by means of an arrow shot from the town, informed the Prince that the
fate of the besieged depended upon his cutting off the aqueducts, which
supplied them with water. Vladimir in great joy made a vow that he would
be baptized if he gained possession of the town; and he did gain
possession of it. Then he sent to Constantinople to demand from the
Greek Emperor the hand of their sister Anna, and they in answer proposed
as a condition that he should embrace Christianity; for though they
themselves desired an alliance with so powerful a prince, they at the
same time took care to follow the prudent and pious policy of their
predecessors, who had ever sought to bring their fierce neighbors under
the humanizing influence of the faith. The Prince declared his consent;
because, in his own words, he had "long since examined and conceived a
love for the Greek law."
It was her faith alone which influenced the princess to sacrifice
herself at once for the temporal interests of her own country and for
the eternal welfare of a strange people. Accompanied by a venerable body
of clergy, she sailed for Cherson, and on her arrival induced the Prince
to hasten his baptism. "For it was so ordered," says the pious annalist,
"by the wisdom of God, that the sight of the Prince was at that time
much affected by a complaint of the eyes, but at the moment that the
Bishop of Cherson laid his hands upon him, when he had risen up out of
the bath of regeneration, Vladimir suddenly received not only spiritual
illumination, but also the bodily sight of his eyes, and cried out, 'Now
I have seen the true God!'"
Many of the Prince's suite were so struck by his miraculous recovery
that they followed his example and were baptized in like manner; and
these were doubtless afterward zealous for the introduction of
Christianity into their country. The baptism and marriage of Vladimir
were both celebrated in the Church of the Most Holy Mother of God; and
hence, no doubt, arose his peculiar zeal for the most pure Virgin, to
whose honor he afterward erected a cathedral church in his own city of
Kieff. In Cherson itself he built a church, in the name of his angel or
patron St. Basil; and taking with him the relics of St. Clement, Bishop
of Rome, and his disciple Thebas, with church vessels and ornaments and
icons, he restored the city to be again under the power of the emperors,
and returned to Kieff, accompanied by the princess, their daughter, and
her Greek ecclesiastics.
Nestor makes no mention of any of the bishops and priests from
Constantinople and Cherson who followed in the train of the Prince,
excepting only of one, Anastasius, the priest who had rendered him such
good service during the siege; but the _Books of the Genealogies_ give
the name of Michael, a Syrian by birth, and of six other bishops who
were sent together with him to Cherson by the patriarch Nicholas
Chrysoberges. Some have ventured to suppose that Michael was the name of
the bishop of the times of Oskold; but Nestor says nothing about him,
and this much only is certain, that he stands the first in the list of
the metropolitans of Russia.
After his return to Kieff the "Great Prince" caused his twelve sons to
be baptized, and proceeded to destroy the monuments of heathenism. He
ordered Peroun to be thrown into the Dnieper. The people at first
followed their idol, as it was borne down the stream, but were soon
quieted when they saw that the statue had no power to help itself.
And now Vladimir, being surrounded and supported by believers in his own
domestic circle, and encouraged by seeing that his boyars and suite were
prepared and ready to embrace the faith, made a proclamation to the
people, "That whoever, on the morrow, should not repair to the river,
whether rich or poor, he should hold him for his enemy." At the call of
their respected lord all the multitude of the citizens in troops, with
their wives and children, flocked to the Dnieper; and without any manner
of opposition received holy baptism as a nation from the Greek bishops
and priests. Nestor draws a touching picture of this baptism of a whole
people at once: "Some stood in the water up to their necks, others up to
their breasts, holding their young children in their arms; the priests
read the prayers from the shore, naming at once whole companies by the
same name." He who was the means of thus bringing them to salvation,
filled with a transport of joy at the affecting sight, cried out to the
Lord, offering and commending into his hands himself and his people: "O
great God! who hast made heaven and earth, look down upon these thy new
people. Grant them, O Lord, to know thee the true God, as thou hast been
made known to Christian lands, and confirm in them a true and unfailing
faith; and assist me, O Lord, against my enemy that opposes me, that,
trusting in thee and in thy power, I may overcome all his wiles."
