The Norse Discovery of America

In two magnificent volumes [published separately under different ISBNs] Anne Stine and Helge Ingstad sum up their arduous and successful quest for early medieval Norse settlement in America. The discovery in 1960 of habitation remains at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland merely increased the already large total of possible Viking sites on the American coast. The excavations and analysis of finds since then have established beyond reasonable doubt that the eight or nine houses on this site, with their boat-houses, smithy and perhaps bath-house, were occupied by Norsemen, presumably from Greenland, in the early eleventh century. Anne Stine's account of the dig and finds occupies Volume I of The Norse Discovery of America. In Volume 2 Helge Ingstad reviews the literary evidence for medieval contacts between Europeans and America, and concludes that 'there can hardly be any doubt' that L'Anse aux Meadows is identical with Leif Eiriksson's settlement in Vinland. Many will disagree; not so much with the possibility that Leif was there, but with the assumption that his adventure in the sagas can be given any precise location. Nevertheless, a thorough discussion of the relevant texts and maps makes this a useful addition to the vast literature already published. (E. Christiansen, New College, Oxford)