This revealing analysis of Medieval cartography and native American travel upends conventional narratives about discovering the New World.
For generations, American schools have taught children that Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. But evidence shows that Leif Erikson set foot on the continent centuries earlier. As debate continues over which explorer deserves the credit, early maps of North America suggest that we may be asking the wrong questions. How did medieval Europeans have such specific geographic knowledge of North America, a land even their most daring adventurers had not yet discovered?
In Erikson, Eskimos, and Columbus, James Robert Enterline presents new evidence that traces this knowledge to the cartographic skills of indigenous people of the high Arctic, who, he contends, provided the basis for medieval maps of large parts of North America. Drawing on an exhaustive chronological survey of pre-Columbian maps, including the controversial Yale Vinland Map, this book boldly challenges conventional accounts of Europe’s discovery of the New World.
James Robert Enterline is a mathematician and computer consultant who is well known for his work in the history of cartography. He is the author of Viking America.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations Directory to the Chronological Survey Preface and Acknowledgments Front Map Chapter 1. Introduction Part I: Outstanding Misunderstandings Chapter2. Claudius Clavus Chapter 3. The Inventio Fortunatae and Martin Behaim Chapter 4. The Yale Vinland Map Part II: The Chronological Survey Chapter5. Introduction to the Chronological Survey A. Classical Norse Greenland Chapter 6. Early Scandinavian Geography Chapter 7. Communication Links with Greenland Chapter 8. The Unseen Bridge B. Uncovering an America Chapter 9. Late Greenland-Based Exploration Chapter 10. Foundations of European Misunderstandings Chapter 11. News Penetrates the Establishment Chapter 12. Europe's Westward Awakening Chapter 13. Mastery of the Atlantic C. Old Images in New Maps Chapter 14. A New Continent Emerges Chapter 15. An Old Continent Emerges Chapter 16. The Misunderstandings Are Resolved Chapter 17. Conclusion Appendix: The Vinland Map's Ink Notes Selected Bibliography Facsimile Atlases and Reproductions Index
"This book belongs in research map collections, particularly those focusing on northern regions or antiquarian maps."
Thor Heyerdahl
James Enterline convinced me when he presented his interpretation of medieval maps of the Arctic region.
Norman J. W. Thrower
A thorough investigation of the evidence of Norse information about the New World and how this was transmitted to Europe. Perhaps the most novel idea is that the Norse may have learned map making from the Inuit people; the most provocative is the author's discussion of the Vinland map, which in itself would make an important work. The book is logically and effectively organized, the scholarship is exemplary, and the writing style is readable and interesting.
— Norman J. W. Thrower, UCLA
Alice C. Hudson
This book belongs in research map collections, particularly those focusing on northern regions or antiquarian maps.
— Alice C. Hudson, Chief of the Map Division, New York Public Library