Vladimir erected the first church--that of St. Basil, after whom he was
named--on the very mount which had formerly been sacred to Peroun,
adjoining his own palace. Thus was Russia enlightened.
So sudden and ready a conversion of the inhabitants of Kieff might well
seem improbable--that is, unless effected by violence--did we not attend
to the fact that the Russians had been gradually becoming enlightened
ever since the times of Oskold, for more than a hundred years, by means
of commerce, treaties of peace, and relations of every kind with the
Greeks, as well as with the Bulgarians and Slavonians of kindred origin
with ourselves, who had already been long in possession of the Holy
Scriptures in their own language. The constant endeavors of the Greek
emperors for the conversion of the Russians by means of their
ambassadors and preachers, the tolerance of the princes, the example and
protection of Olga, and the very delay and hesitation of Vladimir in
selecting his religion must have favorably disposed the minds of the
people toward it; especially if it be true, as has been asserted, that
Russia had already had a bishop in the time of Oskold. In a similar way,
though under different circumstances, in the vast Roman Empire, the
conversion of Constantine the Great suddenly rendered Christianity the
dominant religion, because, in fact, it had long before penetrated among
all ranks of his subjects.
Vladimir engaged zealously in building churches throughout the towns and
villages of his dominions, and sent priests to preach in them. He also
founded many towns all around Kieff, and so propagated and confirmed the
Christian religion in the neighborhood of the capital, from whence the
new colonies were sent forth. Neither was he slow in establishing
schools, into which he brought together the children of the boyars,
sometimes even in spite of the unwillingness of their rude parents. In
the mean time the Metropolitan with his bishops made progresses into the
interior of Russia, to the cities of Rostoff and Novgorod, everywhere
baptizing and instructing the people. Vladimir himself, for the same
good end, went in company with other bishops to the district of Souzdal
and to Volhynia. The boyars on the Volga and some of the Pechenegian
princes embraced the gospel of salvation together with his subjects, and
rejoiced to be admitted to holy baptism.
The pious Prince wished to see in his own capital a magnificent temple
in honor of the birth of the most holy Virgin, to be a likeness and
memorial of that at Cherson, in which he himself had been baptized; and
the year after his conversion he sent to Greece for builders, and laid
the foundation of the first stone cathedral in Russia, on the very same
spot where the Varangian martyrs had suffered. But the first
metropolitan was not to live to its completion; only his holy remains
were buried in it, and were thence translated afterward to the Pechersky
Lavra. Another metropolitan, Leontius, a Greek by birth, sent by the
same patriarch Nicholas, consecrated the new temple, to the great
satisfaction of Vladimir, who made a vow to endow it with the tenth part
of all his revenues; and from hence it was called "the Cathedral of the
Tithes."
These tithes, according to the ordinance ascribed to Prince Vladimir,
consisted of the fixed quota of corn, cattle, and the profits of trade,
for the support of the clergy and the poor; and besides this there was a
further tithe collected from every cause which was tried; for the right
of judging causes was granted to the bishops and the metropolitan, and
they judged according to the Nomocanon. The canons of the holy councils
and the Greek ecclesiastical laws, together with the Holy Scriptures,
were taken, from the very first, as the basis of all ecclesiastical
administration in Russia; and together with them there came into use
some portions also of the civil law of the Greeks, through the influence
of the Church. The care of the new temple and the collection of tithes
for its support were intrusted to a native of Cherson named Anastasius,
who enjoyed the confidence of Vladimir and his successors.
The light of Christianity had now been diffused throughout the whole of
Russia; but still the faith was nowhere as yet firmly established,
because there were no bishops regularly settled in the towns. The
metropolitan Leontius formed the first five dioceses, and appointed
Joachim of Cherson to be Bishop of Novgorod, Theodorus of Rostoff,
Neophytus of Chernigoff, Stephen the Volhynian of Vladimir, and Nicetas
of Belgorod. Assisted by Dobrina, the uncle of the "Great Prince," who
had long governed in Novgorod, the new bishop Joachim threw the statue
of Peroun into the Volkoff, and broke down the idolatrous altars without
any opposition on the part of the citizens; for they, too, like the
inhabitants of Kieff, from their comparative degree of civilization and
from their relations of intercourse with the Greeks, were in all
probability already favorably disposed for the reception of
Christianity. Tradition asserts that even as far back as the time of St.
Olga the hermits Sergius and Germanus lived upon the desolate island of
Balaam in the lake Ladoga, and that from thence St. Abramius went forth
to preach Christ to the savage inhabitants of Rostoff.
The attempt to found a diocese at Rostoff was less successful. The first
two bishops, Theodore and Hilarion, were driven away by the fierce
tribes of the forest district of Meri, who held obstinately to their
idols in spite of the zeal of St. Abramius. It cost the two succeeding
bishops, St. Leontius and St. Isaiah, many years of extraordinary labor
and exertion, attended frequently by persecutions, before they at length
succeeded in establishing Christianity in that savage region, from
whence it spread itself by degrees into all the surrounding districts.
Thus Vladimir, having piously observed the commandments of Christ during
the course of his long reign, had the consolation of seeing before his
death the fruits of his own conversion in all the wide extent of his
dominions. He departed this life in peace at Kieff, and was soon
reckoned with his grandmother Olga among the guardian saints of Russia.
John, the third metropolitan, who had been sent from Constantinople upon
the death of Leontius, buried the Prince in the Church of the Tithes,
which he had built, near the tomb of the Grecian princess, his wife, and
the uncorrupted relics of St. Olga were translated to the same spot.
LEIF ERICSON DISCOVERS AMERICA
A.D. 1000
CHARLES C. RAFN
SAGA OF ERIC THE RED
(Besides the Northmen or Norsemen, those ancient Scandinavians
celebrated in history for their adventurous exploits at sea, the Chinese
and the Welsh have laid claim to the discovery of North America at
periods much earlier than that of Columbus and the Cabots. But to the
Norse sailors alone is it generally agreed that credit for that
achievement is probably due. Associated with their supposed arrival and
sojourn on the coast of what is now New England, about A.D. 1000, the
"Round Tower" or "Old Stone Mill" at Newport, R.I., the mysterious
inscription on the "Dighton Rock" in Massachusetts, and the "Skeleton in
Armor" dug up at Fall River, Mass., and made the subject of a ballad by
Longfellow, have figured prominently in the discussion of this
pre-Columbian discovery. But these conjectural evidences are no longer
regarded as having any connection with historical probability or as
dating back to the time of the Northmen.
It is considered, however, to be pretty certain that at the end of the
tenth century or at the beginning of the eleventh the Northmen reached
the shores of North America. About that time, it is known, they settled
Iceland, and from there a colony went to Greenland, where they long
remained. From there, either by design or by accident, some of them, it
is supposed, may have reached the coast of Labrador, and thence sailed
down until they came to the region which they named Vinland. From there
they sent home glowing accounts to their countrymen in the northern
lands, who came in larger numbers to join them in the New World.
About the middle of the nineteenth century great interest among students
of this subject was aroused by a work written by Prof. C.C. Rafn, of the
Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, Copenhagen. In this work--
_Antiquitates Americanae_--the proofs of this visit of the Northmen to
the shores of North America were convincingly set forth. In the same
work the Icelandic sagas, written in the fourteenth century, and
containing the original accounts of the Northmen's voyages to Vinland,
were first brought prominently before modern scholars. Although many
other writings on the voyages have since appeared, the great work of
Rafn still holds its place of authority, very little in the way of new
material having been brought to light. The portion of his narrative
which follows covers the main facts of the history, and the translation
from the saga furnishes an excellent example of its quaint and simple
narration.)
CHARLES C. RAFN
Eric The Red, in the spring of 986, emigrated from Iceland to Greenland,
formed a settlement there, and fixed his residence at Brattalid in
Ericsfiord. Among others who accompanied him was Heriulf Bardson, who
established himself at Heriulfsnes.
