The morning call., 1892-10-21

! eventually on the eastern Sn0reS OF lnlS
country.
| Thus the presence of Christianity on the
Atlantic coast on the occasion of Ari Mar
sons shipwre ok there in 982 can be satisfac-
| torily accounted for.
| 1t may, however, have be en- that the faith
had been introduced into the country at
much earlier period. For as carly as the
eighth century the islands in the North At
| lantic Ocean were inhabited by nu-
| merous solitaries who were subse-
quenny expelled by the northern brig
ands, and who. like their Icelandic
brethren. sought more peaceful regions.
My authority for this statement is the Alb
] Dot Dleuii, who wrote about the year $685.
| In his work, "Llber de Mensura Orbls
Terra" copy OF which is in the Imperial
Library of France, the following passage
| occurs: There are many other Islands in
| the North Atlantic Ocean which from the
| Shetands may be easily reached with fair
] wind in a couple OF days. Some of
| these islands. which are small, ** were
| inhabited about 100 years ago by hermits
| from Ireland. But as from the beginning
| of the world they had been uninhabted
so also now, on account Of the northern
brigands. are they deserted by the an
| chorets."
Either then from Iceland or from these
islands it is fair to presume that Christian
| ity found its way into this country. 1t may,
| indee d, have been introduced directly from
| Ireland, for, as we have seen in the quota
| ton given from the saga. c0dex b. no,
| There was sailing formerly from Ireland
| Ito Vinlandl; there Irishmen aud Iceland
| ers recognized Arr. the son of Mar and
| Rata of Reykjanes." And the erudite
| Rasmus Anderson, professor of Scandiuav-
| ian languages in the University of Wiscon-
| sin, referring to this. says: "This state
ment, therefore, shows that in those times
| "a. ID. 9S3) there was an occasional inter-
course between the western part of Eu-
| rope Ghe Orkneys and Ireland) and the
| Great Ireland, or White Mans Land of
| America"
| 1t is even thought Iceland was first colon
| lied by Ifishmen from this country. IAN
| opinion has been advanced" says the
learned Won Humboldt in his Cosmos, "by
| some northern antiquarians. that as in the
| oldest Icelandic documents the first i1habit-
ants of the island are called West men who
| had come across the sea-, etc.. Iceland was
| not at first peupled directly from Europe,
but from Virginia and Carolina Great Ire
land, the American White Mems Land by
Irshmen who had earlier emigrated to
| America" Be that. however, as it may it
| is certain. unless the authority Of the sagas
! is to be entirely set aside. that the Irish were
| the first to form settlements on the At
| lantic coast. I'm the oldest sagas,"
| says the last-men toned writer, "the his
| torica narratives Of Thorfinn Kaslefne and
| the Iceandic Landnama book these south
| ern coasts lying between Virginia and
| Florida are designated under the name Of
| the land of the white men. They are ex-
| pressly called Great Ireland Qrland-it-
| Mikla), and 1t Is maintained that they were
/ peopled by the Irish"
Unless this be admitted there is no other
way of satisfactorily accounting for the
| name. Hence the antiquarian, Beamisb,
very appositely asks: From what cause
| could the name Great Ireland have arisen
| bu. from the fact of the country having
| been coloniZed by the Irish? Coming
| from their own green island to a west con-
tnent possessing many fertile qualities of
| their native soil, the appellation would have
been natural and appropriate; and costume,
color or peculiar habits might have readily
| given rise to the country being denominated
| White Mans Land"
There is still another wav of accounting
| for the introduction of Christianity into
| this country at very early period. That
| is by connecting 1t with the missionary ex-
| petition of Barrinthus and Mernoc, who
| preceded ST. Brendan in the sixth century
| and who are supposed to have landed on
| the Atlantic coast Although there is no
| positive historical evidence in favor OF
the reality Of either Barrinthus or
/ Brendsn's voyage to this country,
| yet these missionary expeditions are
not entirely as mythical as some might be
| inclined to suppose. For during centuries
before Columbus time the tradition Of
| Brendan's voyage existed through EuropP-
And in the thirteenth century it was made
the subject OF the poem called the Golden
| Legend" by the Bishop of Genoa, Jacobus
Voraginius. In the map. too. drawn up for
Columbus prior to his voyage of discovery
| by Toscanelli of Florence ST. Brendan's
land was expressly marked.
But whether Christianity was introduced
| into this country by Barrinthus or Brendan
or the Irish from Iceland or the Faroes. one
thing is beyond all manner of dispute,
which is that the Christian religion was on
the Atlantic coast before the end of the
tenth century. That. however, it never
took very deep root In the soil there are
very reasonable grounds for believing.
been made between the end of the tenth
and the beginning of the twelfth century,
inasmuch as in the year 1112 Erick Upsi
was appointed by Pope Paschal II as
Bishop of Iceland. Greenland and Vinland.
the title of his see being that of Carda in
Greenland.
Nine years later. in 1921 this prelate re-
paired to Vinland after having, as is thought,
resigned his charge in Greenland and Ice
land. What his subsequent career NAV
have been and how the Christian colony
over which he presided became extinct there
are now no means OF determining and likely
never will be, unless. indeed, a more
thorough examination Of the Icelandic
writings, to which l have referred,
should possibly throw some light on the
subject.
1t may now be asked how the communi-
cation which had existed between Iceland
and Vinland, from the tenth to the four
teenti centuries, became entirely inter-
rupted about century and half before
the time of Columbus. The only reason
able explanation that can be offered for
this is the extraordinary depopulation
Of the Scandinavian nations by the
horrible plague that ragged uninter-
rup:edly through the countries OF Eu-
rope between 1S47 and 1851. In Norway
alone the population was reduced from be-
tween two and three millions to about three
hundred thousand. Countries thus DIM
inished in population to such an extent had
no need OF seeking foreign settlements,
they had all that their requirements de-
manded at home, and accordingly commune
cation ceased with the outer world.
From what has now been said ii WILL I
hope. be regarded as satisfactorily eonelu-
sive by the impartial reader that centuries
before Columbus time the Norsemen were
acquainted with the existence of this coun-
try, and that the Christian religion had
found q home here. In the words of thn