PREFAGE 
NE of the proudest achievements, which the ancient Icelanders re- 
O collected, was the discovery and colonizing of a new country west 
of Iceland, a country bearing the enticing name of Greenland. Ari Frodi 
(d. 1148) fully understood the import of this fact since he consecrated 
a chapter to it, in his otherwise so brief “Book of Icelanders” (written 
about 1130). This event took place at the end of the 10th century. The 
discoverer, who established the colony, was the bold Eric the Red, being 
the son of a late emigrated Norwegian. Two territorial settlements, the 
eastern and the western (we should say the southern and the northern), 
were established, they flourished rapidly and existed for several hundred 
years, far into the 15 century. 
Fortunately we know — thanks to the Icelanders historical sense — 
very much about this isolated colony’s history, culture, and the condi- 
tions of life altogether, being accurately informed about the colonized 
regions, and farms etc. Almost everything ancient concerning Greenland, 
was at sometime coilected and published in “Gronlands historiske Mindes- 
mærker” (“Greenland’s historical memorial”) I—III (1838—45) together 
with a Danish translation, which is also used in this book. 
Only very little has been produced since then out of the sources 
concerning the history of the colony. But all the more has been brought 
to light of the colonist’s mode of living through several investigations 
and excavations undertaken lately, in the farm-ruins found, covered with 
grass and earth, besides other investigations. 
One of the chief men in these investigations was Captain DANIEL 
Bruun. He has acquired thorough knowledge of the colony’s whole 
history and conditions and has written this lively and explicit descrip- 
tion of the Greenland colony with liberal quotations from the sources, 
amongst which Eric the Red’s Saga is the most important and the most 
interesting. 
It is also in this Saga that the account of the important discovery 
of America’s east coast is to be found (including Labrador and south- 
wards). 
It is also included in the following work. This work, containing 