Biarne, the son of the latter, was at that time absent on a trading
voyage to Norway; but in the course of the summer returning to Eyrar, in
Iceland, and finding that his father had taken his departure, this bold
navigator resolved "still to spend the following winter, like all the
preceding ones, with his father," although neither he nor any of his
people had ever navigated the Greenland sea.
They set sail, but met with northerly winds and fogs, and, after many
days' sailing, knew not whither they had been carried. At length when
the weather again cleared up, they saw a land which was without
mountains, overgrown with wood, and having many gentle elevations. As
this land did not correspond to the descriptions of Greenland, they left
it on the larboard hand, and continued sailing two days, when they saw
another land, which was flat and overgrown with wood.
From thence they stood out to sea, and sailed three days with a
southwest wind, when they saw a third land, which was high and
mountainous and covered with icebergs (glaciers). They coasted along the
shore and saw that it was an island.
They did not go on shore, as Biarne did not find the country to be
inviting. Bearing away from this island, they stood out to sea with the
same wind, and, after four days' sailing with fresh gales, they reached
Heriulfsnes, in Greenland.
Some time after this, probably in the year 994, Biarne paid a visit to
Eric, Earl of Norway, and told him of his voyage and of the unknown
lands he had discovered. He was blamed by many for not having examined
these countries more accurately.
On his return to Greenland there was much talk about undertaking a
voyage of discovery. Leif, a son of Eric the Red, bought Biarne's ship,
and equipped it with a crew of thirty-five men, among whom was a German,
of the name of Tyrker, who had long resided with his father, and who had
been very fond of Leif in his childhood. In the year 1000 they commenced
the projected voyage, and came first to the land which Biarne had seen
last. They cast anchor and went on shore. No grass was seen; but
everywhere in this country were vast ice mountains (glaciers), and the
intermediate space between these and the shore was, as it were, one
uniform plain of slate (_hella_). The country appearing to them
destitute of good qualities, they called it Hellu-Land.
They put out to sea, and came to another land, where they also went on
shore. The country was very level and covered with woods; and
wheresoever they went there were cliffs of white sand (_sand-ar
hvitir_), and a low coast (_o-soe-bratt_). They called the country Mark
Land (woodland). From thence they again stood out to sea, with a
northeast wind, and continued sailing for two days before they made land
again. They then came to an island which lay to the eastward of the
mainland. They sailed westward in waters where there was much ground
left dry at ebb tide.
Afterward they went on shore at a place where a river, issuing from a
lake, fell into the sea. They brought their ship into the river, and
from thence into the lake, where they cast anchor. Here they constructed
some temporary log huts; but later, when they had made up their mind to
winter there, they built large houses, afterward called Leifs-Budir
(Leif's-booths).
When the buildings were completed Leif divided his people into two
companies, who were by turns employed in keeping watch at the houses,
and in making small excursions for the purpose of exploring the country
in the vicinity. His instructions to them were that they should not go
to a greater distance than that they might return in the course of the
same evening, and that they should not separate from one another.
Leif took his turn also, joining the exploring party the one day, and
remaining at the houses the other.
It so happened that one day the German, Tyrker, was missing. Leif
accordingly went out with twelve men in search of him, but they had not
gone far from their houses when they met him coming toward them. When
Leif inquired why he had been so long absent, he at first answered in
German, but they did not understand what he said. He then said to them
in the Norse tongue: "I did not go much farther, yet I have a discovery
to acquaint you with: I have found vines and grapes."
He added by way of confirmation that he had been born in a country where
there were plenty of vines. They had now two occupations: namely, to hew
timber for loading the ship, and collect grapes; with these last they
filled the ship's longboat. Leif gave a name to the country, and called
it Vinland (Vineland). In the spring they sailed again from thence, and
returned to Greenland.
