Before Columbus, there were the Vikings, and one of them by the name of Bjarni Herjólfsson in the summer of 989 almost discovered America.
Scientists go out there and discover things about how the world works. I’m a scientist and sometimes I discover stuff before breakfast. I’m like Christopher Columbus. I don’t make that comparison lightly. Columbus thought he had discovered a new continent, but it turns out that there were already millions of people who knew about it. I too discover new things all the time, but then I realize that I’m not the first one and that someone else has already done the research. Sometimes, they’ve been publishing on the subject for years.
But this isn’t about me or about science. It’s about the discovery of America.
Bjarni Herjólfsson lived in Norway. He had a good job, he had many friends, and he loved his live. Bjarni’s parents lived in Iceland. Every summer, Bjarni took some time off to sail to Iceland to visit them. This was easy, since he had his own boat. It was one of those Viking longboats with a square, white linen sail and a wooden dragon head in the front.
One summer, Bjarni set sail again to see mom and dad. When he arrived at their place, they weren’t there. Instead, he found a note on their kitchen table that said that they had gone on a little vacation of their own. This is why you always call ahead when you visit someone. They had gone to Greenland with their old friend, Erik the Red. He was called Erik the Red because of the color of his beard.
Bjarni thought, I’m going to surprise them in Greenland! He set sail again, but after some time, he realized that he hadn’t sailed to Greenland before and that he didn’t know the way. This was before GPS or even maps and compasses. Bjarni got lost. But then, he saw land on the Western horizon. As he got closer, it became obvious that the land was quite beautiful, with green, rolling hills covered by trees.
Bjarni got upset. This wasn’t Greenland! Greenland, despite its name, wasn’t green and it definitely didn’t have any trees. Bjarni turned around his boat. He didn’t even get out to take a look.
He finally managed to make his way to Greenland. He met his parents, and they were surprised to see him there, and they had a lovely time together.
A few weeks later, Bjarni met up with his friend Leif Erikson. They had been to school together, but then Leif moved to Iceland with his father, who was Erik the Red. That’s why his name was Erikson – the son of Erik. Leif heard Bjarni’s story, and he said: “You see a new continent that no-one has heard about and you just turn around your boat? That’s nuts!”
“What would you have done?”
“I’d have explored it! Imagine, a whole continent! I’d have looked around, cut down a few trees, hunted some animals, maybe pillage a little bit. In fact, I just decided, I’m going to check it out right now!”
Leif Erikson got in his boat and sailed off, and that’s how he became the first European to set foot in America. He liked it enough to move there permanently. Later some of his other friends came along, and they started a settlement they called Vinland. It didn’t last, because their Viking girlfriends didn’t want to move there, and the neighbors kept forcibly objecting to the pillaging. But while it lasted, it was good.
And that’s the mostly true story of the Bjarni Herjólfsson, the man who almost discovered America.
Nehaveigur 