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Sharing his extensive and meticulous research, Jacques Privat reveals that the Vikings were in Greenland, its neighbouring islands, and the eastern shores of Canada long before Columbus. He examines in depth how Greenland and its surroundings were inhabited for nearly 5 centuries by two Nordic colonies, Vestri-bygd and Eystri-bygd, which disappeared mysteriously: one in 1342 and the other in the 16th century. Drawing on the still-living indigenous oral tradition of the Far North, as well as surviving sculptural art such as carvings, he shows how, far from being constantly at odds with the native population, the Norsemen and the Inuit formed a harmonious community. He reveals how this friendly Inuit-Viking relationship encouraged the Scandinavian settlers to forsake Christianity and return to their pagan roots.
Working with ancient European maps and other cartography, such as the 15th-century Martin Behaim globe, as well as explorers' records of their voyages, the author examines the English, Irish, German, Danish, Flemish, and Portuguese presence in the Far North. He explores how Portugal dominated many seas and produced the first correct cartography of Greenland as an island. He also reveals how Portugal may have been behind the disappearance of the Vikings in Greenland by enslaving them for their European plantations.
Dispelling once and for all the theories that the Inuit were responsible for the failure of the Scandinavian colonies of the Far North, the author reveals how, ultimately, the Church opted to cut all ties with the settlements--rather than publicise that a formerly Christian people had become pagan again. When the lands of the Far North were officially "discovered" after the Middle Ages, the Norse colonies had vanished, leaving behind only legends and mysterious ruins.
Contents
Foreword by Claude Lecouteux
Introduction: The Arctic beyond Your Imagination
1 The Inuit in Greenland
2 The Vikings in Greenland
3 The Traditional Inuit Cultural Background as a Research Element
4 Inuit Art as a Research Element
5 Inuit Loans, Inussuk Culture, and the Vikings
6 Prolonged Contact or Cohabitation of Inuit and Vikings
7 The Testimony of the Nordic Source Texts
8 The Different Theories on Inuit and Viking Contact
9 The Church in Greenland
10 The Scandinavian Presence in the Far North
11 The European Presence in the Far North
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
