I have always known the Irish beat the Vikings to North America, but convincing the doubters has been tricky.<\/p>\n
My most reputable evidence is that Tim Severin<\/strong> had a replica of a Medieval leather boat built and sailed it across the stormy Atlantic to Iceland. He wrote about the adventure in The Brendan Voyage<\/strong> — which Roseledge Books<\/strong> carries — naming Brendan, a 6th Century monk, as sailor. Still today, St. Brendan the Sailor lives on in lore. \u00a0My b-i-l, an R and D kind of guy, pointed out that this only demonstrated that he could do it, not that he did do it. \u00a0Pshaw, I say, undeterred.<\/p>\n Then today, reading the NYT Travel section<\/strong> online, I joined Dean Nelson<\/strong> on a Literary Tour of Iceland and learned that Icelanders trace their storytelling prowess back to “the 1,000 year-old Icelandic sagas<\/strong> \u00a0that touch on the nation\u2019s Norwegian and Irish roots<\/a> and the mythic tales of elves and trolls.” \u00a0Did you catch that casual reference to the early Irish, which casualness just makes it an even more exciting bit of reputable evidence?<\/p>\n Okay, he listed the Norwegians first, a bit distressing, but a likely reversible\u00a0lapse. \u00a0But then he named only elves and trolls, which seemed a more substantive problem, as neither is Irish. \u00a0Doldrums, alert. \u00a0It took a bit of rummaging, but I found out<\/a> on the Internet that “a leprechaun is a sort of Irish troll, in the same way that a troll is a sort of Scandawegian leprechaun.” \u00a0Whew!<\/p>\n Maybe I can talk my b-i-l, a veteran Road Scholar, into a trip to Iceland to check this out. \u00a0He’s already been to Newfoundland and checked out the remains of a Viking settlement. \u00a0He noted, with some glee, that no one mentioned the Irish. \u00a0Clearly, another good reason to go to Iceland.<\/p>\n And I’ll get going on the Sagas<\/strong>, which Roseledge Books<\/strong> also will carry, as available translated and in paperback.<\/p>\n ——————————<\/p>\n You may want pictures, probably no more than I. \u00a0Help me out, Santa?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have always known the Irish beat the Vikings to North America, but convincing the doubters has been tricky. My most reputable evidence is that Tim Severin had a replica of a Medieval leather boat built and sailed it across … Continue reading