state. It is however noteworthy that Hudson, when pushing along the 

 Newfoundland bank in lat. 44 °— 45 ° where- he sounded and fished, 

 found no ice on that bank. In continuing his journey to New Brunns- 

 wick, Nova Scotia and the American coast he everywhere reports 

 the weather to be very warm and the country exceedingly fertile with 

 »goodly grapes », rosetrees etc. He sometimes fought and some- 

 times bartered with the Indians obtaining »greene tobacco, In- 

 dian Wheate and Maize whereof they make good bread », a. s. f. in 

 exchange for his goods. If the Wineland expeditions of the ancient 

 Greenlanders extended past Newfoundland (Markland?) to the south- 



west, as G. Storm has shown, then no objection can be raised on 

 account of the climate to their really having found wine and wheat, as 

 described in the Saga. 



The problem of Wineland is getting more complicated from the 

 theory propounded by Professor Fernald, an American, who transfers 

 the Wineland of the Sagas to Labrador, changing the grapes into cran 

 berries, the wheat into lyme-grass, a. s. v. In the 14th Chapter of 

 the Taakeheimen Nansen also adds to the confusion by indiscrimi- 

 nately mixing the Icelandic Sagas with the fantastic folk-lore of Moltke 

 Moes collection, 



IV. 



Climatic Variations on the East=coast of the Atlantic 

 at the end of the Middle ages. 



In Northern Europe the variations in the oceanic circulation chief- 

 ly manifested themselves in: 



A: Stormfloods in the North Sea and the Baltic. 

 B: The freezing of the Baltic and the Cattegat in certain win- 

 ters. 



G: The removal of the herringfishery from the Baltic and Ore- 

 sund to the northern parts of the Cattegat, Skagerak and the 

 North Sea. 



These variations naturally exerted an influence upon the cli- 

 mate. According to the hypothesis enounced in the foregoing chap- 

 ters these phenomena were caused by variations in the tidegenera- 

 ting force which will repeat themselves in future as certainly as they 

 have occurred in the past. 



A. 



Stormfloods. 



In the last centuries of the Middle-age Holland passed through 

 a stage of transformation caused partly by the fact that its coast 

 is slowly subsiding. In addition to this, inundations from the rivers 

 carried away the soil of its peat-moors. Then came the attack on the 

 seacoast by stormfloods. Several such floods are on record from the 

 early middle-age but the greatest devastations set in from the latter 

 part of the 12th century, followed in rapid succession by the great floods 

 of the 13th and 14th century which is denoted as »the catastrophic 

 age» of Holland. It culminated with the destruction of South 

 Holland, »the Waard», beginning of the 15th century, i. e. the 

 time of the perihelion-node-apside and the absolute maximum of 

 the tidal force. 



Both before and after that time calamities of this kind have 

 occurred more rarely 1 . From the 15th century to our time only 

 three great stormfloods are on record, viz. in 1570, 1717, 1825 2 . 

 The principal diasters of the catastrophic age were. 



1219 (the »Marcellus»-flood) 3 



1246 (the »Lucas»-flood) 



1287 (the »Lucia»-flood) 



1421 (the Elisabeth-flood). 4 

 which seems to have surpassed all others in its disastrous effect. 

 The catastrophe occurred on the 18 Nov. 1421 and devastated the towns 

 of Dordrecht and Geertruidenberg. The stormfloods between 1374 

 and 1421 mark the culmen of the catastrophic period for South- 

 Holland 5 . Also from England we have records of heavy stormfloods 



in 1404 and 1412. The latter occurred the 12th Otcober and is descri- 

 bed in the following curious manner: »Sea flooded thrice without eb- 

 bing^ which brings back to our memory the remarkable description 

 in the Kings Mirror of the great »havgerdingar » which were said 

 to have occured in the Greenland seas in the 13th century but never 

 have been observed or heard of since 6 . 



In these centuries also was achieved the last stage of the transfor- 

 mation of the old Friesian lake-district into the present Zuidersee. 

