8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. IO7 



lelism it must be admitted. Biarni is tossed about on the ocean in 

 traveling from Iceland to Greenland much as Leif was in going 

 from Norway to the same place, A little later the Flat Island Book 

 tells us that Biarni, like Leif, went to Norway, became acquainted 

 with the then king. Earl Eric, related his travels to that monarch, 

 "was appointed one of the Earl's men, and went out to Greenland 

 the following summer," And finally Biarni's father and Leif's father 

 were near neighbors and lived in adjoining fiords. Although Leif 

 spent more time in America than Biarni, both seem to have been 

 anxious to get home to their parents. The three lands which Biarni 

 saw are uniformly identified with the three that Leif and Thorfinn 

 Karlsefni saw according to the Flat Island Book, which, as we shall 

 see presently, drops one stopping place of Karlsefni out of the picture. 



It has also been suggested that Biarni Heriulfson may have derived 

 his existence from the story of Biarni Grimolfsson, who appears in 

 the Saga as a fellow merchant of Karlsefni, like the other Biarni 

 voyaged to Greenland from Iceland, and like him was caught in a 

 storm at sea a little later. 



Naturally enough the arithmetical progression by which Biarni 

 Heriulfson reached the several lands he encountered is held up against 

 the historicity of the narrative, as is the reported accuracy with 

 which he ultimately found his father's home, one he had never seen. 

 The "foolhardy" venturesomeness of the expedition into an un- 

 known sea is also urged against it just as Biarni himself is said to 

 have anticipated. 



It is only fair, however, to enter some counterarguments. For 

 instance, the stories of Leif's visit to King Olaf and Biarni's to that 

 king's successor are in the same narrative in the Flat Island Book 

 where there is less likelihood of duplication than if they were from 

 different sources. Norse captains voyaged back and forth frequently 

 between Norway, Iceland, and Greenland, and there is no reason why 

 several voyages should not be recorded. Biarni visited three lands on 

 his way to Greenland and landed on none of them, Leif apparently 

 visited but one and he actually landed upon that, bringing back with 

 him specimens of the self-sown wheat, vines, and timber. Heriulf, 

 as well as Eric, was a prominent man, and there is no reason why 

 he should not have had a noteworthy son. The fact that he and Eric 

 lived in neighboring fiords is of minor consequence in its bearings 

 on the movements of their offspring. The resemblance between 

 Biarni Heriulfson and Biarni Grimolfsson is superficial. Both voyaged 

 to Greenland from Iceland, but so did almost all the Greenland 



