The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-03-07
SOME NEW BOOKS.
Red Eric In wineIana the Good.


In the earlier quarters of the last
century. a period OF some intellectual
unrest in New England which repre-
scented the highest thought life Of this
country. there developed q spirit OF
criticism Of accepted beliefs and stand
ard opinions. The apparatus Of criti-
cism was as yet imperfect. The main
point in thus recalling that stage of
learning is to draw attention to the
xact that there was a spirit of de-
struction OF cherished view. A phase
Of this unrest was that Christopher
Columbus was brought to bar and his
position as the d~iscoverer OF the New
World denied. H1om obscure sources
in English records Cabot was advanced
to the priority OF the discovery of
North America. From Scandinavian
sources a much earlier Viking dis
covery was proposed.
The first definite statement Of this
claim was advanced by Torfaus in
1705. His work was lacking in his
torical method, his use OF the saga
material was uncritical. he made no
attempt to present the ba sic docu-
ments for the assistance of his readers.
But in 1887 RAIN in the "A%ntiquitates
Americana made out a strong case
for the Norsemen sailing westward
out OF Iceland to the American conti-
nent. He was the first to present IN
PRINT the text Of the documents from
which the Information might be de-
rived In a process Of critical examina-
ton. Immediately after the publica-
49, AZ ehta .SAAt 0vnSts Nyo., Lv--yaaA
took up the problem with considera-
bic Avidity in academic circles. Sew
go remains OF an uncertain past 10
became Of Importance, the stone mill
u Newport was at once attributed to
ne Norsemen and TO II was adjusted
che highly mythical discovery Of the
skeleton In armor which afforded
&onsfeilow . theme, tho Dishton Rock
Vao read In terms Of runic inscrip-
Non end at Cambridge certain ruins
end graves were laid to q Viking
origin. Now that the situation has
been cleared Of the animosities Of
archaeological polemics which ragged
Tor many years We may find the sub
3eot moet exhauStively and satisfac-
eeriiy Studied in the work OF Prof.
!WnLiAN HovoAARp Of the Massachu-
0stts Institute Of Technology. The Voy-
oGes Of the NoSsemen to America (The
American = Scandinavian Foundation.
New York;.
The work VA In preparation at the
same time as Fridtjof Nansen's "In
Northern Mists." and for the reason
that the latter came first to print
with . highly minute treatment Of the
whole problem Prof. Hovgaard has
expanded his work beyond It's original
purpose in order that he may take ad-
vantage of the opportunity to review
Nansen's presentation OF the theme.
Prof. Hovgaard is ~singularly well
equipped for the discussion OF the nau-
tical problems which nus be salts
~factorily interpreted before We can
adjust the results to geographical dis
cover record. Before assuming his
academic position at the head of the
department OF naval construction in
Boston ne had served in the Danish
navy up to the ranl. of Commander
and had acquired expert familiarity
with the oceanic conditions OF Ice
land, Greenland and the Labrador
seas. He is thus equipped TO read the
WIN mari fS II ne StEdS III leT1IlS
W seamanship, by which acne they
can be made TO yield an important
record.
.Nansan's recent work approaches
.ne subject of Wineianu the Good
through the dissection of the ancient
and MEDIEVAL myths of a western land
beyond the Pillars OF Hercules. At
inntis, the Fortunate Isles, Hy-Brasai,,
st. Brendan's Isle. This is a very inn
Portant line of approach, a most en-
irancing theme. Yet for purposes of
geographical determination there is
much more of value in Prof. How
CARDS approach. He starts his in
quiry with an examination Of the
viking long ship preserved at COX
stad in Norway and introduces his in
depreciation of the sagas with the
statement, Before discussing the navi-
cation Of the Norscmen we shall con-
slider briefly the means at their dis
posal for making their extended voy-
ages across the ocean, He reports
fully the construction of his impor-
eAnt marine relic OF the past, for
tupate,y so we'll preserved. lie de-
VFVes from the peculiar naval archi-
lecture Of this vessel which was built
for war the structure Of the slower
and more seaworthy cargo vessels in
which the Norsemen ventured far or
the northern ocean to Iceland. AS a
professor Of naval construction he is
alert to recognize a feature which
mast be held critical in the life and
oeaworthiness Of such crazy craft
namely, tho freedom from rigidity OBJ
tained through tho use Of witty lash
1ngs instead Of %treenails in all the i'm
portant fastenings. as of ribs 10 keel
beams to ribs and s~uperadded knees
supporting the topsides. He has failed
to observe a most interesting parable
In q contemporary race Of navigators
ecantily developed in culture whose
voyage bravery even excels that OF
che Vikings; the reference IL TO the
P%oiynesians. whose great seagoint
canoes Of the catamaran type are put
together wholly with sennit lashing'
Of coir fibre, q type of construction
apparently derived from them by thu
Malayans in their prahu. yet less ar
tistically employed.
In tho discussion OF the problems
Of construction and h method o.
overcoming them displayed in thu
Gokstad ship he establishes as fac
that by the end Of the first millennium
or our era the Scandinavian people
were in possession OF vessels which
5000 a-1 anita canal 1n n