How Vikings crossed the North Atlantic? The reinterpretation of ‘sun compasses’ — Narsarsuaq, Wolin, Truso
01 Sep 2020-International Journal of Nautical Archaeology (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd)-Vol. 49, Iss: 2, pp 318-328
TL;DR: The discovery of the Narsarsuaq disc (Uunartoq, Greenland) in 1948 sparked a long discussion on the identification of wooden discs as solar compasses used by the Vikings during sea voyages across t...
Abstract: The discovery of the Narsarsuaq disc (Uunartoq, Greenland) in 1948 sparked a long discussion on the identification of wooden discs as solar compasses used by the Vikings during sea voyages across t...
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TL;DR: The use of the so-called "sun compasses" was discussed in this journal by Wojciech Filipowiak, who dismissed the idea of their use as a navigational aid of the Vikings to find their way across the open seas as mentioned in this paper .
Abstract: The function of the so-called ‘sun compasses’ was recently discussed in this journal by Wojciech Filipowiak, who dismissed the idea of their use as a navigational aid of the Vikings to find their way across the open seas (Filipowiak, 2020). There is, apart from a few remarks, nothing to add to his argumentation, but there are a couple of other navigational means, recorded outside the late medieval North Atlantic region, which are worth considering, but have not been discussed yet. Unlike the use of astrolabes and cross-staffs, which have been tested on transatlantic passages (Beach & Atkinson, 2004; Knox-Johnston, 1991, pp. 191–200, 2013, pp. 69–71; Köberer, 2014) there is only one mentioned, but failed attempt of practical testing of a sun disc. In 1991/92, Burghard Pieske crossed the Atlantic from Denmark to New York in a scaled-down copy of the Gokstad ship, Wiking Saga (Pieske, 1993, pp. 28, 33–35). In 1992 (no date given), after wintering in Greenland, it was planned to use a sun disc for measuring the latitude on a passage to Labrador. On the beginning of the passage, though the sky was partly overcast, the instrument was tested. Unfortunately, under these conditions the central pin of the disc did not cast a shadow. Later on, the sky became totally overcast and this lasted until the end of the crossing (Pieske, 1993, pp. 330, 333–334). When using the sun for finding the latitude during a passage, one has to allow for the sun’s declination moving to the north or the south. Apart from a couple of weeks, immediately before and after the summer or winter solstice, this reaches up to 24 ́ a day (Reed’s, 1981, pp. 12–81). It adds up to about 2° on a five-day passage, which equals 120 nm at the equator. On the other hand, simple navigational instruments can well be used as aids for steering the right course, as Timothy Severin showed in 1980 when he was able to find the latitude on a trip from the Persian Gulf to India by using a ‘kamal’ and Polaris (Severin, 1983, pp. 96–98). Apart from the Pole Star others were utilized as well by the Arabs on long-distance voyages (Shihab, 2013, pp. 21–34). These techniques were practically tested in 2010 during a passage from Muscat to Singapore on Jewel of Muscat (Staples, 2013, pp. 51–60). It must be pointed out that in Nordic written sources there are no hints for the use of any kind of instrument for navigational purposes. Instead, there is a note from AD 1267 about an expedition to northern Greenland, stating that ‘the sun shone day and night. When he was south, he was not higher above the horizon that his shadow covered the face of a man who was laying on a thwart in a six-rower’ (Schnall, 1975, p. 90, translation author). The settlement of far-off lying islands started in the early Neolithic period not only in Europe, but elsewhere as well (e.g. Weski, 1982, p. 191), which is a clear indication that the necessary skill for offshore navigation must have been available. This applies also to the trade between the Red Sea and India from the Roman Period onwards or the settlement of the Faroes by persons from the British Isles about 300 years before the arrival of Nordic peoples (Blue, 2007, p. 265ff; Curtin et al., 2021, p. 5). Further, there are hints for navigation without instruments in other geographic areas or periods (e.g. Anichtchenko, 2016, p. 307; Davydov, 1977, pp. 155–156; Hansen, 1965, p. 105; Weski, 1982; 2012, pp. 231–232; Whitridge, 2004, pp. 221–226). Considerable navigational knowledge was also required for other passages like crossing the Pentland Firth near the Orkneys with its strong tidal streams (Weski, 1982, p. 201, 2012, p. 232). Finally, navigators must have possessed knowledge of weather lore. For example, in about AD 400 on a passage from Egypt to Libya the captain made a long slant offshore, because he expected strong winds from another direction and did not want to be caught by a lee-shore (Casson, 1952, p. 296; Fitzgerald, 1926, Epist. 4,10; Kahanov, 2006, p. 439). Before Early Modern Times written sources mentioning navigational skills are rare with the exception of Nordic sagas (see below). For example in AD 1075 Adam of Bremen wrote that the distance between Jutland and Norway could be covered in a ‘saltu per noctem’. From this Detlev Ellmers concluded that
References
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Book•
01 Jan 1965
TL;DR: A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic has long been the foremost reference source for the Icelandic language as mentioned in this paper, and is considered an essential complement to the study of medieval Nordic literature, which is also referred to as the dictionary of Iceland.
Abstract: The Scandinavian influence was the earliest, and arguably one of the strongest external forces that went into the making of modern English. Consequently, a knowledge of the Icelandic language is of utmost importance. Not only does Icelandic supply a linguistic basis for such a study, it also provides the source of a great deal of the necessary information for the understanding of medieval British history. Old Icelandic literature, both in poetry and prose, presents a wealth of interesting material, which in some respects stands unrivalled among the literatures of medieval Europe, and without which, one's knowledge of the ancient North would certainly be limited. First published in England in 1910 and last printed in 1975, Geir T. Zoega's A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic has long been the foremost reference source for the Icelandic language. Compiled on the general principle of including all the words the ordinary student of Icelandic is likely to meet, the dictionary has helped to bring about a wider interest in the language and literature of Iceland and is considered an essential complement to the study of medieval Nordic literature.
60 citations
Journal Article•
51 citations
"How Vikings crossed the North Atlan..." refers background in this paper
...For example, it may take less than six years for driftwood to get from North Siberia to Iceland, however, it usually takes longer (Eggertsson, 1993: 26, 28, figs 11–12)....
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01 Jan 1998
48 citations
"How Vikings crossed the North Atlan..." refers background in this paper
...Remains of the presumed convent church and other visible ruins were thought to date from the 12th century, whereas subsequent 14C analysis indicated that they were used in the 14th–15th century (Lynnerup, 1998: 22)....
[...]
TL;DR: In this article, an initial study of the 13 C values for human bone collagen of 27 Norse Greenlanders in the late 1990s suggested a change in the Norse diet from predominantly terrestrial to predominantly marine food.
Abstract: An initial study of the 13 C values for human bone collagen of 27 Norse Greenlanders in the late 1990s suggested a change in the Norse diet from predominantly terrestrial to predominantly marine food. This shift may well indicate a change in diet; the question left open by the limited initial isotope study was, however, whether the change in diet was a reflection of altered subsistence strategies or altered farming practices. Furthermore, the first study did not convincingly answer the question of whether the dietary change occurred gradually over time or within the space of a few years—and, if the latter case, when? Neither did it answer questions concerning dietary differences between the two Norse settlements, between individual farms and between the sexes, or the nature of the marine food that was consumed. Distinguishing locally born people from foreigners is yet another matter for investigation in order to leave out of account persons that grew up outside of Greenland. This new study includ...
40 citations
TL;DR: It is demonstrated here that a simple tool, that is called "shadow-stick," could have allowed orientation by a sun-compass with satisfying accuracy when shadows were not formed, but the sun position could have reliably been estimated.
Abstract: It is widely accepted that Vikings used sun-compasses to derive true directions from the cast shadow of a gnomon. It has been hypothesized that when a cast shadow was not formed, Viking navigators relied on crude skylight polarimetry with the aid of dichroic or birefringent crystals, called "sunstones." We demonstrate here that a simple tool, that we call "shadow-stick," could have allowed orientation by a sun-compass with satisfying accuracy when shadows were not formed, but the sun position could have reliably been estimated. In field tests, we performed orientation trials with a set composed of a sun-compass, two calcite sunstones, and a shadow-stick. We show here that such a set could have been an effective orientation tool for Vikings only when clear, blue patches of the sky were visible.
20 citations