Let us now return to the consideration of the Icelandic voyages to the
American Continent, though not without first seeking a better
acquaintance with the men by whom they were performed.
We have already seen that the Northmen were a people of no inferior
attainments. Indeed, they constituted the most enterprising portion of
the race, and, on general principles, we should therefore view them as
fitted even above all the men of their time for the important work of
exploration beyond the seas. They had made themselves known in every
part of the civilized world[48] by their daring as soldiers and
navigators. Straying away into the distant east from whence they
originally came, we see them laying the foundation of the Russian
empire, swinging their battle-axes in the streets of Constantinople,
carving their mystic runes upon the Lions of the Areopagus, and filling
the heart of even the great Charlemagne with dismay. Says Dasent, when
summing up their achievements: "In Byzantium they are the leaders of the
Greek emperor's body guard, and the main support of his tottering
throne. From France, led by Rollo, they tear away her fairest province
and found a long line of kings. In Saxon England they are the bosom
friends of such kings as Athelstane, and the sworn foes of Ethelred the
Unready. In Danish England they are the foremost among the thanes of
Canute, Swein and Hardicanute, and keep down the native population with
an iron heel. In Norman England," he continues, "the most serious
opposition the conqueror meets with is from the colonists of his own
race settled in Northumbria. He wastes their lands with fire and sword,
and drives them across the border, where we still find their energy,
their perseverance, and their speech existing in the lowland Scotch. In
Norway they dive into the river with King Olaf Tryggvesson, the best and
strongest champion of his age, and hold him down beneath the waves so
long that the bystanders wonder whether either king or Icelander will
ever reappear on the surface.[49] Some follow Saint Olaf in his crusades
against the old [pagan] faith.[50] Some are his obstinate foes, and
assist at his martyrdom. Many follow Harold the Stern to England when he
goes to get his 'seven feet' of English earth, and almost to a man they
get their portion of the same soil, while their names grow bright in
song and story." And finally, "From Iceland as a base, they push on to
Greenland and colonize it: nay, they discover America in those
half-decked barks."[51]