Vinland

Vínland Regions - Leifsness, Veizkmǫrk, Torskland

4.25% of Cape Breton Island is Vinlandic

13.15% of Prince Edward is Vinlandic

The Vinlanders originally settled south of Nova Scotia, but hostility and the distance from Greenland led them to establish a colony in Newfoundland which had less hostile natives and was closer to Norse camps in Markland and Greenland

Leif sponsored several Vinland colonial expeditions and Norse settlements gradually sprung up in Eastern and Western Newfoundland, while the interior remained largely Beothuk

The Vinlanders also established colonies in Rostungey(Madeleines), Nova Scotia, Prince Edward and Anticosti(Major trade center)

When colonialism began, the Vinlanders sponsored more colonies in Cape Breton and Prince Edward,

The Wabanaki supported French settlements in the St Lawrence basin to protect from the Mohawk

They were involved in the French-Indian War on the side of the French as they feared British influence

Their loss resulted in the Nova Scotian territories being given to the Brits

——

The French minorities of the Canadian Maritimes are now replaced with Vinlandic, although a French minority does exist in all of them except in Vinland proper, although some French migrants did bring the language with them.

There is a Mikmaq population in Vinland descendant from colonial era settlers. They are considered Aboriginal for the censuses but do not have protected status as they are not native to Newfoundland

——

The Vinlanders set up a lawspeaker and a althing. The office of lawspeaker was elective, and he and the chieftain/king presided over an althing. They also had chieftains which were elected at an althing. The lawspeaker could also be the chieftain. *goði -*chieftain

Vinlanders disliked the concept of a king and a centralized authority but they had a national legislature and a well defined legal system for the entire country. Based on relationships between goði(chiefs) and free farmers or bóndi. Bændr were never bound to any particular godhi(who helped advocacy and settle disputes) and could choose from around fifty to sixty godhi at a time. If a chieftain did not manage his chieftaincy satisfactorily, it could lead to farmers leaving for other stronger ones.

There were several things, but most important was althing which was the annual meeting of all godhar and brought hundreds of people every summer.

Vinland attracted colonists fleeing from political domination, even as Greenland fell under Norwegian rule. They were skeptical of organized religion and were communal in sharing resources.

They survived off of the cod of the Great Banks and the largest towns were in the Avalon Peninsula, with Placentia(Góðstaðr in Vinlandic, Fine Place) becoming the future capital. They did not have much wheat, but they thrived off of linseed and other plants. Cattle, sheep and goats were incredibly important and cheese, milk, whey and other dairy products were highly important.

Leaders responsible for decision making and subsidizing poorer farms in bad years. The chieftains held power only as long as they could effectively lead

Lack of understanding of organized religion, and the largest farmers served as priests. No priests to perform baptisms, marriages, burials and no sacraments(wheat and wine were somewhat available from export from Mainland Vinlandic settlements; Litla Vínland and Vínland it Mikla for Newfoundland and the Mainland respectively). They were under the Bishop of Greenland

Vådmal wool like in Greenland was the main clothing, with turf and stone houses. Marginal farmlands so mostly fishing and hunting. Bog iron into crude iron blooms at hearth pits(Newfoundland).

The decreased freedom caused by trading limits imposed by Norway in the 1290s forced many Greenlanders south to Vinland unrestricted by Norwegian shipping regulations.

Many people in the Western Settlement abandoned it for America in 1342, settling in Vinland

—

The Vinlandic settlements continued to grow, especially in Newfoundland. There the Norse established towns and cities, with mainland settlements trading valuable wheat and wine.

They often sailed north to Greenland and Iceland where they sold such products

Though Norway effectively claimed rule of Vinland and even sent a representative to Góðstaðr, the Vinlanders were nominally independent and did not adopt much of the trappings and changes of Europe.

A slow trickle of exports remained north to Greenland, keeping the Greenlandic colony alive until deteriorating conditions couldn’t be sustained by trade from further south and the last of the Greenlanders either headed eastwards to Northwestern Iceland or south to Vinland.

Knowledge of these northern territories remained however, and there was sporadic visits by English and Basque sailors to Greenland, while Vinlanders sometimes headed north to Greenland and Iceland as well. However the bulk of the previous trade was lost and the Vinlanders were rather isolated from the rest of Europe

Eventually Columbus would arrive in the New World in 1492, and with it the forces of mainland Europe. Vinland was visited in 1497 by Cabot. At this point Vinland had been isolated from Europe for more than forty years.

