St. Brendan
Were a band of Irish Monks the first Europeans to set foot in the New World?
There is much speculation as to the identity of the first Europeans to reach the New World. Certainly, there had been expeditions to the shores of North, South and Central America long before 1492, when "Colombus sailed the ocean, blue" Columbus, and all of the early European explorers, especially the Spanish "Conquistadores" who landed in Central and South America were greeted by tales and legends of a fair-skinned, blue eyed "God" who would one day return from "across the great water". In fact, the conquest of the Americas was made easier by these legends, and the fact that the natives were, in fact, expecting "visitors" Obviously they were waiting for someone such legends do not spring, whole cloth, from nothing But who?
But who was this "fair-skinned, blue eyed God"? Speculation seems endless, and answers, at least, so far, have been elusive. Some believe that it was the Vikings who first reached the Americas, in the eighth to tenth centuries. Some say it was the Egyptians There is evidence to indicate that at least one band of Romans was "cast upon a strange shore by the hand of Baal" as a tablet reads attributed to elements of the XX Roman Legion found near Bahia, Brazil. Of course everyone knows that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (Mormons) believes that it was ancient Israelites who first set foot in the New World. It is a tenant of their faith. Along the coast of California and Washington, evidence has been discovered that it was not Europeans at all, who were first, but rather the Chinese at some point prior to the tenth century.
Questions abound, but answers are few Who was first?
One such tale, which bears repeating, is the Story of St. Brendan (or Brandan) was an Irish monk, born about 484 B.C. in Tralee. According to medireview legend, Brendan embarked on a seven-year voyage through the Atlantic in search of the Garden of Eden. The legends recount Brendan's amazing adventures, including his encounter with a whale, pictured above, upon whose back he held communion. Brendan and his band of monks eventually discovered a brightly-lit land through which flowed a great river. After wandering the land for 40 days in an unsuccessful search for the farthest shore, they filled their ships with precious gems and returned home. Brendan died soon afterward, but his fabulous island became a standard feature on maps for the next millenia. The Navigatio Brendani, which dates from the 11th century, contains the earliest surviving version of this story.
St. Brendan's name was evoked by many Elizabethan writers, most notably, Captain John Smith, in an attempt to establish English primacy in the New World. Smith also refers to a similar tale, dating from the 15th century. According to legend, the Welsh prince Madoc was said to have discovered America in 1170, after sailing westward to escape civil war. Madoc was supposed to have made a second voyage to establish a colony near what is now Mobile Bay, Alabama.
Was Brendan first? If so, why did no one else ever follow in his footsteps? What about Prince Madoc? What became of his "colony" Were they real, or are they stories invented to entertain travelers on long, dark winter nights? Perhaps, one day we will know. Until then, the speculation, theorizing and the pure fun of the stories remain.
Colombus Was Not First...
Lief Ericson was also known as Leif the Lucky. Lief was born in Iceland in 970 A.D. His father was Eric the Red. Lief left his family when he was eight years old, that was the custom of the Vikings. He went to live with a man named Thyrker. Thyrker taught Lief the reading and writing runes. He also taught Lief how to use weapons and the ways of trade. Lief learned to speak Celtic and Russian and the ways of plants. Lief would like to watch the ships come in to the harbour with his friends and listen to the tales of the sailors.
When Lief was 12 years old he was considered a man and returned to his father's house. Lief went to the Thingveiller or lawmaking assembly with his father Eric. While there Eric killed a man with whom he had been fueding. The Thing council banished Eric from Iceland for three years. The ended up going to a land they had heard about. They landed there and called it Greenland.
While Lief was in Greenland his friend Bjarni Hergelfson returned and told of the lands they had seen when they had gotten lost. Lief did not attempt to find the lands for many years. During that time he went to Norway and spent time with King Olaf. While there, he converted to Christianity, and was then commissioned by King Olaf I to convert the Greenlanders to Christianity. He did, in fact, return to Greenland, and not being entirely successful in his conversion venture... decided to abandon the timid life of the settled places, and set out to find the lands to the West that he had heard of in the tales of travlers. He did, in fact, if legend meshes with fact, manage to establish the first Christian church on the North American continent, ThjÕdhildur's Church, built at Brattahlid.
Lief bought Bjarni's boat and set of with Thyker, and set out exploring. According to legent, they first came to a place that looked like one huge slab of rock. He called it Helluland or Flat Rock Land. Next he came to a land that was an island with a mainland behind it. The land was rich so he decided to build at least one large house to the winter. There were plenty of salmon to eat and rich pastures for their cattle to graze on. Thyker found grapes on the land and was very excited. When spring came they decided to leave and called the land Vinland.
When Leif Ericson discovered the new land, he named it Vinland (Vineland) or Wineland. Where is Vinland? Some historians calculated that Vinland could be in Labrador, Nova Scotia, Baffin Island, Newfoundland, Cape Cod, or even Virginia. Then in 1965, a Norwegian explorer discovered the ruins of Viking settlement in Newfoundland. It might have been Leif Ericson's settlement.
Wherever Leif Ericson went, the place must be somewhere in the north. The place should be nothing like its name- Vinland because vines are impossible to grow in the weather in the north. Leif named the place Vinland might be that he wanted to be honored by other people for founding a resourceful place.
According to one account, Leif heard from a Greenlander, who named Bjarni Herjulfsson 15 years before Leif's voyage that he saw a strange existence of land on the horizon when he sailed from Iceland to Greenland. With curiosity, Leif went to look for the new land and found North America.
According to another saga of Eric, Leif was blown off course and missed Greenland when he wanted to sail from Norway to Greenland. He had gone to North American after a long time of wandering.
Whatever the case, the colony allegedly lasted until some time between 1350 and 1360, when Ivar Bardarsson, an Icelandic clerical official, reports the Western Settlement abandoned and Inuit ( Native American people, related to the Esquimo) began to appear near the Norse areas, settling along the coastline.
Were the Vikings first? There have been many "finds" of Norse artifacts in the New World, and there is substantial archeological evidence of not one, but several settlements in Newfoundlnd, Northern Maine and Labrador. There are also "Viking" artifacts, such as rune stones bearing Old Norse inscriptions, in places as far removed form Northern Europe as Virginia and Oklahoma... Norse exploration has also been tauted as one of the many "explanations" for the Inca, Maya and Axtec legend of "Quaziquotal"... the fair-skinne, blue eyed "God" from across the sea, whose return was awaited at the time Colombus landed in North America at the end of the 15th century...
