eyes and broad cheeks. They stayed there for a time, and gazed upon those they met, and afterward rowed away southward. ... 、 Thorfinn and his people . . . wintered there, and there was no snow, and all their cattle fed themselves upon the grass. But when spring came [A.D. 1009] they saw one morning early, that a number of canoes rowed from the south . . .; so many, as if the sea were sown with coal;... Thorfinn and his people then raised up the shield [a white shield in token of peace], and when they came together they began to trade. These people would rather have red cloth; for this they offered skins and real furs. . . . ... It happened that a bull, which Thorfinn had, ran out of the wood and roared aloud; this frightened the Skrellings, and they rushed to their canoes and rowed away toward the south. After that they were not seen for three whole weeks. But at the end of that time, a great number of Skrellings' ships were seen coming from the south like a rushing torrent,... and they all yelled very loud. Then Thorfinn's people took a red shield [in sign of war] and held it toward them. The Skrellings leaped out of their vessels, and after this they went against each other and fought. There was a hot shower of weapons, because the Skrellings had slings... Thorfinn and his people now thought they saw, that although the land had many good qualities, they still would always be exposed to the fear of attacks from the original dwellers. They decided, therefore, to go away and to return to their own land.5 This Thorfinn was a brother-in-law of Leif; and men say that his saga was written out by one of his own descendants, a learned bishop of Iceland. After he returned from Vinland, there was little talk of going thither, though the Pope made a bishop for it, and now and then, the sagas say, men went there for lumber. The last such voyage noted was in the year 1347. STUDY ON 2. 1. What was the occupation of the Vikings? 2. What lands did they inhabit? 3. What lands discover? 4. What proof can you give that peo ple had been in Greenland before the time of Eric? 5. What proofs have we that the Norsemen were brave men? 6. What land was Vinland? 7. What reasons have you for thinking so? 8. Why should the Northmen reach Vinland more easily than any other men of Europe? 9. Whom would you call the discoverer of Vinland, Biarne or Leif? 10. Why should the Vikings call Vinland "The Good"? 11. On whose word must we depend for there being vines in Vinland? 12. What reasons have we for believing him? 13. Make a list of the productions of Vinland, 14. Why should the sagas be such treasures? 15. How long after Ptolemy did Leif live? (See list, p. 17.) 16. How long after Herodotus ? Supplementary Reading. Longfellow's Discoverer of the North Cape, and The Skeleton in Armor. Baring-Gould's Grettir the Outlaw. 3. MARCO POLO. Great Princes, Emperors, and Kings, ... Counts, Knights, and Burgesses: and People of all degrees who desire to get knowledge . . . of the sundry regions of the World, take this Book and cause it to be read to you. For ye shall find therein all kinds of wonderful things, . . . according to the description of Messer Marco Polo, a wise and noble citizen of Venice, as he saw them with his own eyes. - Beginning of Marco Polo's Book. Marco Polo's Book. Just about the time that the Vikings gave up going to Vinland, the merchants of Italy began to trade more and more to the eastward. Now among these merchants was Marco Polo, a Venetian, who went so far and did so well that the Great Khan kept him in his own service seventeen years, sending him on embassies to every part of Asia. And when he came back to Europe, he wrote a famous book of travels, and here are some of its contents: Book I., ch. XXXIX. Of the City of Lop and the Great Desert. . . . Lop is a large town at the edge of the Desert, which is called the Desert of Lop.... Now, such persons as propose to cross the Desert take a week's rest in this town to refresh themselves and their cattle; and then they make ready for the journey, taking with them a month's supply for man and beast. On quitting this city they enter the Desert. . . . Where its breadth is least, it takes a month to cross it. "Tis all composed of hills and valleys of sand, and not a thing to eat is to be found on it. . . . Book II., ch. X. Concerning the Palace of the Great Khan.... ... You must know that for three months of the year, the Great Khan resides in the capital city of Cathay, which is called Cambaluc.... In that city stands his great Palace, and now I will tell you what it is like. . . . The roof is very lofty, and the walls of the Palace are all covered with gold and silver. They are also adorned with representations of dragons, beasts and birds, knights and idols.... And on the ceiling too you see nothing but gold and silver and painting. The Hall of the Palace is so large that it could easily dine THE GREAT KHAN. (From Chinese Manuscript of Marco Polo's time. -YULE'S Marco Polo.) 6000 people; and it is quite a marvel to see how many rooms there are besides. . . . The outside of the roof also is all coloured with vermilion and yellow and green and blue and other hues, which ... shine like crystal, and lend a resplendent lustre to the Palace as seen for a great way round. Book II., ch. XXII. Concerning the City of Cambaluc.... You must know that the City of Cambaluc hath ... a multitude of houses, and .. a vast population inside the walls and outside. . . . ... No day in the year passes that there do not enter the city 1000 cart-loads of silk alone, from which are made quantities of cloth of silk and gold. . . . Book II., ch. LV. Concerning the Province of Bangala.... ... The people... grow cotton, . . . and also spices such as spikenard, . . . ginger, sugar, and many other sorts. Book III., ch. II. Description of the Island of Chipangu.... Chipangu is an Island toward the east in the high seas, . . . and a very great Island it is. The people are white, civilized, and well-favoured. They are Idolaters, and dependent on nobody. And I can tell you the quantity of gold they have is endless; . . . I will tell you a wonderful thing about the Palace of the Lord of that Island. You must know that he hath a great Palace which is entirely roofed with fine gold Moreover, all the pavement of the Palace, and the floors of its chambers, are entirely of gold, in plates like slabs of stone, a good two fingers thick; and the windows also are of gold, so that . . . the richness of this Palace is past . . . all belief. . . . ... They have also pearls in abundance, which are of a rose colour.... Book III., ch. VI. Concerning the Great Island of Java. . . . The Island is of surpassing wealth, producing black pepper, nutmegs, spikenard, . . . cloves, and all other kinds of spices. Book III., ch. XIV. Concerning the Island of Seilan. You must know that rubies are found in this Island and in no other country of the world but this. They find there also, sapphires and topazes and amethysts, and many other stones of price. And the King of this Island possesses a ruby which is the finest and biggest in the world; ... it is quite free from flaw and is as red as fire. Book III., ch. XIX. Concerning the Kingdom of Mutfili. . . [See map.] ... It is in this kingdom that diamonds are got; no other country but this kingdom of Mutfili produces them, but there they are found both abundantly and of large size. Those that are brought to our part of the world are only the refuse, as it were, of the finer and larger stones. . . . In this kingdom also are made the best and most delicate buckrams, [cotton stuffs]... in sooth they look like tissue of spider's web! There is no King nor Queen in the world but might be glad to wear them. Book IV., ch. XXI. Concerning the Land of Darkness. Still further north, [from Great Turkey]... there is a region. which bears the name of Darkness, because neither sun nor moon nor stars appear, but it is always as dark as . . . in the twilight. . . . Those people have vast quantities of valuable peltry . . . Sables Ermine . . . the Black Fox, and many other valuable furs. . . . And the people who are on their borders, where the Light is, pur ... |