English sailors began to arrive and settle at fishing spots in the area. This attracted foreign countries, and as the traders sprung up, Denmark reasserted its claims to the Vinland territories, and aimed at sending colonists to the New World.

This was met with hostility from the Vinlanders, and with support from the English they were able to effectively resist Danish occupation and a battle off the coast of the Avalon Peninsula prevented the Danes from encroaching on Vinland

Vinland became an unofficial protectorate of England, and under English influence began to modernize much like Portuguese Kongo. They elected a king from the lineage of Karlsefni (who settled at Straumsey by Straumfjǫrð(Bay of Fundy) and consolidated control with the help of the English, who they allowed to establish a settlement at Pierre and Miquelon.

Much like the Kongo, they would become wary of the English who began to develop much of an interest in Vinland

The Vinlanders slowly began annexing its colonies as they centralised on the capital at Godstadr. The Vinlandic realm encompassed much of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Anticosti and several on the eastern coast of Quebec.

These early settlements came into contention with the French who also established settlements in Nova Scotia and the St Lawrence River. The St. Lawrence River and Nova Scotia were disputed territory between the two

Eventually, wary of the growing English influence( their bishops and priests were largely English as the aristocracy began to lean towards England and English fishermen began to settle on the western coast with English bishops and priests), after an English backed coup toppled the King of Vinland and replaced him with a pro-English monarch, Vinland joined the Seven Years War on the side of the French

Unfortunately after a disastrous defeat, the French gave up claims to Quebec (and Louisiana was transferred to Spain, although this time early French colonists resulted in a much more French-speaking Louisiana), Spain gave up Western Florida and Vinland relinquished all its territories beyond the island of Newfoundland to Britain in 1763

Vinland at this point became little more than a puppet state by Britain until it was officially annexed in the 1813 Bathurst Constitution when the monarchy was dissolved and the territory was annexed into the Province of Newfoundland which became a dominion in 1907, officially the Kingdom of Vinland gradually becoming more independent until 1982 when they passed the Constitution Act. Vinlanders were British citizens until 1949 when the Statute of Westminster was adopted, a British law which said that no laws passed in the British Parliament would automatically be law in former British colonies.

Although a plebiscite was set for incorporation into Canada, the Dominion of Newfoundland elected for independence and officially became Vinland on March 31, 1949.

The country remains a member of both the Commonwealth and the Nordic Council, with Queen Elizabeth as Head of State. The Newfoundland Coat of Arms was changed to reflect the flag, which was now a Nordic cross on a field of purple, for wine and the grapes that gave the land its name

Litla Vínland - Newfoundland

Vínland it Mikla/ Vínland hið mikla- New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

Flag

Proportions 3:5

Violet - #40104c

White -#ffffff

10% of the population speak English natively, mostly in the Enskeyjar (St. Pierre and Miquelon)(Enskey,) Grœnnvík(Green Bay, northern edge of Torskland/Avalon peninsula)

English Vinlanders call themselves “Newfoundlanders” or “Newfies”

The French speaking areas in modern Newfoundland are English in this TL. Mostly on the Southwestern coast of the island often called the English Shore or “Enskastrandir”

Lognness(Port au Port) p

English is not an official language, but it is widely taught in schools. Much like Quebec, it is often believed that Vinlandic language policy is controversially discriminatory. Signs must have a Vinlandic translation and all towns must have Vinlandic equivalents

## **Vinland Coat of Arms**

Originally it was a golden grape vine on a red field, but it was replaced by a crowned chalice in 1501 after reannexation by Denmark-Norway

The chalice was replaced by the current White cross on a purple field in 1907 when Vinland became a dominion, with the flag being changed as well into a purple Nordic Cross

## **Vinlandic Cuisine**

Wheat is grown in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for export north

Barley and rye are the major staples especially for Newfoundland

Angelica - medicine and herb(such as in filleted fish), cooked as a vegetable or salad

Sugar maple - Snavei, Sap boiled into syrup, and a beverage tea was made from the bark and twigs, Used as cooking broth

Common Milkweed - The young shoots, stems, flower buds, immature fruits, and even the roots were boiled and eaten as a vegetable The Micmac cooked the young pods and flowers with meat

Sweetflag - Kisvasrót - Rootstocks used to make a beverage and medicinal tea. Tubers eaten raw, or more commonly boiled or roasted

