Americas Archive
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The Vínland sagas as propaganda for the Christian Church
Posted on March 10, 2013 | No CommentsOver the last two centuries, the Vínland Sagas have become some of the most discussed of Medieval Nordic documents. There are arguments about every aspect of the sagas: What the name Vínland means, if Vínland existed, where it would have been geographically, and how much of their content is historically accurate. -
L’Anse aux Meadows was a ‘temporary base camp’ for the Vikings in North America, study finds
Posted on January 9, 2013 | No CommentsA new study of the archaeological remains from the only confirmed Viking settlement in North America argues that it was never meant to be a long-term settlement. It is also very likely that it was the home to at least one Norse woman. -
19th-Century Gothic Revival House for Sale in New York
Posted on January 1, 2013 | No CommentsFor those looking for a little medieval in their home, this estate near New York City is considered one of America's best examples of Gothic Revival architecture. -
The Crusades Go Global: Crusading in the 16th Century
Posted on December 26, 2012 | No CommentsToday I will argue that the crusades, an already well-established, world-historical movement went global in the 16th century. -
An island archaeological approach to the Viking colonization of the North Atlantic
Posted on October 28, 2012 | No CommentsThe present paper is a brief exploration of the application of methods commonly used in the archaeological study of the Pacific and Mediterranean islands to the expansion of the Vikings across the North Atlantic during the ninth to eleventh centuries AD. -
How Not to (Re)Write World History: Gavin Menzies and the Chinese Discovery of America
Posted on October 7, 2012 | No CommentsThe author's attempt to rewrite world history, however, is based on a hodgepodge of circular reasoning, bizarre speculation, distorted sources, and slapdash research. -
The Secret Society: Descendants of Crypto-Jews in the San Antonio Area
Posted on September 3, 2012 | No CommentsThe history of the converso Jews began in medieval Catholic Spain, which was constantly wracked with anti-Semitism that, many times, led to mass conversions or massacres of the Jewish population. -
From Cabot to Cartier: The Early Exploration of Eastern North America, 1497–1543
Posted on July 15, 2012 | No CommentsThe first European explorers to make contact with North America did so far to the north of the area contacted by Columbus, and their voyages would almost certainly have taken place regardless of the success or failure of Columbus -
500 year old map of ‘America’ discovered in Munich
Posted on July 4, 2012 | No CommentsA previously unknown version of Martin Waldseemüller's famous world map has been disocvered in the collections of the University Library in Munich. -
The genetic and historical linkage between the Old Norwegian Sheep, the Icelandic Sheep and the Navajo Churro
Posted on May 19, 2012 | No CommentsIt may be possible to substitute a readily available double coated sheep fleece from the American Southwest for the original Scandinavian double coated fleece in order to make suitable vadmal fabric for clothing -
Research uncovers new details about John Cabot’s voyage to North America
Posted on May 9, 2012 | No CommentsEvidence that a Florentine merchant house financed the earliest English voyages to North America, has been published on-line in the academic journal Historical Research. -
Vikings not alone when they crossed the North Atlantic – mice hitched a ride too
Posted on March 20, 2012 | No CommentsNew research has revealed that when the Vikings sailed across the North Atlantic to places like Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland, they brought with them the common house mouse. -
The Fact and Fiction of Vikings in America
Posted on March 1, 2012 | No CommentsAdventure stories abound about the marauders of the north seas, the Vikings. Visions of sword-wielding giants of men and great swooping ships come easily to mind, but this is not the whole picture. -
More Vinland maps and texts. Discovering the New World in Higden’s Polychronicon
Posted on January 12, 2012 | No CommentsThis present essay seeks to contribute to the debates over the early mapping of America by investigating the possibility that the Vinland Map (regardless of authenticity) is not the sole visual representation of Norse America, and certainly not the earliest. Rather, the earliest surviving maps of America appear to be a series of T–O derivative maps produced roughly 150 years before the voyages of Columbus as illustrations to Ranulf Higden’s Polychronicon. -
Skeletons point to Columbus voyage for syphilis origins
Posted on December 21, 2011 | No CommentsMore evidence emerges to support that the progenitor of syphilis came from the New World. -
Columbus and the Labyrinth of History
Posted on October 10, 2011 | No CommentsColumbus and the Labyrinth of History By John Noble Wilford The Wilson Quarterly (Autumn 1991) Introduction: History has not been the same since Christopher Columbus. Neither has he been the... -
Elite Revisionists and Popular Beliefs: Christopher Columbus, Hero or Villain?
Posted on October 10, 2011 | No CommentsElite Revisionists and Popular Beliefs: Christopher Columbus, Hero or Villain? By Howard Schuman, Barry Schwartz and Hannag D’Arc Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 1 (2005) Abstract: According to revisionist... -
Scholar finds evidence of links between Vikings and North American natives
Posted on September 27, 2011 | No CommentsOld Norse sagas such as Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders have been long been considered among the most important sources of information about relations... -
Furs, Fish and Ivory – Medieval Norsemen at the Arctic Fringe
Posted on July 22, 2011 | No CommentsFurs, Fish and Ivory – Medieval Norsemen at the Arctic Fringe By Christian Keller Journal of the North Atlantic, Vol. 3 (2010) Abstract: Why did the Norse Icelanders colonize Greenland... -
Analysing the Vinland Map: A Critical Review of a Critical Review
Posted on July 13, 2011 | No CommentsAnalysing the Vinland Map: A Critical Review of a Critical Review By Kenneth M. Towe, R.J.H Clark and K.A. Seaver Archaeometry, Vol.50:5 (2008) Abstract: In an attempt to validate the... -
Greenland Norse Knowledge of the North Atlantic Environment
Posted on July 2, 2011 | No CommentsGreenland Norse Knowledge of the North Atlantic Environment By Thomas W. N. Haine Published Online (2009) Introduction: The arcing Norse expansion across the subpolar North Atlantic ocean traces an inspiring... -
Contact between the Norse Vikings and the Dorset culture in Arctic Canada
Posted on July 1, 2011 | No CommentsContact between the Norse Vikings and the Dorset culture in Arctic Canada By Robert Park Antiquity, Vol.82 (2008) Introduction: One the most dramatic encounters in human history took place when... -
Mapping Medievalism at the Canadian Frontier
Posted on July 1, 2011 | No CommentsMapping Medievalism at the Canadian Frontier Edited by Kathryn Brush Museum London, 2010 ISBN: 978-1-897215-30-2 Introduction: Art and cultural historians have traditionally examined the mythology of the Canadian frontier in... -
John Cabot and Christopher Columbus Revisited
Posted on May 30, 2011 | No CommentsJohn Cabot and Christopher Columbus Revisited By Francesc Albardaner i Llorens The Northern Mariner, Vol.10, No. 2 (2000) Introduction: The Iberian peninsula is very rich in historical archives, and research... -
“Viking” North America: The North American Public’s Understanding of Its Norse Heritage
Posted on May 17, 2011 | No Comments“Viking” North America: The North American Public’s Understanding of Its Norse Heritage By Megan Arnott Paper given at the 46th International Congress on Medieval Studies (2011) Arnott’s paper dealt with...
