Norsemen’s route from Greenland to Wineland. 158 
the inscription on the stone, which has disappeared, is uncertain, and 
will not further be mentioned here. 
It is well known that it was during a sojourn at the Danish court, 
about 1070, and essentially through information from the Danish king 
himself, Sven Estridsen, that Adam of Bremen got information concer- 
ning Greenland, and ascertained that on the other side of Greenland lay 
an island, Wineland; it was “so called because vines grew of themselves 
and corn without being sown.” Adam put this information into his 
historical-geographical description of the North, which must have been 
written about 1075. Thus Adam’s report of Wineland is older than the 
Icelandic accounts; but his slight information, however, fully agrees 
with the Icelandic tradition. 
The oldest Icelandic accounts of Wineland resemble Adams report. 
They are short allusions to Wineland, or to Wineland’s Skrælings, or 
to certain Icelandic men who have visited Wineland. Helluland, Mark- 
land and Furdustrands are not mentioned in the oldest accounts, which 
on the whole do not give nearer particulars of the way to Wineland, 
Therefore I will not dwell upon these short interpolations and passing 
remarks; but will refer one to other authors, concerning them, such as 
G. Storm, FRIDTJOF NANSEN and others. They have, however, the signi- 
fication, as Storm strongly emphasizes, that they are witness to an un- 
animous tradition which, through Are Frodi (about 1120) and his infor- 
mer and father’s brother Thorkell Gellisson from Helgafell, can be fol- 
lowed as far back as the beginning of the 11” century, or towards Leif 
the Fortunate’s time. 
The chief accounts from Iceland concerning the discovery of Wine- 
land, and of the voyages there, are to be found in two deviating views 
which are completely independent of each other. They are now known 
as Eric the Red’s Saga, and the socalled Grænlendingahättr which is to 
be found in the Flateyarbôk. 
Both accounts have been published by C. C. Rarn in “Antiquitates 
Americane” [Hafniæ 1837] and by the "Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift- 
selskab” in “Gronland’s Historiske Mindesmerker,” third volume, [Co- 
penhagen 1845]. The accounts are, however, interpreted in an unfor- 
tunate manner, as the saga which is now called Eric the Red’s saga is 
here named Thorfin Karlsefni’s saga; whilst a short extract of this saga 
which is found inserted in Flateyarbök’s Olav Trygvason’s saga is here 
rendered under the name of Eric the Red’s saga. 
It was Gustav Storm who at last put the confusion in order, and 
through textual criticism substantiated the real relations between the 
records. Furthermore it was Storm who proved that it was incorrect 
to apprehend Grenlendingapdltr, as one had hitherto done, as the 
principal source of the knowledge of Wineland and the Wineland-ex- 
cursions. Storm proved that the real Eric the Red’s saga was older 
11* 