Wild leek

Wild sarsaparilla - beverage

Jerusalem artichoke

Lambsquarters, Pigweed or Goosefoot - Leaves and plants eaten as green, edible greens and seeds. The young plants were cooked as a potherb

Ma’susi’l, Ostrich Fern, Strúzferja- The young vegetative shoots, or "fiddleheads," and sometimes the entire crown, were traditionally eaten, boiled or roasted, as a spring vegetable

Common dandelion

Eastern Hemlock - The inner bark of was grated and eaten by the Micmac of the Maritimes, and the bark was also used as a beverage and medicinal tea

Butternut - nuts used

References: https://novascotia.ca/nse/ea/gaetz-brook-wind-farm/Appendix-E.pdf

https://novascotia.ca/nse/ea/meks/Mi%27kmaq-Ecological-Knowledge-Study.pdf

## **Veizka mál**

https://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/10.0001009#\_i4 - Michif vowels(likely ö, y > e, i)

http://lingpapers.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2019/11/WSCLA\_8\_Papen.pdf - Michif French phonological vowel changes

## **Vinland Settlements**

The Vinlanders slowly expanded down the coast establishing trading outposts as far south as North Carolina and west into the Great Lakes.

The farthest extent of Viking explorations was Florida, though they never seemed to round it from the Sagas. In the west the Norse established trading outposts in the Great Lakes much like in the Kievan Rus, with some merchants there trading iron with the Mississippian city-states

Vinland Proper was not much populated though, and these trading outposts were little more than outposts and not towns in their own right.

One such large settlement is Garðey, or Ile d’Orleans which became a major trading area like Dublin(not a town however, more like Eystribygdd) and site for viticulture and wheat growing

No towns like Europe since even Iceland had no towns

Maize agriculture would spread north by 1250, and around the arrival of the Norse in 1000 CE the Iroquoians were just beginning to establish themselves in the Gardey area, so it is likely that the Norse would introduce agriculture there and be the majority people of the area. Montreal itself would have maize agriculture by 1000 CE

The Vinlandic areas of Vinland it Mikla(Vinland Proper; Continental Vinland) have much native admixture around 60% of their genome

——

Northeastern North America (Gulf of Saint Lawrence region with peripheral members in the Great Lakes and the Iroquois) in this timeline becomes much more technologically advanced and forms a culture area much like the Pacific Northwest with iron tools, agriculture(except for the Innu who like the Sami remain hunter gatherer, perhaps a bit of pastoralism)

They do not survive European diseases however. The Norse do not transmit most diseases because they did not become endemic crossing the North Atlantic, so the area becomes depopulated for natives while a third to a half of all Vinlanders die from mainland European epidemics but bounce back one or two generations later like the Icelanders

—

The Vinlanders periodically visit Greenland and Iceland to sell goods, with some ships even reaching Bergen in Norway. The Norwegians did not periodically go to Vinland however because of the distance, with a couple ships maybe in a couple years

The Little Ice Age ended trade however, especially with mainland Europe as the seas became tougher and crop yields became poorer.

The Vinlandic shipments kept Greenland alive longer, but the colony would still fail with better lands nearby.

The Vinlanders only came north to Greenland and sometimes Iceland at times, however eventually dwindling conditions in Greenland ended in all of the Greenlanders leaving for the plague depopulated Iceland and some of them south to Vinland

The Vinlanders sometimes sent out ships north to trade with Iceland, but they were very sporadic after Greenland was abandoned

It wasn't so much "just scraping by," it was just the normal mode of Scandinavian settlement in the north. They were an agricultural and dairy-based culture, spread out into homesteads with plenty of grazing land. "Towns" didn't pop up unless they were centers of trade or necessary for defense.

## **Vinland Hit Mikla Colonization**

Received the most colonization initially, but was hostile to the natives and there was a lot of tension and periodic raids

Eventually it would be settled as the Norse established themselves in the much more sparsely settled Newfoundland and send repeated settlers to the supposedly better land of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. This ends up in the Norse taking over the region as they had higher numbers due to agriculture, although merging with the native populations much like the Swedes did with the Finns. The Mikmaq remain as hunter gatherers alongside the Norse and eventually assimilate into their agricultural society, although some culturally Mikmaq people remain

I'm doubtful of anything much earlier than OTL. I think people are vastly overestimating the contact Vinland will have with Europe to begin with, lets not forget that the far closer Iceland was limited to a handful of ships each year, and the number of people in Vinland is unlikely to surpass Iceland for more than 100 years. I'm incredibly doubtful that too much word reaches Europe, much less is cared about. I'm also quite convinced that the Little Ice Age will cut off contact with Europe anyways - what people seem to be ignoring is that the North Atlantic can still treacherous today (the Titanic says hi, and that was much further south than the Norse route). Its worse in the Little Ice age. If contact is cut off there's 2-300 years of no contact and all you have in the meantime is sailors tales and legends... which are notoriously unreliable. Its possible it helps a Columbus like figure convince someone to sponsor them, but I doubt it will happen until close to when his voyage occurred OTL anyways.

