Odin's Ravens. Odin had a great throne in his palace in Asgard. When he sat in it he could look all over the world. But it was so far to see that he could not tell all of the things that were happening. So he had two ravens to help him. An old Norse story tells this about them: "Two ravens sit on Odin's shoulders and whisper in his ears all that they have heard and seen. He sends them out at dawn of day to see over the whole world. They return at evening near meal time. This is why Odin knows so many things."
Reykjavik. Reykjavik means "smoky sea." Ingolf called it that because of the steaming hot-springs by the sea. The place is still called Reykjavik. A little city has grown up there, the only city in Iceland. It is the capital of the country.
Peace-bands. A Norseman always carried his sword, even at a feast; for he did not know when he might need it. But when he went somewhere on an errand of peace and had no quarrel he tied his sword into its scabbard with white bands that he called peace-bands. If all at once something happened to make him need his sword, he broke the peace-bands and drew it out.
Eskimos. Now, the Eskimos live in Greenland and Alaska and on the very northern shores of Canada. But once they lived farther south in pleasanter lands. After a while the other Indian tribes began to grow strong. Then they wanted the pleasant land of the Eskimos and the seashore that the Eskimos had. So they fought again and again with those people and won and drove them farther north and farther north. At last the Eskimos were on the very shores of the cold sea, with the Indians still pushing them on. So some of them got into their boats and rowed across the narrow water and came to Greenland and lived there. Some people think that these things happened before Eric found Greenland. In that case he found Eskimos there; and Thorfinn saw red Indians in Wineland. Other people think that this happened after Eric went to Greenland. If that is true, he found an empty land, and it was Eskimos that Thorfinn saw in Wineland.
FOOTNOTES:
[16] See note about [Valkyrias] on page [198].
Possibly this book seems made up of four or five disconnected stories. They are, however, strung upon one thread,—the westward emigration from Norway. The story of Harald is intended to serve in two ways towards the working out of this plot. It gives the general setting that continues throughout the book in costume, houses, ideals, habits. It explains the cause of the emigration from the mother country. It is really an introductory chapter. As for the other stories, they are distinctly steps in the progress of the plot. A chain of islands loosely connects Norway with America,—Orkneys and Shetlands, Faroes, Iceland, Greenland. It was from link to link of this chain that the Norsemen sailed in search of home and adventure. Discoveries were made by accident. Ships were driven by the wind from known island to unknown. These two points,—the island connection that made possible the long voyage from Norway to America, and the contribution of storm to discovery,—I have stated in the book only dramatically. I emphasize them here, hoping that the teacher will make sure that the children see them, and possibly that they state them abstractly.