156 H. P. STEENSBY. 
as the chief source. The saga knows of only two voyages. The first 
was Leif the Fortunate’s voyage, in the year 1000, when on his return 
journey from Norway, after having drifted about for a long time on the 
sea, he came across unknown countries, of which it is further said that 
“there were selfsown wheatfields, and vines grew, as well as the trees 
called Masur; and they took specimens of all this; and amongst them 
some tree-trunks, so big that they were used for houses.” The other 
voyage is Thorfin Karlsefni’s, which most likely took place in the years 
1003—1006, and it is this deseription which particularly occupies the 
saga. 
One must not, on account of this, absolutely reject all possibility 
of any other Wineland voyages or journeys in the direction of Wineland. 
When the following remarks are thus to be found in the Flateyarbök’s 
annals of the year 1347, “A ship came from Greenland to the Straum- 
fjord; it had sailed to Markland, but was later on driven over here across 
the sea, with a crew of 18 men,”? there is no reason in rejecting such 
information, and declaring it fiction. The same ship is also mentioned in 
the Skälholt annals. And elsewhere in the Icelandic literature there is a 
single remark which could be suggestive of a later attempt to navigate 
Wineland. On the other hand Gustav Storm is most likely right, when 
out of the 5 voyages — Bjarni Herjolfsson’s, Leif’s, Thorvald Ericsson’s, 
Karlsefni’s, and Freydis Ericsdaughter’s — which are mentioned in 
Greenlendingapattr, he will incorporate Thorvald’s and Freydis’ voyage in 
the big expedition under Thorfinn Karlsefni, whilst he wishes completely 
to omit Bjarni’s voyage from history as fiction. 
Consequently we have only two voyages to abide by. Leif discovered 
Wineland and the other countries; Karlsefni and his men followed the 
route given by Leif to these countries, and refound them all. Probably 
the route has also been followed by others, but the colonizing of 
Wineland by Norsemen has never been tried seriously; it is quite an 
untenable exaggeration to speak of such. And the bishopric of Wine- 
land, which certain imaginative authors have mentioned, is naturally 
utterly unfounded. 
Whilst, in the middle ages in the North, one had not doubted that 
a Wineland existed which had been visited by Icelanders, this informati- 
on had great difficulty in taking root and maintaining itself in the 
literary circles of Europe. One sees that even Adam of Bremen found 
it neccessary to state that he had got to know this concerning Wineland 
“not through a fabulous tale, but through reliable accounts from the 
Danes.” It seems to be a somewhat incredible thought that an island 
with vines and self-sowing corn should lie on the other side of Green- 
land with all its ice and coldness. 
The knowledge of Wineland therefore died out, and the records 
about it were in reality forgotten for several centuries. It was only in 
1 Cf. Grønlands historiske Mindesmærker, Vol. 3, р. 14—15 and р. 6—7. 
EO eee 
