letters from high latitudes-第7节

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In　order　that　you　may　understand　why　the　forlorn　barrack　we　had　just　left；　and　its　solitary　inmates；　should　have　set　me　thinking　of　the　men　and　women　〃of　a　thousand　summers　back；〃　it　is　necessary　I　should　tell　you　a　little　about　this　same　Snorro　Sturleson；　whose　memory　so　haunted　me。

Colonized　as　Iceland　had　been；not；　as　is　generally　the　case；　when　a　new　land　is　brought　into　occupation；　by　the　poverty…stricken　dregs　of　a　redundant　population；　nor　by　a　gang　of　outcasts　and　ruffians；　expelled　from　the　bosom　of　a　society　which　they　contaminated；but　by　men　who　in　their　own　land　had　been　both　rich　and　noble；with　possessions　to　be　taxed；　and　a　spirit　too　haughty　to　endure　taxation；already　acquainted　with　whatever　of　refinement　and　learning　the　age　they　lived　in　was　capable　of　supplying；　it　is　not　surprising　that　we　should　find　its　inhabitants；　even　from　the　first　infancy　of　the　republic；　endowed　with　an　amount　of　intellectual　energy　hardly　to　be　expected　in　so　secluded　a　community。

Perhaps　it　was　this　very　seclusion　which　stimulated　into　almost　miraculous　exuberance　the　mental　powers　already　innate　in　the　people。　Undistracted　during　several　successive　centuries　by　the　bloody　wars；　and　still　more　bloody　political　convulsions；　which　for　too　long　a　period　rendered　the　sword　of　the　warrior　so　much　more　important　to　European　society　than　the　pen　of　the　scholar；　the　Icelandic　settlers；　devoting　the　long　leisure　of　their　winter　nights　to　intellectual　occupations；　became　the　first　of　any　European　nation　to　create　for　themselves　a　native　literature。　Indeed；　so　much　more　accustomed　did　they　get　to　use　their　heads　than　their　hands；　than　if　an　Icelander　were　injured　he　often　avenged　himself；　not　by　cutting　the　throat　of　his　antagonist；　but　by　ridiculing　him　in　some　pasquinade；sometimes；　indeed；　he　did　both；　and　when　the　King　of　Denmark　maltreats　the　crew　of　an　Icelandic　vessel　shipwrecked　on　his　coast；　their　indignant　countrymen　send　the　barbarous　monarch　word；　that　by　way　of　reprisal；　they　intend　making　as　many　lampoons　on　him　as　there　are　promontories　in　his　dominions。　Almost　all　the　ancient　Scandinavian　manuscripts　are　Icelandic；　the　negotiations　between　the　Courts　of　the　North　were　conducted　by　Icelandic　diplomatists；　the　earliest　topographical　survey　with　which　we　are　acquainted　was　Icelandic；　the　cosmogony　of　the　Odin　religion　was　formulated；　and　its　doctrinal　traditions　and　ritual　reduced　to　a　system；　by　Icelandic　archaeologists；　and　the　first　historical　composition　ever　written　by　any　European　in　the　vernacular；　was　the　product　of　Icelandic　genius。　The　title　of　this　important　work　is　〃The　Heimskringla；〃　or　world…circle；　＇Footnote：　So　called　because　Heimskringla　（world…circle）　is　the　first　word　in　the　opening　sentence　of　the　manuscript　which　catches　the　eye。＇　and　its　author　wasSnorro　Sturleson！　It　consists　of　an　account　of　the　reigns　of　the　Norwegian　kings　from　mythic　times　down　to　about　A。D。　　1150；　that　is　to　say；　a　few　years　before　the　death　of　our　own　Henry　II。；　but　detailed　by　the　old　Sagaman　with　so　much　art　and　cleverness　as　almost　to　combine　the　dramatic　power　of　Macaulay　with　Clarendon's　delicate　delineation　of　character；　and　the　charming　loquacity　of　Mr。　Pepys。　His　stirring　sea…fights；　his　tender　love…stories；　and　delightful　bits　of　domestic　gossip；　are　really　inimitable；you　actually　live　with　the　people　he　brings　upon　the　stage；　as　intimately　as　you　do　with　Falstaff；　Percy；　or　Prince　Hal；　and　there　is　something　in　the　bearing　of　those　old　heroic　figures　who　form　his　dramatis　person；　so　grand　and　noble；　that　it　is　impossible　to　read　the　story　of　their　earnest　stirring　lives　without　a　feeling　of　almost　passionate　interestan　effect　which　no　tale　frozen　up　in　the　monkish　Latin　of　the　Saxon　annalists　has　ever　produced　upon　me。

As　for　Snorro's　own　life；　it　was　eventful　and　tragic　enough。　　Unscrupulous；　turbulent；　greedy　of　money；　he　married　two　heiressesthe　one；　however；　becoming　the　COLLEAGUE；　not　the　successor　of　the　other。　This　arrangement　naturally　led　to　embarrassment。　His　wealth　created　envy；　his　excessive　haughtiness　disgusted　his　sturdy　fellow…countrymen。　He　was　suspected　of　desiring　to　make　the　republic　an　appanage　of　the　Norwegian　crown；　in　the　hope　of　himself　becoming　viceroy；　and　at　last；　on　a　dark　September　night；　of　the　year　1241；　he　was　murdered　in　his　house　at　Reikholt　by　his　three　sons…in…law。

