Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1892-01-22
TVoL. LVIl.

Ineligible to his readers, he would not
have employed it to elucidate his Green
land chronicle. Arts writings, more
oyer, are not the only remains of early
Icelandic literature outside of the Sagas
which describe in detail the discovery
in which Vineland is mentioned. There
is an allusion to it in the manuscript
known as Friis Book, which according
to DR.. Vigfusson was written as early
as 12G0-S0. Referring to the date 1000,
this manuscript records "Wineland the
Good found. That summer King Olaf
sent Left to Greenland to proclaim
Christianity there. He sailed that sum-
mer to Greenland. He found in the sea
men upon wreck and helped them.
Then found he also Wineand the Good
and arrived in the autumn at Green
land" Almost identical with this
record in the account of the discovery
in the so called longer Saga of Olaf
Tryggvason occurring in manuscript
dating from about the year HOO. The
passage runs: liking Olaf then a. ID.
1000 sent Left Ericsson to Greenland
to proclaim Christianity. Left sailed
that summer to Greenland. He rescued
a ships crew at sea who were in great
peril, and on this same voyage he found
Wneland the Good, and at the end of
the summer arrived in Greenland"
Again, in the Colectanea of Middle-age
wisdom, manuscript written partly
in Icelandic and partly in Latin, between
the years l400-l450, it is stated that
''southward from Greenland is Helu-
land, then is MARYLAND thence it is not
far to Wineland the Good.
Left the the Lucky first found Green
land" The same geographical position
is assigned to Vneland in the yellum
fragment numbered ,73G in the Arna-
Magnaean Library: "From Greenland
to the southwark lies Helluland, then
MARYLAND; thence it is not far to Wine
land" So, too, in another vellum
fragment, probably written about the
year 400, it is said "South from Green
land lies Helluand, then MARYLAND:
thence it Is not far to Nineland" The
Eyrbyggia Saga, the oldest extant
manuscript, remains of which date back
to about the year 1900, has the follow
ing words: "After the reconciliation
between Steinhor and the people of
Alpta-firth, Thorbrand's sons, Snorri
and Thorleif, went to Greenland. Snor-
ri went to Wineland the Good with
karlsefni, and when they were fighting
with the Skrellings there in Wineland
Thorbrand Snorrason, a most valiant
man, was killed. In the Icelandic
Annals, also, the oldest of which is
supposed to have been written in the
south of Ireland about the year l2SO,
mention is made of Vineland: Under
the year 112l it is recorded that "Bishop
Eric Uppsi sought Wineland." The
same entry is found in other chronicle
gical lists.
Here, then, are large nu..hr of
purely historical References ~ the
: Morse discovery of America set down in
such manner as to indicate that the
knowledge of the fact was widely diff
fused. Most of them are earlier in date
than the three Sagas which Mr.. Ban
croft and Mr.. Winsor imagine to have
been the sole witnesses to the reality of
the voyages to Nineland. They con-
firm the statements of those Sagas; but,
taken by themselves, they would suf-
flee to establish the truth of the discov-
cry although the Sagas had never been
written. 1t is well that this fact should
be put beyond question in the year
1892, when the equally accidental dis
covery of the New World by Columbus
is to be commemorated.- New York
Sun.