Leif's Vineland voyage was now a subject of frequent conversation in
Greenland, and his brother Thorwald was of opinion that the country had
not been sufficiently explored. He, accordingly, borrowed Leif's ship,
and, aided by his brother's counsel and directions, commenced a voyage
in the year 1002. He arrived at Leif's-booths, in Vineland, where they
spent the winter, he and his crew employing themselves in fishing. In
the spring of 1003 Thorwald sent a party in the ship's long-boat on a
voyage of discovery southward. They found the country beautiful and well
wooded, with but little space between the woods and the sea; there were
likewise extensive ranges of white sand, and many islands and shallows.
They found no traces of men having been there before them, excepting on
an island lying to westward, where they found a wooden shed. They did
not return to Leif's-booths until the fall. In the following summer,
1004, Thorwald sailed eastward with the large ship, and then northward
past a remarkable headland enclosing a bay, and which was opposite to
another headland. They called it Kial-Ar-Nes (Keel Cape).
From thence they sailed along the eastern coast of the land, into the
nearest firths, to a promontory which there projected, and which was
everywhere overgrown with wood. There Thorwald went ashore with all his
companions. He was so pleased with this place that he exclaimed: "This
is beautiful! and here I should like well to fix my dwelling!"
Afterward, when they were preparing to go on board, they observed on the
sandy beach, within the promontory, three hillocks, and repairing hither
they found three canoes, under each of which were three Skrellings
(Esquimaux). They came to blows with the latter and killed eight, but
the ninth escaped with his canoe. Afterward a countless number issued
forth against them from the interior of the bay.
They endeavored to protect themselves by raising battle-screens on the
ship's side. The Skrellings continued shooting at them for a while and
then retired. Thorwald was wounded by an arrow under the arm, and
finding that the wound was mortal he said: "I now advise you to prepare
for your departure as soon as possible, but me ye shall bring to the
promontory, where I thought it good to dwell; it may be that it was a
prophetic word that fell from my mouth about my abiding there for a
season; there shall ye bury me, and plant a cross at my head, and
another at my feet, and call the place Kross-a-Ness (Crossness) in all
time coming." He died, and they did as he had ordered. Afterward they
returned to their companions at Leif's-booths, and spent the winter
there; but in the spring of 1005 they sailed again to Greenland, having
important intelligence to communicate to Leif.
Thorstein, Eric's third son, had resolved to proceed to Vine-land to
fetch his brother's body. He fitted out the same ship, and selected
twenty-five strong and able-bodied men for his crew; his wife, Gudrida,
also went along with him. They were tossed about the ocean during the
whole summer, and knew not whither they were driven; but at the close of
the first week of winter they landed at Lysufiord, in the western
settlement of Greenland.
There Thorstein died during the winter; and in the spring Gudrida
returned again to Ericsfiord.
SAGA OF ERIC THE RED
There was a man named Thorwald; he was a son of Asvald, Ulf's son,
Eyxna-Thori's son. His son's name was Eric. He and his father went from
Jaederen to Iceland, on account of manslaughter, and settled on
Hornstrandir, and dwelt at Draugar. There Thorwald died, and Eric then
married Thorheld, a daughter of Jorund, Atli's son, and Thorbiorg the
sheep-chested, who had been married before to Thorbiorn of the Haukadal
family.
Eric then removed from the north, and cleared land in Haukadal, and
dwelt at Ericsstadir, by Vatnshorn. Then Eric's thralls caused a
landslide on Valthiof's farm, Valthiofsstadir. Eyiolf the Foul,
Valthiof's kinsman, slew the thralls near Skeidsbrekkur, above
Vatnshorn. For this Eric killed Eyiolf the Foul, and he also killed
Duelling-Hrafn, at Leikskalar.
Geirstein and Odd of Jorva, Eyiolf's kinsmen, conducted the prosecution
for the slaying of their kinsmen, and Eric was in consequence banished
from Haukadal. He then took possession of Brokey and Eyxney, and dwelt
at Tradir on Sudrey the first winter. It was at this time that he loaned
Thorgest his outer dais-boards. Eric afterward went to Eyxney, and dwelt
at Ericsstad. He then demanded his outer dais-boards, but did not obtain
them.