WINELAND THE GOOD 



idea of " good," this gives a natural explanation of both the Norse 

 names. 



(17) The name " Vinland hit G63a " has a foreign effect in 

 Norse nomenclature; it must be a hybrid of Norse and foreign 

 nomenclature, through " Vinland " being combined with " Landit 

 GoSa," which probably originated in a translation of "In- 

 sulae Fortunatae." 



(18) The probability of the name of Skreelings for the in- 

 habitants of Wineland having originally meant brownies, or trolls, 

 — that is, small huldrefolk, elves, or pygmies — entirely agrees 

 with the view that Wineland was originally the fairy country, 

 the Fortunate Isles in the west of the ocean. 



(19) The statement of the Icelandic geography, that, in the 

 opinion of some, Wineland the Good was connected with Africa, 

 and the fact that the Norwegian work, " Historia Norvegiae," calls 

 Wineland (with Markland and Helluland) the African Islands, 

 are direct evidence that the Norse Wineland was the Insulae 

 Fortunatae, which together with the Gorgades and the Hesperi- 

 des were precisely the African Islands. 



(20) Even though the Saga of Eric the Red and the 

 " Gronlendinga-f^attr " contain nothing which we can regard as 

 certain information as to the discovery of America by the 

 Greenlanders, we yet find there and elsewhere many features 

 which show that they must have reached the coast of America, 

 the most decisive among them being the chance mention of 

 the voyagers from Markland, in 1347. To this may be added 

 Hertzberg's demonstration of the adoption of the Icelandic game 

 of "knattleikr" by the Indians. The name of the mythical 

 land may then have been transferred to the country that was 

 discovered. 



(21) Hvitramanna-land is a mythical land similar to the Wine- 

 island of the Irish, modified in accordance with Christian ideas, 

 especially, perhaps, those of the white garments of the baptized — 

 as in the " Navigatio Brandani " in reference to the Isle of Anchor- 

 ites or the " Strong Men's Isle " (= Starkramanna-land) — and 

 of the white hermits. 



61 



