse Settlement in America. Excavations at L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland 1961-1968. Universitetsforlaget (Norwegian University Press) Oslo – Bergen – Tromsø

Interpretations of houses… Pages 167-232 66 pages

NB. The opening discussions of each house are kind of technical. Towards the end of each section, and especially at the end of the whole sequence, there are lots of interesting discussions of parallel house types, finds and sites in Greenland, Iceland and Norway, plus general discussions of alternative interpretations (Amero-Indians, Basque whalers, etc). Good place to pick points for seminars and exams.




Part 3 The Historiography of Vínland

Gwyn Jones: The Conquest of the North Atlantic


Sources:


The Vinland Sagas. The Norse Discovery of America. Grænlendinga saga and Eirik’s saga. Translated with an introduction by Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Pálsson. Penguin Books 1965.

Essential:

Notes on the translations Pp 45-46 2 pages

Grænlendinga saga Pp 49-72 23 pages

Eirik’s saga Pp 75-105 30 pages

SUM 55 pages

Interesting:

List of proper names Pp 106-118 12 pages


Reference works:

Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. For instance Oxford University Press

Some key references:


Genesis 2:8

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.


Genesis 28:17

And he was afraid, and said, Howe dreadful is this place; and I know it not.


Revelations 21:1

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.


Revelations 22:5

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.






Tags: final reading, reading, vínland, reality, final