About the spring of the year, there arrived a fleet of ships from, Genoa, at the port of Joppa; and when the Christian merchants had exchanged all their commodities in the towns upon the coast, and had likewise visited the holy places, we all embarked.  After being tossed about upon the seas by many storms and tempests, we landed at Brundusium; whence, with a prosperous journey, we travelled through Apulia to Rome, where we visited the habitations of the holy apostles St Peter and St Paul, and performed our devotions at various monuments of the holy, martyrs in different parts of the city.  From thence, the archbishops and other princes of the empire Journeyed towards the right hand for Germany, while we declined to the left hand into France, taking our leaves of each other with indescribable courtesey and kindly greeting.  And at length, of thirty horsemen of us who went from Normandy fat and lusty, scarce twenty poor pilgrims returned, all on foot, and reduced almost to skeletons with fatigue and hardships.

[1] Hakluyt, II. 41.  Ingulph.  Ab.  Croyl. apud finem.

CHAP.  II.

Original Discovery of Greenland by the Icelanders.[1]

Although the discoveries contained in this and the next subsequent chapter were certainty preceded, in point of time, by the voyages of the two Mahomedans, in Chap.  IV. and the insertion of these two chapters, II. and III. in this place may therefore be considered as a deviation from the chronological order of our plan; it seemed proper and even necessary, that they should be both introduced here, as presenting an unbroken series of the discoveries of the Norwegians, and as fully authorized by the geographical principles of our arrangement.

Among the many petty sovereigns, vikingr or chieftans of Norway, who had been reduced to subjection by Harold Harfagr, or the fair-haired, was one named Thorer.  Thorwald, the relative of this person, had lived at the court of Earl Hayne, whence he had been obliged to fly, on account of having committed a murder, and went to Iceland, where he settled a considerable track of country with a new colony.  Eric-raude, or red-head, the son of Thorwald, was long persecuted by a powerful neighbour named Eyolf Saur, because Eric had killed some of Eyolf’s servants; and at length Eric killed Eyolf likewise.  For this and other crimes he was condemned to go into banishment for three years; and knowing that a man named Gunbiorn had previously discovered certain banks to the west of Iceland, named from him Gunbiorn’s Schieran, or Gunbar banks, and likewise a country of considerable extent still farther to the westwards, he determined on making a voyage of discovery to that country.  Setting sail therefore from Iceland, he soon fell in with a point of land called Hirjalfs-ness; and continuing his voyage to the south-west he entered a large inlet, to which he gave the name of Erics-sound, and passed