[Savage]

The norse settlements at Greenland

"It happens in Greenland...that all that is taken there from other countries is costly there, because the country lies so far from other countries that people rarely travel there. Every item, with which they might help the country, they must buy from other countries, both iron and all the timber with which they build houses. People export these goods from there: goatskins, ox-hides, sealskins and the rope...more here;
http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/voyage...greenland.html


The sudden disappearance of this civilisation has for long been a mystery, but late researc has stated that it probably was a few extreme cold winters on a row, and no summers between.

The lifestock froze to death, and for those that survived, there were little to feed on. The wild game suffered also, so there must have been stride with the inuites about the little that still was available.

more;
http://www.europhysicsnews.com/full/.../article1.html

But what we know, is that the population during this 400 years rised to a number about 5000. These were explorers of nature, and also of need, and they had to know their domain well.

When we know that sailing form Norway to Iceland at best could take a week or two, often longer, sometimes shorter time, and sailing from Iceland to Greenland can be done in 2-3 days if good bearing and finding the streams. From Greenland it is again done to sail in 2-3 days if lucky, to reach the coast called Helland.

We also know that all imported goods from the olde world was very expensive on Greenland, specially timber. I do not believe for a second that these brave pioners keept on paying bloodprice for a such basic good, when they could puchase all they wanted just just a few days of sailing south.

They did not only sit there for 400 years, but according to their nature, they probably knew every inch of their local coasts, and the coasts and islands within reach must have been explored and well known to them. One reason that there is little documented on this, may be the need to keep traderoutes secret from competitors.

But just a little logic. They knew Vinland and the way there for 400 years, does it sound logic that these never again visited Vinland after the Norse colonization at New Foundland collapsed? When they needed the goods, and it was as close as Iceland?

According to norse mentality, it is very hard to believe that they should not have visited Vinland as often as they needed its goods.