Discovered in the Ruins at L'Anse aux Meadows Viking Settlement

Captain Leif Erikson's Log - August 1, 1000 - translated from the original Norwegian

I'm so damned sick of eating fish and long for the taste of red meat again.  Since leaving Iceland 20 days ago, we have eaten the last of our sheep and reindeer and are now existing on fish.  We stopped at Greenland, only to find out that my father, Erik the Red, had played a cruel joke on everyone by naming it so.  He had been exiled from Norway for murder and set off to explore the land to the west.  He sent word back to Norway that the land he found was beautiful and fertile and that he had named it Greenland.  When I and my crew set out to follow in his path and to explore farther west, we naturally assumed that we would be able to stock up on food once we reached Greenland.  The place is nothing but ice and rock, with only the tiniest bit of useful land near the southwest coast.  It was good to be reunited with my father again, but disappointing that we were going to be stuck eating nothing but fish until we could find some arable land.

August 12, 1000 - We have made port in another desolate and rocky land that is not on my admittedly poor charts.  I have christened it Helluland for its flat rocks.  Had it been my father who found this land, he would likely have named it Lotusland or something equally deceptive.  We stayed only long enough to take on fresh water and then set off again.  I am concerned about our navigator, Bjorn, who drinks Brennivín, our traditional Icelandic beverage, far too frequently for my liking.  This coastline has many shoals and much fog.  Bjorn claims that by climbing the mast, naked, he can better get his bearings, but I am doubtful.

August 16, 1000 - We have sighted land again, this time heavily forested and much more suited to our needs.  I have called this land Markland, which means Forest Land.  I sent a crew ashore to cut some timber and in two days time, we were back at sea.  Bjorn has now started to dance maniacally while under the influence of the Brennivin.  How he can navigate in this condition baffles me.  Fortunately, the whales and sea birds indicate that I am close to shore, but there are dangerous winds to contend with here.

August 19, 1000 - We have now landed in a luscious place with plentiful supplies of salmon, water, timber and land for planting.  I sent out two expeditions to explore the surrounding areas and one of them found grape vines.  We will camp here for the winter and I will call this place Vinland.  We built our settlement and in later years, were joined by many more people from my homeland.

 Excavated and restored Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows (Vinland)

 

Statue of a Dorset or Beothuk native. These cultures would have encountered the Vikings.

 The setting of a Viking feast dinner theatre near St. Anthony's, a town south of L'Anse aux Meadows.

 A demonstration of how to sharpen one's sword on one's nose guard.  What could go wrong?

Capelin and Cod tongues

 Once women were imported to our settlement, the real fighting began!

 Al making his accusation, on behalf of his boat crew (table mates) atop the council rock