Eastern Settlement

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map of the Eastern settlement of the Norse in medieval Greenland. The area is within the modern municipalities of Nanortalik, Qaqortoq and Narsaq. The known major farms and churches are identified on the map as well as some probable geographical names. The names are the English versions of the Norse names.
Map of the Eastern settlement of the Norse in medieval Greenland. The area is within the modern municipalities of Nanortalik, Qaqortoq and Narsaq. The known major farms and churches are identified on the map as well as some probable geographical names. The names are the English versions of the Norse names.

The Eastern Settlement (Old Norse: Eystribygð, Icelandic: Eystribyggð) was the larger of the two areas of Greenland settled in approximately 985 AD by Norse farmers from Iceland (the other settlement being the Western Settlement). At its peak the settlement contained approximately 4000 inhabitants.

Despite its name, the Eastern Settlement was more south than east of its companion and, like the Western Settlement, was located on the southwestern tip of Greenland at the head of long fjords: Eirik's Fjord, Igaliku Fjord/Einarsfjord, Sermilik Fjord, to name a few (see also the map).

Ruins of Norse farms and churches (see Brattahlíð, Garðar and Hvalsey) remain and the town of Qaqortoq is nearby as are smaller Inuit villages.

[edit] See also

[edit] Source

Diamond, Jared (2005): Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed. New York: Penguin.