## **Norwegian Vinland**

There was a royal ombudsman in Goðstaðr sent from Norway sometimes. He was meant to collect taxes and perform some political functions, but was not as strong as the lawspeaker.

The original seat of the alting was in Laxár, but power gradually shifted to Torksland as the Little Ice Age trudged on leading to lower yields for cereals and grapes, the major exports of Laxár, and cod fishing from the Great Banks became more profitable so the goði of Torskland grew more powerful and the power shift moved north to Godstadr which was closer to the trade routes to Greenland and Iceland. The Alting was held there

## **Dano-Vinlandic War**

A short war from 1553-1555 between the Danes and Vinlanders after Vinland was rediscovered, the Kalmar Union (until 1523-1524) retained formal rights over Vinland

The Danes sent men to reassert their claims after Cabot’s 1497 expedition in 1501. They brought a new bishop under Papal orders and collected taxes(Vinland was *skattland* or personal tax land of the crown). They sent a new governor to Vinland. This was partially accepted by the Vinlanders as they had periodic collectors from Norway before, however the new Danish governance was more intrusive in terms of taxes unlike before when it was just nominal

Much like the subjugation of Jamtland, the Danes with their now superior ships went west to reassert their rule and establish the reformation in the 1530s.

In 1533 the Danes sailed west and established a Lutheran church north of Godstadr in Grœnnvik

In 1538 under King Christian’s Lutheran decree, the Danes sent a new governor and a Lutheran bishop to the island which governed from Grœnnvik, who commissioned a Vinlandic translation of the bible in 1540 to promote Lutheranism

The increased tightness of Danish rule caused by Lutheranism caused unrest among the Vinlanders as they saw this as an affront on their beliefs and traditional large degree of autonomy, especially as the Catholic bishop of Godstadr was arrested and brought to Denmark. They resisted Catholicism not because they were devout, but because it was seen as an increased centralization by a foreign power. Lutheranism quickly spread throughout Vinland.

This unrest and propagation of Lutheran doctrine resulted in a new election for a bishop among the Catholics who resided in the traditional seat at Godstadr.

In 1553 after the death of the protestant bishop the Catholic bishop drummed up enough support to reintroduce Catholicism by riding to Grœnnvik and taking the town, which was the seat of the Lutheran church

After a lengthy siege, the bishop was thwarted and forced to Trǫngdal

It was during this time that the English under Queen Mary I Tudor aided the Catholic Vinlanders as English merchants had been frequenting the Grand Banks there for codfishing after the English experienced trouble in Iceland the century prior, and Vinlandic codfishing was seen as more profitable due to less competition. Philip II of Spain encouraged Mary to provide financial aid and soldiers to Vinland, which proved unpopular with the English especially the protestants. The couple saw it as their Catholic duty

After news of English involvement in Vinland reached Denmark, the Danes sent their own forces to Vinland.

This resulted in a war for control of Vinland over the Danes with the Vinlandic Lutherans and the Catholic Vinlanders who were supported by England

Much of Vinland became Catholic as the Althing was held readopting Catholicism.

The Catholic bishop arrested many leading Lutherans, forcing them to readopt the Catholic faith or else flee the country.

The Danes and Catholics met at a decisive battle in the Bonavista Peninsula in Skagi which ended in the capture of the Danish admiral and the expulsion of the Danes from Vinland

Vinland became an unofficial protectorate of England, and under English influence began to modernize much like Portuguese Kongo. They elected a king at an Althing from the lineage of Karlsefni (who settled at Straumsey by Straumfjǫrð(Bay of Fundy) and consolidated control with the help of the English, who they allowed to establish a settlement at Pierre and Miquelon.

Much like the Kongo, they would become wary of the English who began to develop much of an interest in Vinland

——-

Though the wars ended official protestant influence, Lutherans continue to make a sizable minority as the bible in Vinlandic made the rounds among the population.

4% of the population remained Lutheran in 1700, with the Lutheran population in 2021 being 9%. Protestantism as a whole in 2021 is around 16% of the population

—-

1587(OTL first English claim of Newfoundland, 1610 was settlement; 1605 search for Greenland settlements)1497 was rediscovery of Vinland

——

British rule would result in links with Ireland and substantial immigration especially to the bountiful fisheries. Around 30,000 Irish immigrated to Vinland to work in the fisheries in Torskland in the early 19th century, with several thousand arriving during the Great Famine

In 1845 the population was 114,000

Irish immigration increased it to 146, 536

(160,000 (114,000) pre modern carrying capacity of Newfoundland (population in 1854)

10% of the current population of Vinland identify as ethnically Irish

## **Colonial Vinland**

Vinland claimed Markland up till the borders of OTL Lower Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick until the Saint John River along with the Kespek Peninsula until the Rimouski River.

The St. Lawrence River was disputed between the French and the Vinlanders, as well as Nova Scotia and Eastern Quebec as there were French settlements in these areas as well

The French however managed to push through the St. Lawrence River even though the Vinlanders controlled Garðey. From their holdings in Louisiana they were able to push for settlements and forts further north with Jacques Cartier claiming western New Brunswick and Maine

The French established settlements in Maine which they called Acadia, with a border dispute with the English colony of Massachusetts Bay at the Piscataqua and Merrimack Rivers(New Hampshire) and east at the Saint John River with Vinland

The French expanded north to the Eastern Townships along the St. Lawrence River and established forts along the river which became disputed territory with the Vinlanders who held the river till Montreal

The French then expanded west as they built a fort in the mouth if the Great Lakes to curb the Vinlanders. Expansion from Acadia and the Louisiana territories resulted in a more Francophone Illinois or Upper Louisiana and Pays d’Haute

—

Following the Seven Years War the British annexed Acadia and Pays d’Haute and all French lands east of the Mississippi

Acadia remained Acadia as the province name and as a distinct colony. The Acadia dispute was given to the new colony of New Hampshire and the border with Vinland it Mikla renamed New Brunswick was set at the Saint John River

American loyalists flooded the region after the American Revolution and New Brunswick, Furtherstrands became bilingually English speaking. The St. Lawrence River colony called Lower Canada after the French name also received a large influx of English settlement.

The English tried to assimilate the annexed territories, and the southern shore of the St Lawrence was mostly French speaking.

The Proclamation protecting French rights in Acadia infuriated the thirteen colonies, but preserved French language rights in Acadia and Vinlandic language rights

The St. Lawrence estuary was almost bilingual with french forts north of Montreal(Stórrafossr) but Vinlandic in the cities

The sparsely populated north of Lower Canada facilitated a shift to English, with English becoming the main lingua franca.

## **French Annexation of Lower Canada - Not true anymore**

Instead what happens is that the French were able to move into the St. Lawrence Seaway after the demographic collapse of the Vinlanders, establishing settlements in Montreal and the Eastern Townships.

The St. Lawrence Seaway was disputed between France and Vinland, while the interior or Upper Canada became solidly French as Acadians and other immigrants settled there instead of Lower Canada proper due to Vinlandic presence

Both colonies would be ceded to the UK after the Seven Years War, even as the two regional powers disputed part of New Brunswick and the St Lawrence Seaway

## **The Loss of the Mainland**

Vinland lost the mainland territories through the combined effort of assimilation by the British who brought many Scottish Gaels into the formerly Vinlandic speaking regions of Kjalarnes, Furtherstrands, and Beckwick(Bekkvík, from Epekwitk for Prince Edward Island)

The French also added to the mix who established colonies in Nova Scotia, Beckwick and Storflout

This resulted in a retreat for the Vinlandic colony to the Bay of Fundy(Straumsfjord), western Beckwick, and much of the mainland of New Brunswick

The English managed to effectively decrease Vinlandic speakers in Kjalarnes and nearby areas

Vinlandic however is today an official language of Furtherstrands, Keelness, Beckwick, Storflout and New Brunswick

## **Vinland Hit Mikla Colonization**

Received the most colonization initially, but was hostile to the natives and there was a lot of tension and periodic raids

Eventually it would be settled as the Norse established themselves in the much more sparsely settled Newfoundland and send repeated settlers to the supposedly better land of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. This ends up in the Norse taking over the region as they had higher numbers due to agriculture, although merging with the native populations much like the Swedes did with the Finns. The Mikmaq remain as hunter gatherers alongside the Norse and eventually assimilate into their agricultural society, although some culturally Mikmaq people remain

I'm doubtful of anything much earlier than OTL. I think people are vastly overestimating the contact Vinland will have with Europe to begin with, lets not forget that the far closer Iceland was limited to a handful of ships each year, and the number of people in Vinland is unlikely to surpass Iceland for more than 100 years. I'm incredibly doubtful that too much word reaches Europe, much less is cared about. I'm also quite convinced that the Little Ice Age will cut off contact with Europe anyways - what people seem to be ignoring is that the North Atlantic can still treacherous today (the Titanic says hi, and that was much further south than the Norse route). Its worse in the Little Ice age. If contact is cut off there's 2-300 years of no contact and all you have in the meantime is sailors tales and legends... which are notoriously unreliable. Its possible it helps a Columbus like figure convince someone to sponsor them, but I doubt it will happen until close to when his voyage occurred OTL anyways.

## **Vinlandic Language**

\*Tapanakk - pronounced tapanahk(borrowed from Beothuk)(toboggan, sled)

Posti - smoke

Mókksin - moccasin, sometimes shoe

Osvit - Caribou

Metopish(melwapyehš) - rawhide or sinew used as cord/lacing

Important individual

Pike

Vasemuk/Vasmuk - Salmon

Mokthat/Mokothat - Black bass

Šanak - Mikmaq

Šatimak - Montagnais

\*mashek - Swamp, muskeg

Osask - muskrat

Mathik - indian house

Tapathuk - canoe

Shisth(Sjist)- grass(not as preferred)

Papušrat

Metopisje(Shortened to Opisje, from “met” being reanalysed as “medh”)

Mokþat -> Moktat

Sjanak

Sjatimak

Masjek

Osask

Maðik

Tapaðuk

Sjist(*rare*. as Grass; usually it means dry weeds/grass, forage, fodder)

Hjannak

Hjatimak

Mahjekk

**Anglicisms**:

Bakhús - Outhouse

https://chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/6830.part-iii-the-sagas-and-truth-7-the-saga-map-of-v%C3%ADnland

Miramichi - like site of Vinland

Wild rye - wheat

## **Vinland Map**

Vinland Peninsulas

Enskaness - Port au port

Leifsness - Northern Peninsula

Torskness, also Torskland- Avalon Peninsula

Fiskaraness - Burin Peninsula

Fiskaranes - Langvík(Fortune Bay, Burin)

Veizkmǫrk - Weskmark(Gander: Gásvatn)

Eyjannavík - Myrklœkr(Humber River)

Enskanes - Georgeville(Stephenville)

Skrælingastrond - Sandeyrr - Burgeo

Skagi - Skagi

Torskland - Góðstaðr

Leifsnes - Leifsbuðir

Most of the population lives in the Torskland peninsula. The only three cities are Myrklœkr, Grœnnvík and the capital of Góðstaðr

The Rostungeyjar are governed from Enskanes, the only Vinlandic region where English is coofficial in certain municipalities

Georgeville also has the Official Vinlandic name of Jörgensborg, although not used often

Grœnnvík is Bay de Verde in Conception Bay

þrǫngdal - Mount Pearl

## **Vinland**

https://ordstirr.wordpress.com/language/old-norse-pronunciation/

The Vinlanders adopted many native customs such as making canoes(tapadhuk), snowshoes, Indian huts for hunting expeditions(madhik), mókksin

From the mikmaq(or pre-mikmaq) the word Tamavei(Indian tobacco) was borrowed, as well as the tobacco for cleansing and purification purposes as well as medicinal

The Vinlanders largely developed their main culture and power centers on Newfoundland where there were fewer hostiles, however there were substantial communities along the Southern Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Vinland proper).

The hostile natives forced the bulk of Vinlandic civilization to develop in Litla Vinland where the natives were fewer and Norse society could be more established. The northern peninsula or Leifsness was one of the first to be settled and dominated by the Norse as it was depopulated at the time.

Overtime the Norse would slowly colonize more of Newfoundland, while in the south a small but steady population grew along the Northumberland Channel on the Miramichi Bay, though at risk from the locals and with frequent conflicts.

From there and along colonies in Nova Scotia they exported wine, grapes and wheat to Litla Vinland. These were coastal settlements however, and the Norse did not often venture inland.

This was in contrast to the norse population of Newfoundland that was by all accounts much more stable and gradually developed into a typical Norse society on par with Iceland and Greenland, which is why the cultural pull was more towards Newfoundland, though the isolation meant that it was more of a frontier society. Big populations reaching up to 4000 individuals were pleasant in some places however, especially due to the Grand Banks. Gódstadr in particular even had stained glass of opaque green in a big church built there

Vinland helped supply Greenland with wheat, and while nominally under Norway, in practice the Norwegians had little to no sway over the Vinland colonies except for supposed periodic tax collecting which did not come regularly. In fact the Vinlanders hardly paid taxes at all. Usually Vinlanders would come to Greenland and Iceland and pay their tithes to the royal ombudsman before selling wine and other Vinlandic goods.

While Leifsness and the Avalon Peninsula would get settled and fairly Norsified early on, the north-central regions of Newfoundland were not and native groups remained there until slowly assimilated by Norse hunters and traders. They would eventually be mostly assimilated into a creole culture, the **veizkr**(originally from something like “Hunter” -> Veizkr “Veizka mál”, (Wesk people in English, Weskman).

The Wesk are still around today, though like the Matagi are slowly going extinct and are more of a distinct subculture than an ethnic group. The original creole language would die out around the late 14th century and early 15th century, however a distinct accent and words still remain today among some rural people who still identify as Wesk, although a large portion of them have assimilated into wider Vinlandic culture.

By the time the Europeans arrived in 1497, the Wesks would be largely assimilated, with only a small minority of around 7% of the total population of 26,000 at the time of contact. Overtime they would slowly die out as a culture as they were widely assimilated into mainstream Vinlandic culture, until virtually disappearing today. English censuses did note down mixed race looking Vinlanders as mixed

Today an estimated 22,638 in Vinland are ethnically Wesk and identified as mixed race on the censuses of a total population of 520,000, although there are no First Nations specific laws in Vinland unlike Canada

88.8% identify as white(although most are mixed to varying degrees, much like Cubans who are often 5% Native American)

8.9% are Aboriginal(visibly mixed race, although they identify as Vinlandic ethnically and there is no difference between the two)

2.3% are Other

## **Vinland Newfoundland Assimilation**

**T**he Vinlanders were never forcibly assimilated into Anglophone society as the British were wary since both the Vinlanders and French Canadians were mostly Catholic.

After the 1813 Bathurst Constitution, the English were mostly reliant on Vinlandic administration as they were too numerous and English settlers were too few

Much like Quebec their rights to their language and culture were protected

https://web.archive.org/web/20200122040456/http://www.nlcpr.com/NewfoundlandCarryingCapacity.php - Newfoundland Carrying Capacity

169,000 - Carrying Capacity

## **Vinlandic Names for Ethnic Groups (Skraelings)**

**Vǽgi** people(unbalanced, violent people, **vǽgr**) - OTL Mi’kmaq, they occupy the role of the Forest Finns in terms of slash and burn agriculture and hunting

The furs from the animals in the mountain areas in the Far-North were mainly hunted by the Finns (Saami), hunter-gathering people in Fenno-Scandia. The Norsemen met them in some meeting points to trade their products like furs, walrus tusks, and feathers, and brought these products with them in their long-distance 'trading' journey latest since the Viking Ages. In other words, the Norsemen in Northern Norway played a role of 'middlemen' between the Finns as producer of such Arctic product and the customers in the South. Recent researches have increasingly underlines the mutual beneficial aspect of this kind of relationship between the Norseman from the sea and the Finns in the mountains, and we can find the best contemporary account of the relationship from the early 10th century England. The scribe of OE expanded version of Orosius records a visit and account of Norse merchant, named Ohthere (Ottar in ON) from Hålogaland, Northern-Norway, in the court of King Alfred of Wessex (r. 871-899).

The Vinlanders distinguished between individual tribes, but often lumped them all into “Skraeling”

## **Vinlandic Language**

Vínlenzka (Pronounced wi:nlentska)

Vínlenzkr

**íslenzkr**

snjóskór - snowshoe

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1264516?read-now=1&seq=6#page\_scan\_tab\_contents

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1263514?seq=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beothuk\_language#Recorded\_song

https://protoalgonquian.atlas-ling.ca

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=PBKxhq2p0PgC&pg=PA328&lpg=PA328&dq=irish+gaelic+loanwords+in+old+faroese+%22tarfr%22&source=bl&ots=KJNo2Xm1Ni&sig=ACfU3U0lob-Z0mGr822LualJQdbF6svgIg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjx1OSq0\_\_uAhX4yIsBHdFdBTIQ6AEwAXoECAEQAw#v=onepage&q=irish%20gaelic%20loanwords%20in%20old%20faroese%20%22tarfr%22&f=false - gaelic loans in Island Norse, also Greenlandic

https://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/10.0001009#\_i4 - michif phonology

https://nors.ku.dk/ansatte/?pure=files/35220983/elfdalian.pdf - Nasalization of Elfdalian (From Proto-Germanic, check if it had an n that was lost in Old Norse for it. Preserved in the St. Lawrence dialects, Rostungeyjar, Kespek and in some North Coast dialects due to Northeastern North American areal influence. Lost elsdwhere)

The earliest documented Old Icelandic still had *nasal vowels*. These are pronounced by cutting off airflow through the mouth while speaking so that it redirects to the nose (or by speaking while having a cold). The First Grammarian suggested marking these with a dot above the letter: “ȧ”. Unfortunately nobody followed his advice. Therefore it can be rather difficult to tell if a vowel should be nasal or oral (regular) without knowing the etymology of the word. A vowel is nasal if during the prehistory of the word, a letter *\*n* had disappeared, and lengthened the vowel. Examples include *æsir* (from *\*ansīʀ*), *Þórr* (from *\*þunraʀ*). These probably disappeared around 1200, and so apply to **Common West Scandinavian** and **First Grammarian’s Icelandic** below, but not to the others.

Nasality was phonemic for *long* nasal vowels, but not short ones. So at a very early stage there were **9 vowel qualities**, and these could be **short**, **long**, or **nasal**.

I have never met a single person who I have known to incorporate this into their pronunciation of Old Norse. It’s very difficult to maintain a conversation while trying to remember or figure out the etymology of every long vowel you’re saying.

wetapyanaxkwa

**tapanahk**

ačap or atiap - wood

wa- to o

## Good Resources on Greenland:

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=5qonlDkZW3MC&pg=PA62&dq=greenland+norse+lawspeakers&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3mKygmYXvAhVRIqYKHaFPCPsQ6AEwBHoECAMQAg#v=onepage&q=greenland%20norse%20lawspeakers&f=false - greenland

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=HWWzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA41&dq=greenland+norse+lawspeakers&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3mKygmYXvAhVRIqYKHaFPCPsQ6AEwAHoECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=greenland%20norse%20lawspeakers&f=false - north atlantic

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=O46ZKTUg2ogC&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=is+%22kalaaleq%22+a+borrowing+from+old+norse&source=bl&ots=BxlDdnoJDX&sig=ACfU3U1U-qOZyAO1MeDQWxGc0xDZZsO4qQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiiwI6OnoXvAhUjGaYKHas9BmgQ6AEwAnoECAMQAw#v=onepage&q=is%20%22kalaaleq%22%20a%20borrowing%20from%20old%20norse&f=false - greenandic contact language

https://web.archive.org/web/20201108094618/https://chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/6830.part-iii-the-sagas-and-truth-7-the-saga-map-of-v%C3%ADnland - wayback machine vinland voyages

https://archive.chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/6830

## **Old Norse/Sound Change**

----> Proto-Germanic to Old-Norse:

[gwj]w/ggw/\_

[gj]j/ggj/\_

[æei]bo/joː/\_

[æei]bu/juː/\_

[ou]bu/bu/\_

ab[ou]/au/\_

eː/æː/\_

eːwaː/aː/\_

eːw/aː/\_

eː/aː/\_

z/ʀ/\_

x/h/\_

nh//V\_V hanhistaz

aa/aː/\_

h/g/n\_

----> a-umlaut

i/e/\_(C)(C)a

u/o/\_(C)(C)a

ū/ō/\_(C)(C)a

----> breaking

e/ja/\_…[aǫ]

>>>i-umlaut<<<

z/ʀ/\_

a/æ/\_…[iījʀ]

ā/ē/\_…[iījʀ]

i//\_ʀ#

o/ø/\_…[iījʀ]

ō/œ/\_…[iījʀ]

u/y/\_…[iījʀ]

ū/ȳ/\_…[iījʀ]

rʀ/r/\_

tθ/tʀ/\_#

syncope

a//\_C#

unstressed changes

ǫ/a/\_#

ǭ/ą/\_#

ō/a/\_#