36 Gustav Норм. 
selves did not regard as Vinland, for Thorhall’s, as well as Karlsefni’s 
voyages, the year before issued from there “ok leita svå Vinlands”. 
It is written in the ancient Icelandic manuscript AM. No. 194, that 
Karlsefni sallied forth “to seek Vinland the Good, and came there where 
they supposed this land was, but they did not acquire any knowledge 
of it, nor obtained any of its products” (p. 18). It sounds very uncertain ! 
It can neither be Straumsfjord nor the surroundings of Hop that Karls- 
efni did not get to know, and from which he did not obtain the country’s 
products, as he was there for some time; and when there is written 
that they supposed they had reached Vinland one can certainly take 
it for granted that it was not the country discovered by Leif. 
Although Karlsefni never reached it and never thought that he 
had refound Leif’s Vinland, it is very likely that Northmen and later 
Saga narrators have called the whole newly discovered country, Karls- 
efni’s as well as Leif’s, for Vinland, with the same right as the whole 
is now called America, and as we now call the world’s biggest island, 
from south to north Greenland, because Eric the Red gave this name 
to the country he discovered saying “it will encourage people to go 
there when the country has an enticing name’’?). 
CONCLUSION 
To conclude with, I will remark, that we only know to a certainty 
that the Northmen visited America’s mainland twice. The first time it 
was Leif Ericsson who on his return voyage from Norway to Greenland 
was blown out of his course to the country. He landed and found self- 
sown wheat-fields and vines and “mosur’’; and related on his return 
of the fertility of the country. The land was called Vinland. 
The second voyage started from Greenland under the charge of 
Thorfinn Karlsefni. It was an expedition composed of several ships, 
the aim of which was to seek Vinland the Good and explore it. Having 
learnt through the experience of Thorstein Ericsson’s voyage, under- 
taken the year before, they did not take the direction from which 
Leif came, but crossed Davis Strait at a more northern latitude 
and reached Bjarneyja. From there they sailed to Helluland whence 
they tried to follow the coast southwards as they believed in that manner 
they ought to be able to find Leif’s Vinland. They first reached Mark- 
land and then Furdustrands. They then sailed into Straumsfjord where 
they unloaded the ships and wintered. 
The winter was severe, and they were not prepared for it; but when 
the spring came there was good fishing and hunting. Karlsefni and 
1) Gronl. hist. Mindesm. I. p. 169. 
