This podcast is dedicated to the discovery of America by the Vikings, not through the archaeological basis proven in 1960 on account of discoveries, but through the Icelandic Sagas.
This is important, as we ought to understand that these occurred more or less a millennium ago, they were immediately recorded in the prominent Sagas, meaning the Scandinavian epics and more specifically in the Icelandic ones, and we have with these texts all the references and even though we had them for so many centuries no one believed that they really existed.
Now that we have studied them very carefully, within these Sagas there is a specific Saga consisting of three parts.
The first Saga of this triptych is the Vinland Saga.
It is interesting because Vinland is the name of America at this epoch.
In actual fact when they went from Ireland, then on to Iceland, because of course, they have also come from Norway, and after Iceland they will go through Greenland to the next step which will be America, where they will be in the area which we would now say that it’s in the contact zone of Canada with the United States of America.
What’s substantial is that the first thing they think of as a name for these areas, is to say, where there is grape. Vines, find vines. We ought to understand that these people, because they also had a sense of humor, especially with the issue of naming Greenland, since it is the green country where there is ice everywhere.
Eric, who discovered it, the Red one, named it likewise in order to attract others as well, so that the colony would become bigger with a beautiful name.
We should understand that they come from Iceland, which is the land of ice, then they go to the land of green, and the next country, which represents the continent, the American continent as we now call it, because of Amerigo Vespucci, they discover a country for which the first thing they think of is how fertile this land is, how rich it is.
They see trees everywhere, enormous forests, vines as we said, they also see wheat. All this has occurred in a wild way, i.e. there is no cultivation.
They discover rivers which are full of fish and it is in fact certain for them that at that time, that it represents a form of paradise. It is interesting for us to see that they remain there long enough so that firstly, to meet indigenous peoples.
It is interesting that the first contact is made, we could say almost passively, they just observe each other and watch each other and how they are, and they are surprised by their appearance.
The Icelandic Saga describes the so-called Indians, as we named them latter due to Columbus’ mistake regarding the Indies. They see them more as if they are black. Of course it makes sense because those who were in Ireland and Iceland were pure white.
Therefore, if only they were a little dark they would see them that way.
They assumed that their hair was not combed, that they were not beautiful, but we will see that that changes. Then they will leave again. The Indians come and are described as coming in kayaks in order to find them in the river.
Then they return and make exchanges. Something that will touch the natives will be the red cloth owned by those who came from Greenland and they will exchange it with furs, animal skins, etc.
In fact, the Saga describes that because they did not have enough cloth, they cut it into very thin strips and despite the fact that they were more and more subtle others demanded more and more.
As a result we could say that this was the second contact.
After what is described in the text, is that they will come back again but there will be an attack, we will even have a battle. The explorers ought to leave, they will be saved by chance by a woman who will frighten the indigenous peoples.
It is a woman who is pregnant and she is bare-breasted at that moment with a sword.
I imagine they were taken aback and didn’t know how to describe this event.
But then they understand that they will not be able to stay on this land so they decide to return.
It is interesting to note here that whenever in the Icelandic Saga we see the description of the exploration, they never mention that they are going to the West, which is natural for us when we think of the Atlantic, because they have gone very high up and are in Greenland so they keep describing in the Saga that they go down south, This means that for them the discovery of America is a discovery made toward the south.
And when they finally have problems they say, we went up north again.
Finally the Saga also describes their return. It makes a reference as to how they also observed the greater Ireland and returned to Greenland.
The following two Sagas within the same cycle are essentially devoted to the Greenlanders.
When we observe it and we see the details those people have recorded within this Saga, it’s incredible how dogmatic some can be who didn’t even want to admit that this had occurred and wasn’t merely fiction.
In actual fact Sagas have very few elements of fiction.
They describe reality the way they want to, so essentially in their minds it is a historical record which can also appear technical to some, even scientific we would say, although this terminology may be premature.
That however which is of importance, is that when we read it knowing that it is right, we can see that they describe details which are incredible, and even though these details did exist, we had to wait until the twentieth century in order to do justice to a text that seems to have been created by the memory of Humanity, in order to remain within this text.
And even though everyone else will forget about it and won’t even believe it, the fact that it exists, will at some point of time force some to do research about it.
That is how these researches were carried out and in the 1960s the first archaeological findings on the American continent were found, where it was proven that the Vikings had stayed there, had come into contact with the indigenous peoples and finally were the first to discover the continent.
Therefore this podcast is dedicated to those sailors who dared to do something that is even now, not unthinkable but very very difficult in these seas, in these areas north of the Atlantic.
To be going with their vessels in order to discover new areas, to find another land, something that is more positive for the continuation of their history and then this is recorded so that it is not forgotten.
Because of course they were right, they assumed that it was a feat, an epic which had to remain written in prose, not poetic.
But what matters is that it is a proof that Humanity can find ways to encode memory even within the oblivion of societies.