There is an opinion that the Vikings gave the island in the North Atlantic a logical name, because in their time Greenland was really “green”. We checked how justified this opinion.
The word "Greenland" comes from the Staronorvezhsky Grenland, which literally translates as "green land". The inconsistency of the name of the island and its harsh northern climate causes a misunderstanding. Nikolai Yasamanov in the book "Entertaining Climatology" Explainsthat "this island owes his name by the fact that at that time he introduced himself to the Vikings in the form of a vast green carpet." In the book “100 Greatest Riddles of History”, the formulation of much more Streamed: Allegedly a thousand years ago, Greenland was a "more hospitable land." The author of the article on the website "World of Knowledge" Indicatesthat “the name of Greenland could well correspond to reality. The climate of the Northern Hemisphere in 800-1200 was much warmer than today. ”
The founder of the first settlement on the island of Greenland counts Viking Eric Torvaldsson, better known as Eric Red. We know about this man and his travel thanks to one of the Icelandic sagas composed between the XIII and XV centuries. From this source It is knownthat Eric Rygia was born in Norway, then his father and his family were expelled to Iceland. Around 982, from there they expelled for three years due to the crimes committed and Eric himself, who went by sea to the west.
The saga reports that for three years spent in Greenland, Eric Rygia explored several areas of the island. In his travels, Viking discovered a area of free from ice and suitable for life and agriculture. Upon returning from exile, Eric Rygya told the Icelanders about the land he examined, which he called "green." According to a medieval source, he used the name "Greenland", because "people will want to go there more if the earth has a good name." 25 ships with immigrants went to colonize this territory with Eric Rym.
At the same time, it would be completely based on a lies of such a “marketing move”, it would be incorrect - Eric Red, rather, overly embellished reality. For example, on the official tourist portal of Greenland Approvedthat in the summer in the southern part of the island the temperature can reach +20 ° C. In the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iceland on cooperation with Greenland It is saidthat the southern part of the island is "still the center of agriculture." Studies that once Greenland was really “green” exist, but their authors also clarify that it is about the southern coastal areas. So, in 2007, an international group of researchers Analyzed DNA samples extracted from ice in this part of the island. Based on this find, scientists said that several hundred thousand years ago, Greenland on climate could well be like a modern Scandinavia. In 2019, American scientists investigated The deposits from the bottom of the ancient lake in the south-west of the country and came to the conclusion that approximately at the time when Eric Ryzhye colonized Greenland, it was in this part of the island that the climate could really be warmer.
Although modern scientists suggest that during the Vikings climate in the south of Greenland was softer, there is no evidence that it was because of this that Greenland received its name. Despite all the shortcomings of the saga as a historical source, this is the only evidence of why Eric Rygia decided to name the island that way. Whatever the climatic conditions more than a thousand years ago, this name was given by the Viking exiled from Iceland. The version of the "marketing" etymology of the word "Greenland" was fixed in dictionaries, her adhere to And the Greenlanders themselves.
Most of the untruth
- https://www.snopes.com/Fact-check/greenland-called-green-lad/
- https://wwww.scientificamerican.com/article/proof-on-couthern-greenland-green-evarmer/
- https://visitgreenland.com/articles/10-Facts-nellie-huang/
- https://ria.ru/20190206/1550497099.html
- https://www.tymonline.com/word/greenland#tymonline_v_11952
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