LR - Article on Vikings

[Padraig Ruad O'Maolagain]

Just in time for Springfaire, I noticed these news articles on the web at lunch:

Famous Vikings Through History
By The Associated Press, 
Marking the 1000th anniversary of the Viking discovery of America, a new exhibit is opening at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. 
Here's a look at some of the famous Vikings of history, and some not so well known: 
-Bjarni Herjolfson, first European to report seeing the coast of North America. He was in a hurry and didn't stop in.(BYAR-nai HEHR-yolf-son) 
-Erik ``the Red'' Thorvaldsson, founded Greenland colony after being kicked out of Iceland for killings. Father of Leif Erikson. (AY-rik THOR-vald-son) 
-Gudrid ``the Wide-Traveled'' Thorbjarnardottir, mother of the first European child born in North America. She later made a pilgrimage to Rome and settled on a farm in Iceland. (GUD-rid THOR-byar-nar-dottir) 
-Leif ``the Lucky'' Erikson, backtracked from Bjarni Herjolfson's report and became the first European to set foot in North America. (LAFE AYRIK-son) 
-Snorri Sturluson, 13th century poet who wrote down the traditional Viking stories. (SNOR-ie STIRT-lu-son) 
-Snorri Thorfinnson, first European born in north America, son of Thorfinn Karlsefni and Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir. (SNOR-ie THOR-finn-son) 
-Thorvald Erikson, Leif's brother, the first European to encounter Native Americans, and the first to die fighting with them. (THOR-vald AYRIK-son). 



Smithsonian Features Viking Exhibit
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer 
WASHINGTON (AP) - A thousand years ago adventurers in open wooden ships sailed out of the North Atlantic mists to become the first Europeans on American shores. They return Saturday in a major Smithsonian exhibition: Vikings, the North Atlantic Saga. 
``The Viking spirit of exploration surmounted barriers,'' King Harald V of Norway said in previewing the show. ``That spirit is as highly prized today as it was then.'' 
On the 1,000th anniversary of their discovery of America, the National Museum of Natural History hosts the -million exhibition of artifacts, tracing the lives, travels, jewelry, religion, clothing, poetry and impact of the Norse. 
William W. Fitzhugh, curator of the exhibit, stressed that the focus is on more than the terror brought by the Norse. 
>From their discovery of America 500 years before Columbus, there is evidence of settlement and widespread trading with other Norse colonies in Greenland. The Vikings also honored poetry, and much of their history is preserved in sagas written and passed down, giving modern people a chance to understand their world and lives. 
The goal of the show is to tell their story, ``not just as raiders and plunderers but as heroes of western expansion who moved with their families and livestock to form new settlements,'' Fitzhugh said. 
While the Vikings traveled widely - from Iceland in the north to Constantinople in the South, from Russia in the east to Newfoundland in the west - the show focuses on their arrival in America 500 years before Columbus. 
The warrior spirit of the Vikings is not ignored, however, with the exhibition including a carved memorial stone from the isolated abbey at Lindisfarne off the coast of England. The Vikings arrival there on June 8, 793, marked their first mention by foreigners. 
These hardy Scandinavians were feared for their brutality. Erik Thorvaldsson settled in Iceland, where his violent ways earned the nickname ``the Red.'' Finding himself exiled again, he colonized Greenland and settlers with him traded with Inuit on Labrador and Baffin Island. 
One, Bjarni Herjolfsson, first sighted mainland North America but didn't bother to land since he was behind schedule. 
That left the first landing to Erik's son, Leif the Lucky, in about 1000. 
He founded a colony and Leif's brother, Thorvald, became the first Viking to encounter native Americans - and the first to be killed fighting with them. 
The brief colony was also the scene of the first European baby to be born in America, when Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir, wife of Thorfinn Karlsefni, delivered a boy named Snorri. Three years later, they moved back to Iceland. 
Location of their camp is not known, but remains of a Viking settlement have been found in Canada, and Fitzhugh noted that Viking goods have been found through eastern Canada and as far south as Maine. 
The 5,500 square foot exhibition contains more than 200 artifacts, including Viking Age jewelry, wooden carvings, and items from graves dated from A.D. 800 to 1050; medieval church carvings from 1050 to 1400; Romantic period, 1800-1900's, paintings; and contemporary pop-culture items. 
The display also takes on misunderstandings - they never wore horned helmets, for example - their misuse as symbols by the Nazis and even their modern day status as namesake for a National Football League team. 
The travel schedule for the exhibition: Washington, through Aug. 13; New York, American Museum of Natural History, Oct. 20 to Jan. 20, 2001; Houston, Houston Museum of Natural History, July 13, 2001 to Oct. 11, 2001; Los Angeles, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Nov. 23, 2001 to March 16, 2002; Ottawa, Canada, Canadian Museum of Civilization, May 16, 2002 to Oct. 14, 2002. 
- 
On the Net: 
National Museum of Natural History: http://www.nmnh.si.edu 

Padraig

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Politicians prefer unarmed peasants.
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