Note that some of the connections I present here are very loose; some may not exist at all. It's all about the journey!
Let's start with ICELAND!
Leif the Lucky Bridge
The bridge between continents. Specifically, the bridge represents a link between the Eurasian and North American techtonic plates, so that you can walk from one continent to another. Sort of.
Skalholt
Skalholt, in Iceland's southern region, from a distance looks like a fairy tale village. The religious settlement has been in existence since at least the 11th century.
The modern cathedral church is built on the site of several earlier versions and over a medieval crypt which currently serves as a museum. It's cool! A secret passageway (below) leads from the crypt outdoors to the site of the old ecclesiastical school. The tunnel may have had a variety of uses, including quick ingress or egress during rough times. (Skalholt is famous as the site of a violent and dramatic event in 1550 when the last Catholic bishop from Iceland's north was beheaded along with his two sons. A memorial a few steps from the current church marks the spot.)
Some of the remnants of the ecclesiastical school, dormitories, and store roooms uncovered by archaeologists immediately adjacent to the church.
An 18th century diagram of the Skalholt ecclesiastical community.
The tunnel exit.
Monument to the martyred bishop Jon Arason and his sons, executed in 1550. It's a long story.
A recreation of a sod church at Skalholt.
Skalholt's connection to our project is the Skalholt Map, a 16th century resident scholar's attempt to make geographic sense of the Norse sagas and other sources describing the voyages to Vinland. Unlike some other maps, the Skalholt Map is considered geniune, although only copies exist today. This map pinpoints Vinland (Promotorium Winlandia) at what most scholars believe is Newfoundland.
Lagerbrekke
A windswept spot on the Icelandic Coast, as they all are, on the Snaefellness Peninsula features a monument to the remarkable woman, Gudridur Thorbjarnardottir, the sister-in-law of Leif Erickson and the mother of the first European child born in the New World, Snorri. Probably. Both are depicted in a Viking ship in this small statue.
Detail of above.
Lava rock walls frame the monument.
Eiriksstadir
We visited the archaeological site Eiriksstadir where one can see remnants of structures built by Erik the Red, father of Leif Erikson, as well as re-created longhouse.
The view down to the fjord from Eiriksstadir, "Erik's Homestead, at Haukadel, "Hawk Valley," which is also the name of the lake.
Inside Eiriksstadir, a recreation of a Viking longhouse spitting distance from the footprint of the house built and occupied by Erik the Red. It is likely that Lief was born at this place, about AD 974, before the family decamped for Breidafjord and, later, Greenland.
The firepit.
A knowledgeable and entertaining costumed interpreter gives us the low-down. We agree to meet at L'anse aux-Meadows.
Monument to Leifur Eiriksson.
Plan of the archaeological site, and, below, my husband photographs something in the weeds.
The sod house recreation of Eiriksstadir
Frambudir
Talk about "remnants!" A wide spot on a little-trodden trail along the cliffs at Budir features traces of old fishing huts. Frambudir was a seasonal fishing station dating back to medieval times. The whole area around Budir is pockmarked with old ruins and pits. Watch your step! The lush landscape of wildflowers easily disguises them.
And on to Hawaii!
Like Iceland, Oahu is a volcanic island with plenty of lava for building walls. Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau, the remnants of a 17th century temple. Reportedly, two or three of George Vancouver's men were killed here in 1794, possibly as human sacrifices.
Locals still make offerings at the shrine.
Regulars.
A recreated voyaging canoe, Hokule'a, has established a strong possibility that Polynesians sailed to the Hawaiian Islands possibly as early as 1500 years ago -- and perhaps farther?
Model of a voyaging canoe in the Bishop Museum, Honolulu. This modern model was inspired by Hokule'a.
The real Hokule'a, sails furled, as close as we could get on a grey day, at the Marine Education Training Center in Honolulu.
Newfoundland: In the steps of Leif
We make it to L'Anse aux Meadows. This was the end goal of our trip to Newfoundland in July 2018. L'Anse sits on the northern tip of this island. There is good evidence to support the theory that this was the site of Leif Erikson's Vinland, as detailed in the Icelandic sagas. While some still dispute this, the government of Canada found enough proof in the archaeological site uncovered in the early 1960s to create a national park here, complete with replica buildings.
The recreated forge which, in reality, stood some distance away from the collection of sod huts.
"Workshop/Atelier"
Depressions in the earth indicate the site of structures dating to the early 11th century.
L'Anse aux Meadows sits adjacent to a not particularly sheltered bay of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. For the Norse, who navigated by sight, it was more important that they be able to spot the settlement from the sea than that they be protected from storms.
"Dwelling and wood working"
"Dwelling, ship repair, and iron forging"
Leif is honored with a statue on the seashore a few kilometers from L'Anse.
Imagine our surprise, upon reading the plaque, to find that this statue is a replica of one on Seattle's Shilshole Bay and donated to the citizens of Newfoundland by a group of Seattleites! The plaque, pictured below, lists The Swedish Club of Seattle, David Johnson of Seattle, and various Sons of Norway.
All photos in this bit: Alan Humphrey.
The original Leif Statue, Shilshole Bay, Seattle. Replicas were provided to L'Anse aux Meadows, Trondheim, Norway, and Brattahlid, Greenland, all places associated with Leif the Lucky.
I love the Norse-inspired etchings of the Seattle monument.
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