Straumfjörður (Icelandic), or Straumfjǫrðr (Old Norse), sometimes anglicised to Straumsfjordr,Sveinbjörn Þórðarsson. The Saga of Erik the Red - Icelandic Saga Database Straumfjordr, Straumsfjord or Straumfjord, is according to the Sagas of Icelanders a fjord in Vinland where Thorfinn Karlsefni set up a temporary settlement. It is described in the Saga of Erik the Red, but not in the Greenland saga. Its name translates to "Current-fjord", "Stream-fjord" or "Tide-fjord".
Two somewhat different versions of the travels of Karlsefni appear in the sagas; they are found in the Hauksbók and the Flateyjarbók. They tell that Straumsey (Current-isle) lies at the mouth of Straumfjörð; this is an island with an extreme density of birds.
The whereabouts of Straumfjörðcomplete with its associated island of Straumseyhas been, and is, subject to intense speculation, with at least 15 suggested locations on the Atlantic coast of North America. These possible locations range from as far north as the entrance to Northern Canada's Ungava Bay, to as far south as the entrance to New York state's Hudson River.
Location
The exact location of Straumfjörð is disputed. The only Norse settlement which has been recovered in North America beyond Greenland is located on L'Anse aux Meadows.
According to the Saga of Erik the Red the location is significantly south of Markland.
Directions
These directions to the fjord are based on Septhon's 1880 translation.
Thorfinn Karlsefni, trying to find a country visited by Leif Ericson, sailed from Brattahlíð, Eastern Settlement to Vestribygd (probably the Western Settlement), both in Greenland. From here, they moved on to "Bjarneyjar" ("Bear Islands", possibly Disko Island).The old viking name of Disko Island is indeed Bear Island (Bjørn Øya) Arctic Research in Disko Bay After two half-days or days of sail with northerly wind they arrived at Helluland ("Country of Flat Stones"). After another two half-days or days of sail with northerly winds, they arrived at Markland ("Forest Country").
Off Markland to the southeast was an island that Karlsefni and his company called Bear Island. From Markland, after yet another two half-days or days of sail, they encountered a headland, possibly Kjalarnes. Keeping the coast on their starboard side, they journeyed along Furdustrandir ("Wonder-strands"). Then, the coast became indented with creeks. They found grapes and wild wheat, and continued to where the shore was cut into by the fjord of Straumfjörð, with the island of Straumsey ("Current-isle") at its mouth.
To the south of Straumfjörð was Hóp, where no snow fell during winter, and on the west side of Kjalarnes was a wilderness, and a river which flowed from east to west. East of Kjalarnes was the "Irish Ocean". Straumfjörð is estimated by Karlsefni to be equidistant from Hóp and a location north of the river that runs westwards. He also regards Hóp and this location by the river to share the same mountain (or mountain range).
The "two half-days or days" [two doegr, which could refer to 12 or 24 hours], referenced three times in the saga, are important to the question of the whereabouts of Straumfjörð because they suggest the distance travelled when Karlsefni and his men, perhaps, crossed open seas. The two doegr were suggested by Carl Christian Rafn in 1841ANNALER FOR NORDISK OLDKYNDIGHED. 1840-1841. KONGELIGE NORDISKE OLDSKRIFTSELSKAB. Kjøbenhavn. Pages 15ff. Available through Google Books. to be equivalent to about 54 to 60 miil. He bases this on old Icelandic sources such as the Landnámabók. Miil would refer to either or to Scandinavian mile. William A. Munn (1929) assumes the two days to correspond to "about 200 miles".W. A. Munn, "Wineland Voyages: Location of Helluland, Markland & Vinland" (St John's, NL: Dicks and Company Limited, 31 June 1992), 13. Jónas Kristjánsson and colleagues, in a 2012 article, suggest that 170 nautical miles, which is the distance between Greenland and Baffin Island, or an even longer distance, could well be transversed over two doegr, as modern replicas of Norse ships have been reported to make 12 knots and more under favourable conditions.Acta Archaeologica vol. 83, 2012, pp 145-177 Geoffrey Malcolm Gathorne-Hardy and William Hovgaard estimated a day of 24 hours' sail at about 150 miles.
Saga of Erik the Red According to the Saga of Erik the Red, Straumfjörð is located beyond the Wonderstrands (Furðustrandir). It describes the area thus, according to the "fusioned" 1880 translation by J. Sephton:
Later, after giving up settling farther south due to the presence of hostile Skrælings, Karlsefni and his men again reach Straumfjörð when retreating northwards:
Hallmarks If the saga's accounts and the translation are accurate, within Straumfjörð, there are mountains, the place was fair to look upon, with large pastures, a harsh winter, and hunting opportunities. A crag or crags are found within some distance. An unknown species of whale shored; it was inedible. On Straumsey, there are so many birds that it is difficult not to step on eggs, it also has poor fishery, but gave good sustenance for their cattle. Fishery failed, but later recovered.
Currents A defining feature of Straumfjörð and Straumsey must have been high tides or strong currents. The settlement which was established farther south, Hóp may also have been connected to strong currents or tides, as it has been translated into "tidal pool" or "tidal lake". According to a 2008 article by Thomas Hayne in the journal Weather, this may give some clues as to the whereabouts of the fjord:Thomas Hayne, What did the Viking discoverers of America know of the North Atlantic Environment? Weather, Volume 63, Issue 3, pages 60–65, March 2008.
Climate Theories on where Straumfjörð and the other places described in the saga were to a large extent based on the saga's descriptions of flora and fauna. The Northern Atlantic has since the saga was written, however, been through periods of natural changes in the regional climate and, more recently, global warming. This adds an extra layer of uncertainty to every climate-dependent observation.
