Inviting Shores II
Image size 44,2 cm x 62,8 cm/ 17 1/2 inches x 24
3/4 inches
NOK: 3 000,-
Having sailed farther west for another two days, Leif came across an island with abundant grass and sweet dew. They crossed from the island to a headland, and then took their
ship up river where they found salmon in abundance and maple forests from which they could construct their crude huts. It was at this time, according to the saga, that one of the
men on the expedition found grapes and vines, prompting Leif to name the new found land "Vinland" or Wineland.
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Settlement
Image size 46,3 cm x 58,5 cm/ 18 inches x 23 inches
NOK: 3 000,-
After building their huts, Leif and his men wintered in Vinland. He returned to Greenland in the spring but his brother Thorvald assembled another crew who sailed to Vinland.
They found the dwellings built by Leif’s men and stayed there. When spring arrived, they struck camp and explored the coastline further. They came upon wooded fjords, which led
Thorvald to exclaim: "This is truly a fair land. Here I will build my farm". Other Viking expeditions followed intent upon settling in Vinland.
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Inuits
Image size 40,5 cm x 54,2 cm/ 16 inches x 21 inches
NOK: 2 800,-
Vinland was rich in timber, teeming with wildlife, but its inhabitants were hostile. Leif’s expedition was the first to encounter the local Indians, or Skrælings as the
Vikings called them. Subsequent expeditions of Viking settlers tried to barter with the Skraelings, but to no avail. Temporarily the Indians were appeased, but not for long.
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Memory
Image size 56 cm x 52 cm/ 22 inches x 20 1/2 inches
NOK: 3 000,-
The hostility of the Skraelings, who greatly outnumbered the small contingent of the Greenlanders attempting to settle in Vinland, was only one reason why further efforts to
colonize the country were abandoned. Another was the fragility of the lines of communication. Links with the home-base were overextended and weak as the years passed by;
Greenland itself became isolated from its eastern lifeline to Iceland and Norway. As the climate became colder, the glaciers moved south, and ice drifts began to envelope
Greenland's coastline cutting it off from the seaways which lead eastwards to Scandinavia.
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