NO. 19 NORSE VISITS TO NORTH AMERICA BABCOCK 63 



from that point ; it also tells us that Wineland is called " the Good " 

 from " its fertility or the abundance of its products," and the writer 

 seems unconscious of any occult meaning. Another note adds that 

 it is believed to border at the south on the " wild sea " and to be 

 separated by a fiord or inlet from the America of the Spaniards. The 

 former statement would fit either Nova Scotia or southern New 

 England ; the latter tempts one to recognize the Chesapeake, near the 

 southwestern shore of which de Ayllon had planted his ill-fated little 

 colony anticipating Jamestown. But we must not press inferences 

 too far or too confidently. 



Scandinavia 1 supplies the Honen inscription of 1010 to 1050 A. D., 

 existing in copy only, but held authentic by Prof. Bugge. It includes 

 fragmentary letters which seem to make up " Vinland," with allusions 

 to its remoteness in the seas and to neighboring cold regions. Dr. 

 Nansen, however, thinks its " Vinlandia " may be a myth, located 

 anywhere. 



Taking all these minor evidences together, we find them affirming 

 that there were three distinct regions south of Greenland, namely, 

 Helluland, Markland, and Wineland, in that succession southward ; 

 that Wineland was perhaps cut off from Markland by water, but was 

 not very distant, at least in its northern part ; that its northern end 

 was a promontory, and its southern face abutted on the sea, though 

 it was perhaps connected to Africa ; that it was prolific and especially 

 notable for its spontaneous yield of grain and grapes ; that Leif 

 discovered it by accident and Thorfinn Karlsefni visited it, fought 

 there with natives, losing Thorbrand, the son of his friend Snorri, 

 and withdrew in disappointment ; that Thorfinn's own son Snorri, 

 was born in Wineland, and that he and Leif found valuable wood 

 fit for carving. From the names we know that Markland was forest- 

 clad and Helluland a region of flat stones and desolation. Perhaps 

 we may fairly add that Wineland was understood to be of great 

 extent, almost marching with Markland at its upper limit and with 

 the later Spanish possessions at its lower. In other words it included 

 perhaps all between the Chesapeake and the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; 

 but there is no need to insist emphatically on these boundaries. 



This is the sum of our information ; but even without any Wineland 

 saga we should not be quite in darkness. Now, if there be two or 

 more versions of the Wineland discovery and exploration, the pre- 

 sumption, other things being equal, strongly favors that one which 



! H. Hermannsson : The Northmen in America. Islandica No. 2 (Bibliog- 

 raphy) . See also Nansen : In Northern Mists, vol. 2. 



