Did the vikings ever make it as far as America?

Question

I was just wondering after watching the film Pathfinder

Answer 1

There is evidence, both in Icelandic sagas and archaeological finds that show that Norsemen did reach North America. The trouble is that there are also many fakes and misinterpretations of evidence as well.

The Kensington Rune Stone is fake. The Vinland Map is probably fake, and the"Viking Tower" in Newport, Rhode Island is a Dutch construct from the 17th century. However the finds at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland are acknowledged to be genuine, certain features of the North American coast correspond with descriptions in sagas, and with some allowances for hyperbole and whitewashing, the Sagas can generally be trusted for the broader historical context.

The generally accepted chronology is this:

Around 986, Bjarni Herjulfson gats blown off course trying to get to Greenland, sights the New World, but does not land, instead working his way up the coast until he gets back to Greenland.

Leif Ericson buys Bjarni's boat and, in 1003, goes to the new world, lands three times (in places he calls Helluland, Markland, and Vinland), and goes home.

In 1004 Thorvald Ericson (Leif's brother) brings a settlement to Vinland and dies in a skirmish with the natives. They return in 1007.

In 1010 Thorfinn Karlsefni attempts to establish a new colony, and is alleged to have fathered the first "white christian" born in North America. Much discord, ensued however, and the survivors withdrew, albeit with much wealth

Later expeditions to Vinland and Markland for wood were made, as Greenland had little wood and American wood was very good.

A better movie about the Norsemen in the New World is "Kilian's Chronics, aka "The Magic Stone "(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110258/). A worse movie is "The /Norseman" with Lee Majors and about half of the Oakland Raiders (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078007/).

Incidentally, "Olefas" (English title: "Pathfinder") the movie that inspired "Pathfinder," is very good and an accurate depiction of Norse culture (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093668/).

Answer 2

The had great Public Relations experts working for them. Seriously. The Vikings were remarkably well organized and understood the value of shock tactics. In pushing beyond their land they themselves spread the word that they were a mean nasty bunch who would plunder rape & destroy anyone who resisted therefore many communities surrendered quickly hoping for mercy which some received while others did not. A lot depended on the needs of the Viking band/tribe involved. Many Viking conquests were actually 'peacefull' compared to the fanciful tales spun on the silver screen. A communitty would put up a token resistance, mainly a small bunch of those old crusty types who 'never surrender.' They would be killed, and then the more sensible types huddling behind log walls would wave a white sheet and say 'gee, we're sorry, we surrender.' Pillage & rape were the taxes of the time whereas modern Americans might moan about 'taking it up the wahzo-ola' when the IRS takes a chunk of their wage back in Viking times they did have to take it up the wahzo-ola.' Same deal different methods.. But the Vikings were proud of their ability to wage War and eagerly spread tales of carnage & rape. Stories were told, songs sung, and so Viking Desecrations have become part & parcel of folk lore. Truth at the core but no cotinuous bloody warfare even a Viking wanted time to laugh & love and raise their families and much of the reason they conquered a lot of turf was too create a peacefull place for their families for they trusted their own leadership for maintaining law & order. Considering the times inviolved the Vikings were not all that more blood thirtsy but since the Vikings adopted Christianity they became civilized enough to record their deeds for future generations to read. In becoming civilized the Danes & Swedes & Norsemen preserved their violent history as a reminder of the past with a hope for a more peaceful future. Peace........ // -------- o . u . o --------- \\ PS the Vikings were not poor folks preying on rich folks. the Danish Pennisula was/is a breadbasket and Norway and Sweden harvest the Ocean and though the land might be harsh in Winter, a short Summer prompts the growth of fruit trees & berries and other crops. The Vikings also had minreal resources which they learned to utilize.

Answer 3

Leif Erickson (son of Erik the Red) led the expedition to Vinland (what the Vikings called North America) along with his sister Freyja Eriksdotter. Vikings explored further than most cultures of their time, Kiev, Rome, Iceland, Greenland, Vinland were all locations that Vikings visited. Viking means "to set sail for profit"

Pathfinder was a poor depiction of Vikings or east coast Native Americans. The 13th Warrior, despite the prop inaccuracies, was a much better depiction of Viking/Norse life and mind set.

Answer 4

YES
http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/start.html

Answer 5

Yes, if we were to believe the facts that have been found along the Labrador coastline, a village they're now in the process of digging up.
We're assuming they were the early vikings, much earlier then 1000 though, maybe 600 or even earlier.
Quite possibly they were the ones that traveled up the St Lawrence seaway and down the Great lakes, to leave the "Ruin stones" along the Wisconsin shoreline, they're anchors. The Indians legends are full of "wild men" coming from the Northeast.

At the time, there was a vast drought and the Vikings looked far and wide for a hospitable place to settle down, along with the trouble they brought with them, being in exile.

Answer 6

Many artifacts have been found as stated above. Also in the late 1300s Henery Sinclair made a supposed voyage to Nova Scotia. Guided by the Zeno brothers(Italian). It is rumored they buried a treasure on Oak Island(Off the coast of Nova Scotia). Henery Sinclair was an honorary Danish prince and he was associated with The Masons(Knights Templar's). The Zeno brothers were related to Christopher Columbus's Wife. So There were voyages in between the Vikings and Columbus Besides Amerigo Vespeuchi

Answer 7

Geographically, Kiev sits at the centre of Europe and is an entirely various earth but it's simple to it better if you start from with hotelbye . Kiev could be the capital of Ukraine and is the absolute most beautiful town of all post soviet countries. It is really a town of all you least expect. Kiev is a historical city where old meets new and east matches west. One of the points you can see in Kiev is the St. Cyrill's Monastery. This monastery was entirely off-the-beaten track. That small church can be as old as time, dating back once again to 12th century. Paintings of the popular Mikhail Vrubel take you into a different world. And the truth that the Monastery is away from the key tourist websites in Kyiv is likely to make the ability much more humbling and inspirational.

Answer 8

Yes. About the year 1000, Leif Ericsson and crew landed in what is now L'anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. Over the next few years, several expeditions to what the "Vikings" - the word means "raider" and these people were not raiders- called Vinland (Land of wine) were undertaken in an effort to settle. They were not exiles. Leif's father was an exile, but he never came to Vinland. Leif's sister came several years later. It was her expedition that encountered trouble with the natives when one of them tried to steal from the Norsemen at a peaceful trade meeting. "Pathfinder" is a horrible attempt to blame all the world's ills on whitey, while all the other people of the world are good and noble. Rubbish. The Vinlander Saga tells the story as close to the original as we can get.

Answer 9

They weren't "ruin stones", they were rune stones and they could (and did) easily sail from the Norseland. There was no ice covering the north Atlantic, then or now. Greenland is called Greenland because it was actually a green land when they found it and, from what I have read, the vikings disappeared from there because that particular "ice age" caught them unaware and unprepared. And, by the way, there has never been a movie put out by Hollywood that contains a lot of facts, interferes with their agenda.

Answer 10

Actually, authentic Norse artifacts have been found near Blue Hill Maine. It probably wasn't a long-term settlement, maybe just a short-term camp during an expedition south from the settlements in Canada. But this shows that they made it not only to North America, but also far enough south to make it to the current United States.