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The Black Plague never reached the Nordic Greenlanders and did not make it to Iceland until 1400, when it wiped out half the population. Smallpox was likely more common. The saga mentions that a sailor on Lief Ericson's first visit to Vinland had a disease that he picked up in Spain that, as described, has been recognized as smallpox. He was driven out of the Greenlanders camp and disappeared into history. Whether he contaminated the native population is unknown.
In European populations it was widespread but actual transmission required close contact. It may have been more virulent once it arrived among the Indian tribal populations. To my knowledge there is no historical narrative or folklore of a major identified smallpox epidemic in the Americas before Cortés arrived in Mexico. Later, between 1617-1619, 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Indians died of smallpox. As a deadly disease, it spread rapidly in the Americas with 60% to 90% of the Inca population wiped out before Pizarro even arrived in Peru.
Smallpox was likely more common. The saga mentions that a sailor on Lief Ericson's first visit to Vinland had a disease that he picked up in Spain that, as described, has been recognized as smallpox. He was driven out of the Greenlanders camp and disappeared into history. Whether he contaminated the native population is unknown.
It's cool that you are familiar with the Sagas. It reminds me of the hypothesis that the Maine coon cat is descended from cats brought by the Vikings because it's related to the Norse cat. I also heard that this cat was brought by English settlers.
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Maine Coon cats originate in Wiscasset, Maine in the United States. Their lineage is surrounded by mystery and myths.
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One of the more likely Maine Coon historical myths relates to the Vikings.
Vikings were known for sailing the seas and kept ship cats on board their vessels to ensure the mice population was kept at bay.
The premise of this myth is that the Maine Coon descends from the Norwegian Skogkatt, thought to have been brought over by the Vikings.
The Norwegian Skogkatt and its counterparts, the Swedish Rugkatt, and the Danish Racekatte have various similar physical traits to the Maine Coon.
All of these cat breeds have evolved in climates considered to be harsh and challenging, and many argue that Maine Coons might descend from one of these cat breeds.
Folk legend talks of boats mooring up on land, and ship cats being let off the vessels onto dry land. https://www.mainecooncentral.com/whe...riginate-from/
As others mentioned Vinland was most likely a bit further south than Newfoundland as grapes do not grow on Newfoundland. Here is the distribution of the native Fox Grape (wild form of the Concord grape)
As you can see the highest concentrations are in New England and the Mid Atlantic region
Furthermore at the L’Anse aux Meadows site, there were plant seeds such as the butternut found that would indicate they at least traded with people much further south to obtain them.
Butternuts
Most likely L’Anse aux Meadows was not their main settlement on North America, but rather just a trading post.
As others mentioned Vinland was most likely a bit further south than Newfoundland as grapes do not grow on Newfoundland.
Furthermore at the L’Anse aux Meadows site, there were plant seeds such as the butternut found that would indicate they at least traded with people much further south to obtain them.
Greg,
The Sagas don't seem clear as to whether either the top of Newfoundland or the first cape (ie. Cape Kjalarnes) that the Vikings reached when they sailed south of Newfoundland would be considered Vinland.
On one hand, "Vinland" means Vine/Grape-Land according to the Sagas, because they found grapes there. In the Saga of the Greenlanders, they say that they get to Cape Kjalarnes and sail west, and make camp, find grapes, and they call the land Vinland. This seems to imply that Leif's camp was west of L'Anse aux Meadows, as L'Anse aux Meadows on the top of Newfoundland's northernmost peninsula. This story might also mean that the whole "land" might be called Vinland, including Cape Kjalarnes. I made a thread laying out this geography in the Greenlanders' Saga here, and would be interested in your opinion: https://www.city-data.com/forum/hist...anada-did.html
But in Eric's Saga, they say that they sail east of that cape, find grapes, and then later they sail back up to that same cape and plan to sail westward in order to find Vinland. This would seem to mean that Vinland was the part of the coast west of Cape Kjalarnes with the Grapes. I am attaching my own map of what this layout would look like, based on Eric's Saga, which might not be the same as the one in the Greenlanders' Saga.
On the other hand, if we want to use the range of wild grapes to decide where Vinland was, I should add that I repeatedly read online that in 1000 AD, wild grapes grew on Newfoundland. I recall that one place online even claimed that they grew on L'Anse aux Meadows, but I don't know if that was factual or not.
Thought this documentary might intrigue you all. I haven't time myself to watch all of it right now, but it's about Lief Eriksson and how he could have changed the world.
Greg,
The Sagas don't seem clear as to whether either the top of Newfoundland or the first cape (ie. Cape Kjalarnes) that the Vikings reached when they sailed south of Newfoundland would be considered Vinland.
On one hand, "Vinland" means Vine/Grape-Land according to the Sagas, because they found grapes there. In the Saga of the Greenlanders, they say that they get to Cape Kjalarnes and sail west, and make camp, find grapes, and they call the land Vinland. This seems to imply that Leif's camp was west of L'Anse aux Meadows, as L'Anse aux Meadows on the top of Newfoundland's northernmost peninsula. This story might also mean that the whole "land" might be called Vinland, including Cape Kjalarnes. I made a thread laying out this geography in the Greenlanders' Saga here, and would be interested in your opinion: https://www.city-data.com/forum/hist...anada-did.html
But in Eric's Saga, they say that they sail east of that cape, find grapes, and then later they sail back up to that same cape and plan to sail westward in order to find Vinland. This would seem to mean that Vinland was the part of the coast west of Cape Kjalarnes with the Grapes. I am attaching my own map of what this layout would look like, based on Eric's Saga, which might not be the same as the one in the Greenlanders' Saga.
On the other hand, if we want to use the range of wild grapes to decide where Vinland was, I should add that I repeatedly read online that in 1000 AD, wild grapes grew on Newfoundland. I recall that one place online even claimed that they grew on L'Anse aux Meadows, but I don't know if that was factual or not.
Well now days people do grow grapes in Newfoundland, but only in the warmest southern areas, L'Anse aux Meadows is at the most northern tip where trees can barely grow let alone grapes (which require large sturdy trees to climb as they have 50ft long canes that can crush a tree under its weight). And yes there was the medieval warm period but it wasn’t significantly warmer than today (we have fully recovered from the little ice age). So it’s possible that that “Vinland” was southern Newfoundland, and thus their main settlement would’ve been there, but if you are going to name a place after grapes, it must mean that they were easy to find, not some fringe case needle in the haystack, so I’m more inclined to guess at the most conservative Nova Scotia, but possibly New England with it’s higher prevalence there.
As far as the west east thing, well Newfoundland is pretty far east, all of North America is to the west of it, the most eastern point of Nova Scotia is to the west of Newfoundland.
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