Seamanship Common sense seamanship implies to avoid open and treacherous seas unless they are unavoidable. Moreover, appropriate natural harbours would be required for the ships. This provides possible constraints to the routes taken.
Skepticism Helge Ingstad and Anne Stine Ingstad (the couple who found L'Anse aux Meadows), in The Viking Discovery of America,1991/2000, Breakwater Books Ltd. take a sceptical approach. They argue that:
The similarities are also described by Mats G. Larsson. However, according to a 2012 article in Acta Archaeologica, it is "now generally accepted" that the two sagas were written independently.
Fridtjof Nansen, in his I tåkeheimen (In Northern Mists), written before the discovery of L'Anse aux Meadows, conjectures that the Saga of Erik the Red was inspired by tales about the Fortunate Isles and, although admitting that it is indeed possible that the Norse reached America, considers the saga to not be trustworthy. Julius E. Olson of the University of Wisconsin strongly attacked this stance in a 1911 article (see also below), saying "If there isn't a substantial background of history to the Saga of Eric the Red, it is the most clever piece of literary deception over [sic] practiced in the name of history".
Suggested locations
The following suggestions for the location of Straumfjörð are gathered from both scholarly and popular literature. They are sorted by increasing distance from the Western Settlement, Greenland: they make increasingly optimistic estimates for the distance travelled by Karlsefni and his company. Evidently, the headland, promontory or cape Kjalarnes is difficult to identify; for seafarers the keel placed there would make its identification obvious, but it is now lost, and Furdustrandir and Straumfjörð lay beyond this point. As will be shown in the following, Kjalarnes is sometimes, but not always, identified as L'Anse aux Meadows, Gaspé Peninsula, Cape North/Cape Breton Island and Cape Cod. Many, but not all, of the following suggestions can be placed some distance beyond these points, within four coastal regions: Newfoundland; Chaleur Bay; Nova Scotia/Maine; between Cape Cod and New York.
Ungava Bay Hayne (2008) connects the extreme tides of Ungava Bay to the alleged currents or tides at Straumfjörð and Hóp, without drawing any conclusions.
Sandwich Bay William Hovgaard in The Voyages of the Norsemen to America (1914) takes into account the tales in the Greenland Saga. According to William Stetson Merrill, Hovgaard places Karlsefni's first winter at Sandwich Bay, Labrador. It is not made explicit whether this refers to Straumfjörð.
L'Anse aux Meadows Birgitta Linderoth Wallace (2003) places the settlement at Straumfjörð at L'Anse aux Meadows.Wallace, B. L., L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland: An Abandoned Experiment. In: L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland: An Abandoned Experiment. James H. Barrett (ed.) Turnhout Brepols Publishers. 2003. (Print) 978-2-503-52641-6 (Online) Pages 207-238
Sop's Arm Jónas Kristjánsson et al. (2012) assume that the headland of Kjalarnes referred to in the saga is at L'Anse aux Meadows, suggests that Straumfjörð refers to Sop's Arm, Newfoundland, as no other fjord in Newfoundland was found to have an island at its mouth, and as pitfall traps of possible Norse origin were found at this location.
St. Lawrence In an 1831 letter sent from Copenhagen to the Massachusetts Historical Society, published in the 1880 Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Rasmus Christian Rask gives a thorough account of the sagas and states,
This would refer, it would seem, either to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence or to lower Saint Lawrence River, depending on naming conventions in use at the time. He refuses to propose a theory of the whereabouts of Straumsey, claiming it "impossible", but hopes for future saga translations to illuminate the issue.
H. P. Steensby (da) held that "The coast lines were guides for the ancient Norsemen and they must also be ours". According to Merrill, Steensby's opinion was that
Baie des Sept-Îles Cappelen's History of Norway (1976) suggests a location at Baie des Sept-Îles, Quebec. bd. 2, s. 141. 1976.
Chaleur Bay An early 1920s book review by Sigfús Blöndal in Historisk Tidsskrift (Denmark),Historisk Tidsskrift, Bind 9. række, 7 (1919 - 1925) 1Historisk Tidsskrift, Bind 9. række, 7 (1919 - 1925). Historisk tidskrift. referring to scholarly consensus of the past decades and to the authority of Gustav Storm and H. P. Steensby,H. P. Steensby's "Norsemen's Route from Greenland to Wineland" places Straumfjörð at Chaleur Bay, which separates Gaspé Peninsula from New Brunswick.
Halldór Hermansson (1930) also placed Straumfjörð in Chaleur Bay, "where the tide rises from five to ten feet". Matthias Thordarsson, who authored The Vinland Voyages (1930), agreed with his views.
Mira Bay Juul Dieserud (1935) placed Straumfjörð at Mira Bay, Nova Scotia.
Strait of Canso Geraldine Barnes (1995) connects Straumfjörð to the Strait of Canso between Cape Breton Island and mainland Nova Scotia, due to its high tides and the birdlife at nearby Isle Madame.
According to a 1935 article by William Stetson Merrill in The Catholic Historical Review, the opinion held by Gustav Storm was as follows:
Lobster Bay While (1992, 1999,Vinland det goda: nordbornas färder till Amerika under vikingatiden MG Larsson - 1999 - Atlantis 2000) considers the Strait of Canso a candidate due to its strong currents, but notes that the currents do not extend to islands. Therefore, he considers Lobster Bay, off the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia's Municipality of the District of Argyle, a better candidate. He writes that Samuel de Champlain named this bay "Baye courante ('Stream Bay'), i.e. the same name as the Norse one". Larsson further observes: