See more images of the viking ruins here!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
When the World was Warmer Still
(that title is going to get me in trouble). But the Vikings settled the western fjords of Greenland back about 1000 years ago. They built a number of settlements and small towns, carving a living out for themselves in the green pastures of Greenland. Eventually the changing weather and expanding Eskimo tribes drove them out. But, living upon the edge of two worlds, can you imagine how peaceful it must have been . . . .
See more images of the viking ruins here!
See more images of the viking ruins here!
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5 comments:
Very evocative images. I've always been a huge fan of Viking lore, as well as Icelandic sagas.
I'm finishing up a good book on Viking history by a very good historian who speaks of their interaction with the new world in matter of fact tones, suggesting it was more common than we probably realize. And I had no idea that the local indian tribes expanded their own hunting grounds with the ice and helped put pressure on the Greenland settlements. Vikings are pretty dirn cool.
Also, being part Irish I've read up on quite a bit of Irish history. And I'm proud to say they were more successful than most nations at fighting off the marauding Vikings! At least most of the time.
Indeed. There's also a pretty decent celtic (read Irish) in the Icelandic settlements. The Irish are everywhere! ;)
Have you checked out the book called Collapse, by Jared Diamond? He has a chapter about why the Vikings in Greenland faded away. That book and Guns, Germs, and Steel, are good reads for world design.
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