The　same　century　which　produced　the　Herodotean　work　of　Sturleson　also　gave　birth　to　a　whole　body　of　miscellaneous　Icelandic　literature；though　in　Britain　and　elsewhere　bookmaking　was　entirely　confined　to　the　monks；　and　merely　consisted　in　the　compilation　of　a　series　of　bald　annals　locked　up　in　bad　Latin。　It　is　true；　Thomas　of　Ercildoune　was　a　contemporary　of　Snorro's；　but　he　is　known　to　us　more　as　a　magician　than　as　a　man　of　letters；　whereas　histories；　memoirs；　romances；　biographies；　poetry；　statistics；　novels；　calendars；　specimens　of　almost　every　kind　of　composition；　are　to　be　found　even　among　the　meagre　relics　which　have　survived　the　literary　decadence　that　supervened　on　the　extinction　of　the　republic。

It　is　to　these　same　spirited　chroniclers　that　we　are　indebted　for　the　preservation　of　two　of　the　most　remarkable　facts　in　the　history　of　the　world：　the　colonization　of　Greenland　by　Europeans　in　the　10th　century；　and　the　discovery　of　America　by　the　Icelanders　at　the　commencement　of　the　11th。

The　story　is　rather　curious。

Shortly　after　the　arrival　of　the　first　settlers　in　Iceland；　a　mariner　of　the　name　of　Eric　the　Red　discovers　a　country　away　to　the　west；　which；　in　consequence　of　its　fruitful　appearance；　he　calls　Greenland。　In　the　course　of　a　few　years　the　new　land　has　become　so　thickly　inhabited　that　it　is　necessary　to　erect　the　district　into　an　episcopal　see；　and　at　last；　in　1448；　we　have　a　brief　of　Pope　Nicolas　〃granting　to　his　beloved　children　of　Greenland；　in　consideration　of　their　having　erected　many　sacred　buildings　and　a　splendid　cathedral；〃a　new　bishop　and　a　fresh　supply　of　priests。　　At　the　commencement；　however；　of　the　next　century；　this　colony　of　Greenland；　with　its　bishops；　priests　and　people；　its　one　hundred　and　ninety　townships；　its　cathedral；　its　churches；　its　monasteries；　suddenly　fades　into　oblivion；　like　the　fabric　of　a　dream。　The　memory　of　its　existence　perishes；　and　the　allusions　made　to　it　in　the　old　Scandinavian　Sagas　gradually　come　to　be　considered　poetical　inventions　or　pious　frauds。　At　last；　after　a　lapse　of　four　hundred　years；　some　Danish　missionaries　set　out　to　convert　the　Esquimaux；　and　there；　far　within　Davis'　Straits；　are　discovered　vestiges　of　the　ancient　settlement；remains　of　houses；　paths；　walls；　churches；　tombstones；　and　inscriptions。　＇Footnote：　On　one　tombstone　there　was　written　in　Runic；　〃Vigdis　M。　D。　Hvilir　Her；　Glwde　Gude　Sal　Hennar。〃　〃Vigdessa　rests　here；　God　gladden　her　soul。〃　But　the　most　interesting　of　these　inscriptions　is　one　discovered；　in　1824；　in　an　island　in　Baffin's　Bay；　in　latitude　72　degrees　55'；　as　it　shows　how　boldly　these　Northmen　must　have　penetrated　into　regions　supposed　to　have　been　unvisited　by　man　before　the　voyages　of　our　modern　navigators：〃Erling　Sighvatson　and　Biomo　Thordarson；　and　Eindrid　Oddson；　on　Saturday　before　Ascension…week；　raised　these　marks　and　cleared　ground；　1135：〃　This　date　of　Ascension…week　implies　that　these　three　men　wintered　here；　which　must　lead　us　to　imagine　that　at　that　time；　seven　hundred　years　ago；　the　climate　was　less　inclement　than　it　is　now。＇

What　could　have　been　the　calamity　which　suddenly　annihilated　this　Christian　people；　it　is　impossible　to　say；　whether　they　were　massacred　by　some　warlike　tribe　of　natives；　or　swept　off　to　the　last　man　by　the　terrible　pestilence　of　1349；　called　〃The　Black　Death；〃　or；most　horrible　conjecture　of　all；beleaguered　by　vast　masses　of　ice　setting　down　from　the　Polar　Sea　along　the　eastern　coast　of　Greenland；　and　thus　miserably　frozen；　we　are　never　likely　to　knowso　utterly　did　they　perish；　so　mysterious　has　been　their　doom。

On　the　other　hand；　certain　traditions；　with　regard　to　the　discovery　of　a　vast　continent　by　their　forefathers　away　in　the　south…west；　seems　never　entirely　to　have　died　out　of　the　memory　of　the　Icelanders；　and　in　the　month　of　February；　1477；　there　arrives　at　Reykjavik；　in　a　barque　belonging　to　the　port　of　Bristol；　a　certain　long…visaged；　grey…eyed　Genoese　mariner；　who　was　observed　to　take　an　amazing　interest　in　hunting　up　whatever　was　known　on　the　subject。　　Whether　Columbusfor　it　was　no　less　a　personage　than　hereally　learned　anything　to　confirm　him　in　his　noble　resolutions；　is　uncertain；　but　we　have　still　extant　an　historical　manuscript；　written　at　all　events　before　the　year　1395；　that　is　to　say；　one　hundred　years　prior　to　Columbus'　voyage；　which　contains　a　minute　account　of　how　a　certain　person　named　Lief；　while　sailing　over　to　Greenland；　was　driven　out　of　his　course　by　contrary　winds；　until　he　found　himself　off　an　extensive　and　unknown　coast；　which　increased　in　beauty　and　fertility　as　he　descended　south；　and　how；　in　consequence　of　the　representation　Lief　made　on　his　return；　successive　expeditions　were　undertaken　in　the　same　direction。　On　two　occasions　their　wives　seem　to　have　accompanied　the　adventurers；　of　one　ship's　company　the　skipper　was　a　lady：　　while　two　parties　even　wintered　i