Customer Reviews

Maps, Myths, and Men: The Story of the Vinland Map

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This book gives you the latest updates regarding archaeological findings of Norse artifacts in Canada and Norse objects made of
American resources found in Greenland. It goes through all
Norse references about the Norse way of seeing the world and
suggests that the Norse used American territories for centuries
after Leif Eiriksson's discovery.
The fact that no other pre-Columbian Norse maps of Vinland
exists together with ink studies, oddities in the text on the map and script analyzes suggests that the Vinland map is a 20th
century fake made by a German priest.
If you are interested in the Viking voyages to America this book is a must in your collection and the reference section will
guide you to further interesting material about Vinland.

Author Seaver is nothing if not thorough. She spends more than 400 pages of text and notes in this book examining the provenance and legitimacy of the famous Vinland map published in 1965 by two institutional giants, Yale University and the British Museum. The authenticity of the map, supposedly drawn in 1440 and showing "Vinland," the Norse discoveries in North America, has long been questioned by scholars. Seaver's account and her detective work in identifying the likely forger of the map is likely to be the definitive account.

Actually, although admiring her work, I spent little time on the long tale of how she determined the Vinland map is a modern-day forgery. More interesting to me was her summary of Norse history in North America which she covered in the first 86 pages. This is an abridgement of the longer account she gave in "The Frozen Echo"

The main question she tackles is one of the most intriguing in history: why did the Norse colonies in Greenland disappear after almost 500 years of existence? A worsening climate, Eskimo attacks, and the failure of the Norse to adjust to the environment of the Arctic have all been cited. To the contrary, Seaver believes that the Greenland colonies failed because the isolated residents united with English cod fishermen and moved on to greener -- and more lucrative -- pastures in Newfoundland about 1500. There's little evidence to back up her opinion, although it is well reasoned. If this idea excites you, read "The Frozen Echo" for a more thorough examination.

Seaver combined the skill of an exhaustive, and sometimes exhausting, scholar with that of a literary detective in writing the book. Its worth your attention.

Smallchief

Great book!!! Ms. Seaver's detective work is wonderful and thoughtful-beyond doubt. But the end of the story? NO! Read the book and then order the NOVA DVD on the same topic: "The Viking Deception" (available from Amazon- completed in 2005 after publication of this book and thus updates the story)...Carbon 14 tests indicate the map is on very old parchment but that parchment that may have been 'treated' prior to being used for the map in 1950, thus the priest as creator is now doubtful. If created in 1950 the 'creator' is again open to investigation and question. Lots of questions, lots of debate--great story.