Part 72 (2/2)

The first settlement of Greenland was the work of an Icelander, Eric the Red, who reached the island toward the end of the tenth century. He called the country Greenland, not because it was green, but because, as he said, ”there is nothing like a good name to attract settlers.” Intercourse between Greenland and Iceland was often dangerous, and at times was entirely interrupted by ice. Leif Ericsson, the son of Eric the Red, established a new route of commerce and travel by sailing from Greenland to Norway by way of the Hebrides. This was the first voyage made directly across the Atlantic. Norway and Greenland continued to enjoy a flouris.h.i.+ng trade for several centuries. After the connection with Norway had been severed, the Greenlanders joined the Eskimos and mingled with that primitive people.

THE NORTHMEN IN AMERICA

Two of the sagas give accounts of a voyage which Leif Ericsson about 1000 A.D. made to regions lying southward from Greenland. In the sagas they are called h.e.l.luland (stone-land), Markland (wood-land), and Vinland. Just what part of the coast of North America these countries occupied is an unsolved problem. Leif Ericsson and the Greenlanders who followed him seem to have reached at least the sh.o.r.es of Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. They may have gone even farther southward, for the sagas describe regions where the climate was mild enough for wild vines and wild wheat to grow. The Northmen, however, did not follow up their explorations by lasting settlements. Before long all memory of the far western lands faded from the minds of men. The curtain fell on the New World, not again to rise until the time of Columbus and Cabot.

142. THE NORTHMEN IN THE EAST

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS OF THE NORTHMEN

In the Viking movement westward across the Atlantic the Norwegians took the leading part. They also sailed far northward, rounding the North Cape and reaching the mouth of the Dwina River in the White Sea. Viking sailors, therefore, have the credit for undertaking the first voyages of exploration into the Arctic.

THE NORTHMEN IN FINLAND

The Swedes, on account of their geographical position, were naturally the most active in expeditions to eastern lands. At a very early date they crossed the Gulf of Bothnia and paid frequent visits to Finland. Its rude inhabitants, the Finns, were related in language, and doubtless in blood also, to the Huns, Magyars, and other Asiatic peoples. Sweden ruled Finland throughout the Middle Ages. Russia obtained control of the country during the eighteenth century, but Swedish influence has made it largely Scandinavian in civilization.

THE NORTHMEN IN RUSSIA

The activities of the Swedes also led them to establish settlements on the southern sh.o.r.e of the Baltic and far inland along the waterways leading into Russia. An old Russian chronicler declares that in 862 A.D. the Slavs sent an emba.s.sy to the Swedes, whom they called ”Rus,” saying, ”Our country is large and rich, but there is no order in it; come and rule over us.” The Swedes were not slow to accept the invitation. Their leader, Ruric, established a dynasty which reigned in Russia for more than seven hundred years. [10]

NOVGOROD AND KIEV

The first Russian state centered in the city of Novgorod, near Lake Ilmen, where Ruric built a strong fortress. [11] Novgorod during the Middle Ages was an important station on the trade route between Constantinople and the Baltic. Some of Ruric's followers, pa.s.sing southward along the Dnieper River, took possession of the small town of Kiev. It subsequently became the capital of the Scandinavian possessions in Russia.

SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN RUSSIA

The Northmen in Russia maintained close intercourse with their mother country for about two centuries. During this period they did much to open up northeastern Europe to the forces of civilization and progress.

Colonies were founded, cities were built, commerce was fostered, and a stable government was established. Russia under the sway of the Northmen became for the first time a truly European state.

THE NORTHMEN AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE EAST

Having penetrated the wilds of Russia, it was comparatively easy for the Northmen to sail down the Russian rivers to the Black Sea and thence to Constantinople. Some of them went as raiders and several times devastated the neighborhood of Constantinople, until bought off by the payment of tribute. [12] Many Northmen also joined the bodyguard of the eastern emperor and saw service under his standard in different parts of the Mediterranean.

CHRISTIANITY IN RUSSIA, 988 A.D.

During the reign of Vladimir, a descendant of Ruric, the Christian religion gained its first foothold in Russia. We are told that Vladimir, having made up his mind to embrace a new faith, sent commissioners to Rome and Constantinople, and also to the adherents of Islam and Judaism. His envoys reported in favor of the Greek Church, for their barbarian imagination had been so impressed by the majesty of the ceremonies performed in Sancta Sophia that ”they did not know whether they were on earth or in heaven.” Vladimir accepted their report, ordered the idols of Kiev to be thrown into the Dnieper, and had himself and his people baptized according to the rites of the Greek Church. At the same time he married a sister of the reigning emperor at Constantinople.

IMPORTANCE OF THE CONVERSION OF RUSSIA

Vladimir's decision to adopt the Greek form of Christianity is justly regarded as one of the formative influences in Russian history. It meant that the Slavs were to come under the religious influence of Constantinople, instead of under that of Rome. Furthermore, it meant that Byzantine civilization, then incomparably superior to the rude culture of the western peoples, would henceforth gain an entrance into Russia. The country profited by this rich civilization and during the early part of the Middle Ages took a foremost place in Europe.

CHARLEMAGNE AND THE NORTHMEN

No part of western Europe suffered more severely from the Northmen than France. They first appeared on the French coast toward the end of Charlemagne's reign. A well-known legend relates that the emperor, from window of his palace once saw the dark sails of the Vikings and wept at the thought of the misery which these daring pirates would some day inflict upon his realm.

THE NORTHMEN IN FRANCE

After Charlemagne's death the wars of his grandsons left the empire defenseless, and the Northmen in consequence redoubled their attacks. They sailed far up the Seine, the Loire, and the Garonne to plunder and murder.

Paris, then a small but important city, lay in the path of the invaders and more than once suffered at their hands. The destruction by the Northmen of many monasteries was a loss to civilization, for the monastic establishments at this time were the chief centers of learning and culture. [13]

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