 It is impossible to fix with surety the exact time of the catastrophes 

 which mark the different stages of the incessant encroaching action 

 of the sea upon the Ijssel, the ancient mouth of the Bhine,andthe 

 whole subject is very much debated. According to a number of old 

 chronicles it happened so. In the time of the Romans the interior part 

 of the present Zuidersee formed a shallow lake, Lacus Flevo, the shores 

 of which were widened by the erosion of the rivers. Then came the 

 attack on the seashore by stormfloods. The Marsdiep by Helderwas 

 formed finally in the 15th century. In 1170 the isthmus between 

 North Holland and Friesland was broken through. In 1250 the 

 sea reached Enkhuizen, engulfing the intervening land where now lies 

 the island of Wieringen. On the 14th of December 1287 the great 

 catastrophe occurred which Hennig thus describes: »extraordinary 

 heavy stormflood in the North Sea causing the loss of more than 80,000 

 human lifes. The sea broke into the s. c. Lacus Flevo forming the 

 present Zuidersee. Simultaneous stormfloods occurred in Norfolk 

 and Suffolk » 7 . 



In support of this version is adduced the fact that there existed 

 in the 10th century (960—985) the flourishing towns Stavoren, on 

 the shore of the »Flie», and Medemblik. It is also noticeable that the 

 name Zuidersee first appears in documents from the year 1340. 

 Before that time the name »Aelmere » had substituted the ancient de- 

 nomination »Lacus Flevo ». According to a private communication 

 from professor van Everdingen in Bilt it seems certain that the 

 part of the Zuidersee south of Enkhuizen was open to navigation from 

 1395. The final stage of the formation of the Zuidersee probably fell 

 in the latter time of the catastrophic age 8 , viz. the 14th century. On 

 account of the innumerable sequences of stormflooods which then de- 

 vastated the Hollandish coast it seems difficult to judge with certain- 

 ty the much debated question of the veracity 9 of the old chronic- 

 les. 



In the 14ht century the coasts of Friesland and Schleswig were 

 exposed to destruction. On this subject much has been written late- 

 ly and I here give a quotation from the last publication on the sub- 

 ject. 



1 As I cannot enter upon the litterature concerning these catastrophes, which is extremely vast, I prefer to follow the latest treatise published in Sweden on this 

 subject by Dr. A. Norlind: »Die geographische Eatwicklung des Rheindeltas », (Lund and Amsterdam 1912). 



2 A Norlind 1. c. p. 235, 236. 



3 This was followed by other floods in 1248, 1249, 1257 (the »Gereonflood ») and 1267 (A. Norlind 1. c. p. 249). 



i A. Norlinds description of this stormflood fills the pages 196 to 204 in his paper: Die geographische Entwicklung des Rheindeltas. 



5 »Die letzte Halfte des 15ten Jahrhunderts war von unhailverkiindenden Vorzelchen fur den siiihollandischen Waard sehr reich gewesen. Es wurde in den Jahren 

 1374 (zweimal) 1376, 1377, 1393, 1396 und 1397 uberschwemmt. Diese Ueberschwemmuagen waren teib vom Plusse tails vom Meere gekommen. Das schwerste Gefahr 

 drohte aber von Seiten des Mseres. Und sie kam in dsutlicher uad einiringlicher GBsialt was alien die nicht blind waren offenbar werden musste ». A. Norlind 1. c. p. 194. 



6 »Est adhuc in mari Groenlandice mirandum quod cingulorum maris nomine venit... oriunfcur tres dscumani fluctus qui totum mare cingunt nullibi pervii, montibus 

 altiores prseuptisque montium jugis admodum similes: raraque prestant exempla eorum qui salvi hsec pericula evaserint» (Specalum Regale). 



7 la Walfords essay — on the Famines of the world (Statisbical Journal sept. 1878 London) we read the following passages: 



Holland: 1283—87, a dreadful storm laid the whole country on both side3 of the Zuidersee under water. To such a height did the water rise that Count Florence 

 took advantage of the circumstance to subdue the inland towns by armed vessels called i>cogs » (Davis' Holland) 



England: 1287. Winter eccesively rainy, great floods 1 Juni. Sea broke in from the Humber to Yarmouth forced by the winds. In December on Suffolk and 

 Norfolks coasts. Plague all the year. 



8 A. Norlind 1. c Dr Norlind who has kindly superseded the preceding description of stormfloods is of the opinion that the climax of the catastrophic epoch 

 fell in the 13 — 14 th century. 



9 On the other hand we ought to be on guard againsb the predisposition common to geographers and meteorologists of the present time to belittle and minimize 

 all historic accounts of phenomena of catastrophic character which S3em to them to be incompatible with every day experience, 



— 15 — 



