Alfred even extended his views to India, whether stimulated by religious views, or by the desire of obtaining its luxuries, is uncertain; perhaps both motives operated on his mind. We know that the patriarch of Jerusalem corresponded with him; and that the Christians of St. Thomas, in India, would probably be mentioned in these letters: we also know, that about a century before Alfred lived, the venerable Bede was possessed of pepper, cinnamon, and frankincense. Whatever were Alfred's motives, the fact is undoubted, that he sent one of his bishops to St. Thomas, who brought back aromatic liquors, and splendid jewels. Alfred seems to have been rich in the most precious commodities of the East; for he presented Asser, his biographer, with a robe of silk, and as much incense as a strong man could carry. After all, however, the commerce of England in his reign was extremely limited: had it been of any importance, it would have been more specially noticed and protected by his laws. It was otherwise, however, in the reign of Athelstan; for there is a famous law made by him, by which the rank and privileges of a thane are conferred on every merchant, who had made three voyages across the sea, with a vessel and cargo of his own. By another law passed in this reign, the exportation of horses was forbidden.
From this period till the conquest, England was prevented from engaging in commerce by the constant irruption of the Danes, and by the short duration of their sovereignty after they had succeeded in obtaining it. There are, however, even during this time, some notices on the subject; as appears from the laws of Ethelred: by these, tolls were established on all boats and vessels arriving at Billingsgate, according to their size. The men of Rouen, who brought wine and large fish, and those from Flanders, Normandy, and other parts of France, were obliged to shew their goods, and pay the duties; but the emperor's men, who came with their ships, were more favoured, though they were not exempt from duty.
From what relates to the geographical knowledge and the commerce of the Scandinavian inhabitants of England, we shall now pass on to the geographical discoveries and commerce of the other Scandinavian nations.
About the year 861, a Scandinavian vessel, probably on its voyage to Shetland or Orkney, discovered the Feroe islands. This discovery, and the flight of some birds, induced the Scandinavians to believe that there was other land in the vicinity of these islands. About ten years afterwards, Iceland was discovered by some Norwegian nobility and their dependants, who were obliged to leave their native country, in consequence of the tyranny of Harold Harfragre. According to some accounts, however, Iceland had been visited by a Norwegian pirate a few years before this; and if the circumstance mentioned in the Icelandic Chronicles be true, that wooden crosses, and other little pieces of workmanship, after the manner of the Irish and Britons, were found in it, it must have been visited before the Scandinavians arrived. The new colonists soon acquired a thorough knowledge of the size of the island; for they expressly state, that its circumference is 168 leagues, 15 to a degree, which corresponds with the most accurate modern measurement.
Iceland soon became celebrated for its learning; the history of the North, as well as its geography, is much indebted to its authors: nor were its inhabitants, though confined to a cold and sterile land very remote from the rest of Europe, inattentive to commerce; for they carried on a considerable trade in the northern seas,--their ships visiting Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, &c.; and there is even an instance of their having made a commercial voyage as far as Constantinople.
To them the discovery of Greenland and of America is due. The first took place about the beginning of the tenth century: a colony was immediately established, which continued till it was destroyed by a pestilence in the 14th century, and by the accumulation of ice, which prevented all communication between Iceland and Greenland.
The discovery of America took place in the year 1001: an Icelander, in search of his father who was in Greenland, was carried to the south by a violent wind. Land was discovered at a distance, flat, low, and woody. He did not go on shore, but returned. His account induced a Norwegian nobleman to fit out a ship to explore this new land; after sailing for some time, they descried a flat shore, without verdure; and soon afterwards a low land covered with wood. Two days' prosperous sailing brought them to a third shore, on the north of which lay an island: they entered, and sailed up a river, and landed. Pleased with the temperature of the climate, the apparent fertility of the soil, and the abundance of fish in the rivers, they resolved to pass the winter in this country; and they gave it the name of Vinland, from the quantity of small grapes which they found growing. A colony was soon afterwards formed, who traded with the natives; these are represented as of diminutive stature, of the same race as the inhabitants of the west part of Greenland, and as using leathern canoes. The merchandize they brought consisted chiefly of furs, sables, the skins of white rats, &c.; and they principally and most eagerly requested, in exchange, hatchets and arms. It appears from the Icelandic Chronicles, that a regular trade was established between this country and Norway, and that dried grapes or raisins were among the exports. In the year 1121, a bishop went from Greenland for the purpose of converting the colonists of Vinland to the Christian religion: after this period, there is no information regarding this country. This inattention to the new colony probably arose from the intercourse between the west of Greenland and Iceland having ceased, as we have already mentioned, and from the northern nations having been, about this period, wasted by a pestilence, and weakened and distracted by feuds. Of the certainty of the discovery there can be no doubt: the Icelandic Chronicles are full and minute, not only respecting it, but also respecting the transactions which took place among the colonists, and between them and the natives. And Adam of Bremen, who lived at this period, expressly states, that the king of Denmark informed him, that another island had been discovered in the ocean which washes Norway, called Vinland, from the vines which grew there; and he adds, we learn, not by fabulous hearsay, but by the express report of certain Danes, that fruits are produced without cultivation. Ordericus Vitalis, in his Ecclesiastical History, under the year 1098, reckons Vinland along with Greenland, Iceland, and the Orkneys, as under the dominion of the king of Norway.
Where then was Vinland?--it is generally believed it was part of America; and the objections which may be urged against this opinion, do not appear to us to be of much weight. It is said that no part of America could be reached in four days, the space of time in which the first discoverer reached this land, and in which the voyages from Greenland to it seem generally to have been made. But the west part of Greenland is so near some part of America, that a voyage might easily be effected in that time. In answer to the objection, that vines do not grow in the northern parts of America, where Vinland, if part of this continent, must be fixed, it may be observed, that in Canada the vine bears a small fruit; and that still further north, in Hudson's Bay, according to Mr. Ellis, vines grew spontaneously, producing a fruit which he compares to the currants of the Levant. The circumstances mentioned in the Icelandic Chronicles respecting the natives, that their canoes are made of skins; that they are very expert with their bows and arrows; that on their coasts they fish for whales, and in the interior live by hunting; that their merchandize consists of whalebone and furs; that they are fond of iron, and instruments made of it; and that they were small in stature, all coincide with what we know to be characterestic of the inhabitants of Labrador. It is probable, therefore, that this part of America, or the island of Newfoundland, was the Vinland discovered by the Icelanders.
The beginning and middle of the tenth century witnessed an increasing spirit of commerce, as well as considerable attention to geographical pursuits in other Scandinavian nations, as well as the Icelanders. Periodical public fairs were established in several towns of Germany, and other parts of the North: one of the most considerable articles of traffic at these fairs consisted of slaves taken in war. Sleswig is represented as a port of considerable trade and consequence; from it sailed ships to Slavonia, Semland, and Greece, or rather, perhaps, Russia. From a port on the side of Jutland, opposite to Sleswig, vessels traded to Frisca, Saxony, and England; and from another port in Jutland they sailed to Fionia, Scania, and Norway. Sweden is represented as, at this time, carrying on an extensive and lucrative trade. At the mouth of the Oder, on the south side of the Baltic, there seems to have been one, if not two towns which were enriched by commerce.
For most of these particulars respecting the commerce of the Baltic and adjacent seas, at this period, we are indebted to Adam of Bremen. He was canon of Bremen in the eleventh century: and from the accounts of the missionaries who went into Lapland, and other parts of the North, to convert the inhabitants to Christianity, the information he received from the king of Denmark, and his own observations, he drew up a detailed account of the Scandinavian kingdoms. His description of Jutland is full, and he mentions several islands in the Baltic, which are not noticed by prior writers. He also treats of the interior parts of Sweden, the coasts only of which had been previously made known by the voyages published by king Alfred. Of Russia, he informs us that it was a very extensive kingdom, the capital of which was Kiev; and that the inhabitants traded with the Greeks in the Black Sea. So far his information seems to have been good; but though his account of the south coasts of the Baltic is tolerably correct, yet he betrays great ignorance in most of what he says respecting the northern parts of the Baltic. In his work the name Baltic first Occurs. His geographical descriptions extend to the British isles; but of them he relates merely the fabulous stories of Solinus, &c. The figure of the earth, and the cause of the inequality of the length of the day and night, were known to Adam of Bremen.