MysteryQuest 28
Plotting the Course
Author: Colleen Andjelic
Series Editor: Roland Case
A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 11–14
Late in the 10th century, Vikings travelled west from their homelands to explore and settle in North America. The Vikings were Norse people from the northernmost countries of Europe — Norway, Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden. It was not Columbus who was the first European to set foot in America, but these Norse explorers. The proof of this lies in the 1961 discovery of the remnants of a Viking village at L’Anse aux Meadows in the present-day province of Newfoundland and Labrador. This village is thought to have been settled 500 years before Columbus landed in 1492.
But discovering and settling in North America is not the whole of the Norse story. Viking explorers like Leif Eriksson and his son Bjarni found a lush land that they named Vinland the Good because of its abundance of grapevines. But how did they get there? What route did they take? And how did they find their way home again?
In this MysteryQuest, you are invited to imagine yourself as an expert on navigation in the Viking era. Your job is to piece together clues about the opportunities and challenges of travel at this time to help you plot on a map a reasonable route for travelling from Norway to Vinland — one which would have been suitable for Norse explorers to use.
Since the Norse did not record their travels in logs like sea captains do today, much of the needed information to complete this task is in the form of stories now collectively known as the Norse sagas. These sagas are not documents written first-hand by the members of the expeditions who experienced the events. Instead, upon their return from their exciting voyages, the explorers told of their adventures and these stories were passed along, person to person, until they were finally written down approximately 200 years later. It is your job to use the information from these sources to plot a reasonable route.
First you will need to learn more about the Vikings and their expeditions by exploring background information and selected segments of the Norse sagas. You will examine selected documents, locate the places mentioned on a map, and record relevant clues that might help you decide on a route. Once you have assembled these clues, you will sketch your proposed route to Vinland on the map provided, and annotate it with notes that describe important features, potential hazards, and key landmarks and supply points along the way.
STEP 1: Learn about the Norse people
It is important to understand why the Vikings wanted to explore beyond their homelands and to visualize what the Norse people looked like, how their society functioned, and how they travelled. If you have not completed any of the other Vinland MysteryQuests, read through several of the documents on the Where Is Vinland? website. Now, read the following documents in the Evidence in the Case section of this MysteryQuest to obtain important background information for your task here:
- Viking Life provides general background information about these people and their history.
- Navigation discusses Viking travel during the era of expeditions to Vinland.
- The Saga of the Greenlanders is a summary written by historians describing and identifying the various Norse voyages described in this saga.
STEP 2: Look for clues
To begin, you will need to look for clues to help you decide on a reasonable route. Work on your own or with a partner to examine the seven documents listed below – they are also found in the Evidence in the Case section of this MysteryQuest. The first document is a historian’s overview of material he read in the Sagas; the other six documents are translations of the original Norse Sagas themselves. They provide important evidence about Viking expeditions, travel times, distances, and locations commonly used as ports.
Consult a dictionary, a thesaurus, or the internet for any words in the documents you find difficult. As you read a document, use the map North Atlantic to identify all the places mentioned and (where relevant) the routes described in each of the documents. If possible, enlarge the map to 11 x 17. Use coloured pencils, numbered routes, or symbols to label each route you record on the map.
In addition, record information on Looking for Clues about the following aspects of Viking travel:
- key places or reference points;
- travelling time or distance;
- where they could stop to get supplies and rest;
- dangers or hardships;
- and other details about travel.
For example, in the document “Wineland Voyages,” it states that “a day’s sailing with these old viking boats was reckoned at about 108 miles.” You might note under the “Travelling time or distance” column that ships could travel 108 miles (or about 170 kilometres) per day. The point of tracing the places and routes mentioned on the map and in recording relevant details is to gather as many clues as you can to help you plan a detailed route from Norway to Vinland.
STEP 3: Identify criteria for plotting a reasonable route
Since you are an expert on navigation in the Viking era, you will understand the importance of well-informed and thoughtful decisions when proposing a route. You will need to consider the following factors:
- provide a safe and efficient route;
- allow for adequate stops to get supplies;
- and effectively use sailing strategies and reference points.
STEP 4: Prepare your map
Once you have examined the documents and recorded your clues, you can begin to plot a course. Print a new copy of the map North Atlantic. If possible, enlarge the map to 11 x 17. You will plot your route on this map.
- Using the information you recorded on Looking for Clues, begin plotting a course from Stad, Norway to Vinland. Be sure to keep the criteria for a reasonable route at the forefront in your mind as you decide which way to go and where to stop.
- Make short notes or comments on the map to help guide travellers. Point out hazards, landmarks, places to stop, and other useful features.
- On a separate sheet of paper, provide a rationale for the main choices you make about direction, length of travel between stops, and key stopping places.
The evaluation rubric Assessing the Evidence may be used to assess how well you were able to identify relevant clues from the documents.
The evaluation rubric Assessing the Proposed Route may be used to assess how well you were able to plot a clear, reasonable route for Norse explorers and provide good reasons to support your choices.
Plot a specific expedition
There is a variety of information on the Where Is Vinland? website, particularly in the Greenlanders and Erik the Red sagas. These documents provide insight into at least four Norse expeditions to Vinland. Select one expedition and, using the sagas, piece together a detailed map of the route they took.
A journey at sea
Using historical documents from Ships and Navigation and in the Norse sagas accessed from Introduction: Where Is Vinland?, write a multi-day journal describing what it would have been like aboard a Viking ship sailing to Vinland.
Getting your bearings
Using evidence you find in Ships and Navigation, list the tools, equipment, and skills that the Norse used to help them navigate at sea; then determine which item was the most essential item.
Explore other challenges
Apply your detective skills to a related mystery associated with Vinland:
- MysteryQuest 29 invites you to assess whether one theory about the location of Vinland is convincing.
- MysteryQuest 30 provides an opportunity for you to investigate the lifestyles, beliefs, values, and cultures of the Norse people by creating a profile of a common Norse man.
Activity Sheet: North Atlantic
Activity Sheet: Looking for Clues
Secondary Sources (interpretations and summaries of the evidence created at, or close to, the time and events you are studying)
Primary Sources (evidence created at, or as close as possible to, the time and events you are studying)
From the Sagas: