ON THE WAY TO GREENLAND
SO HOW DID THE NAMES GET SWITCHED?
A glance at the globe might make you wonder why Iceland seems oddly green, while Greenland is covered in ice. Legend says this was intentional—Iceland’s Viking settlers thought the name would discourage over settlement of their verdant island, while nobody cared if people tried to settle the ice-covered Greenland. But the truth is more complicated, and it has to do with both Norse custom and our shifting global climate.
THE FACTS: per National Geographic
THE FACTS: per National Geographic
Over 80 percent of Greenland is covered in ice, but its grass was probably greener back in the summer of A.D. 982, when Erik the Red first landed in the southwest of the island. Sheep and potato farms still flourish in that same southwestern corner of Greenland, which sits at a more southerly latitude than neighboring Iceland.
Meanwhile, thanks to the Gulf Stream, Iceland’s sea surface temperatures can be about 10ºF (6ºC) warmer than Greenland. The milder climate means summers are intensely green throughout Iceland, even though 11 percent of that country is still covered with permanent ice cap. Vatnajökull is Europe’s largest glacier—a piece of ice the size of Puerto Rico.
The current names come from the Vikings. Norse custom was to name a thing as they saw it. For instance, when he saw wild grapes (blackberries, probably) growing on the shore, Erik the Red’s son, Leif Eríksson, named a portion of Canada “Vinland.” Ice core and mollusk shell data suggests that from A.D. 800 to 1300, southern Greenland was much warmer than it is today. This means that when the Vikings first arrived, the Greenland name would make sense. But by the 14th century, maximum summer temperatures in Greenland had dropped. Lower temperatures meant fewer crops and more sea ice, forcing the local Norse population to abandon their colonies.
The current names come from the Vikings. Norse custom was to name a thing as they saw it. For instance, when he saw wild grapes (blackberries, probably) growing on the shore, Erik the Red’s son, Leif Eríksson, named a portion of Canada “Vinland.” Ice core and mollusk shell data suggests that from A.D. 800 to 1300, southern Greenland was much warmer than it is today. This means that when the Vikings first arrived, the Greenland name would make sense. But by the 14th century, maximum summer temperatures in Greenland had dropped. Lower temperatures meant fewer crops and more sea ice, forcing the local Norse population to abandon their colonies.
The Icelandic sagas fill in the other half of the switched-name story.
The legends say Naddador was the first Norse explorer to reach Iceland, and he named the country Snæland or “snow land” because it was snowing. Swedish Viking Garðar Svavarosson followed Naddador, and this led to the island being called Garðarshólmur (“Garðar’s Isle”). Alas, Garðar’s Isle was not so kind to its next arrival, a Viking named Flóki Vilgerðarson. Flóki’s daughter drowned en route to Iceland, then all his livestock starved to death as the winter dragged on. Depressed and frustrated, Flóki, the sagas say, climbed a mountain only to see a fjord full of icebergs, which led to the island's new name.
Like the iceberg that struck the Titanic, the spring ice that Flóki saw most likely drifted over from Greenland, but no matter—Flóki’s name stuck fast in the Viking world. Back in Norway, Flóki disparaged Iceland, but one member of his crew named Thorólf spread rumors that the new island was so rich, butter dripped from every blade of grass. Permanent settlement began soon after.
The new population on the island “felt they were part of the Nordic region, but they wanted to maintain a separate identity,” These settlers called themselves Íslendingur, which Guðni says means “a man from Iceland in the court of Norway.”
A century later, Iceland was a growing democracy and the home of Erik the Red, who was banished from the country after killing three people in a feud. He sailed west in search of a new home—and found it. The sagas (in this case Erik the Red’s Saga of the Icelanders) tell the rest of the story in a single sentence:
“In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favorable name.”
Thus, Iceland was named by a sad Viking and Greenland is the slogan of a medieval marketing scheme.
“It is unfortunate that the name Greenland stuck because that is not the name that the natives know it by,” Guðni says. Today’s Greenlanders call their country Kalaallit Nunaat, which simply means “Land of the People” in the Greenlandic Inuit language. So there it is, Greenland is 3/4 covered in ice and was named by a guy who wanted to fool folks into thinking it was warm and green. Thinking about my darling Mom who bought desert land in Arizona and 50 years later was worth less than she paid for it. And Iceland was named by a fellow who thought it was full of ice and wanted to make sure the rest of us thought the same-so nobody would show up.
Per Bubba- it's always about the marketing. And more importantly, has anyone found Boca and Bubba a pooch? Top of to do list when back in Naples.
Looking forward to coming back to Iceland next week to check out Reykjavik. In the meantime here's two cents worth of opinion:
Iceland is surely a land of epic views with its largely treeless landscapes, clean air and mountainous highlands. Sometimes Boca felt like she could see the curve of the earth. The Icelanders we met are a proud yet somewhat stoic people. Hey what do you expect Pleep? They are a race of people that sought to make a living on a cold, barren island some 1000 plus years ago. Pride and stoicism were necessary to weather the weather. Not very emotive or warm, they are well educated and quite informed. Their culture expects education for all- many have advanced degrees. Known for their liberal mindset - very gay friendly, as an example.
Iceland has one of the lowest populations per square mile in the world- it felt like we were in one jumbo national park filled with exotic unspoiled nature-lots of streams, rivers, waterfalls, glaciers, mountains, and don't forget about the volcanoes. Landscapes are either moss- covered volcanic fields leading to mountains or grass covered fields leading out to sea. Boca likes the no bug climate ...and very few mammals. Boca is truly surprised by the beauty and oh so fresh air.
Per Bubba- it's always about the marketing. And more importantly, has anyone found Boca and Bubba a pooch? Top of to do list when back in Naples.
Looking forward to coming back to Iceland next week to check out Reykjavik. In the meantime here's two cents worth of opinion:
Iceland is surely a land of epic views with its largely treeless landscapes, clean air and mountainous highlands. Sometimes Boca felt like she could see the curve of the earth. The Icelanders we met are a proud yet somewhat stoic people. Hey what do you expect Pleep? They are a race of people that sought to make a living on a cold, barren island some 1000 plus years ago. Pride and stoicism were necessary to weather the weather. Not very emotive or warm, they are well educated and quite informed. Their culture expects education for all- many have advanced degrees. Known for their liberal mindset - very gay friendly, as an example.
Iceland has one of the lowest populations per square mile in the world- it felt like we were in one jumbo national park filled with exotic unspoiled nature-lots of streams, rivers, waterfalls, glaciers, mountains, and don't forget about the volcanoes. Landscapes are either moss- covered volcanic fields leading to mountains or grass covered fields leading out to sea. Boca likes the no bug climate ...and very few mammals. Boca is truly surprised by the beauty and oh so fresh air.
SO WHAT'S RECENT GOINGS ON IN ICELAND?
FYI: 320,000 folks live here of which 2/3 in reside in metro Reykjavik
FYI: 320,000 folks live here of which 2/3 in reside in metro Reykjavik
annual pop growth is 0.6%
83% Lutheran
94% Norse Celtic
Became a sovereign state in 1918,
38,000 Americans served here in WW2- to keep the Germans out
And how about their recent financial crisis? The new Vikings in banking could do no wrong and personal profits and wealth rolled in but the liabilities were 14x the GDP of Iceland…deposits guaranteed by the government.
2008-2012 Financial Crisis- couldn’t roll over their loans then collapsed. Krona fell by 70%!
Frozen this and that-and we're not talking about the ice=very upset citizens.
From 2009-2013 Ms. Haarde was the Prime Minister…, first woman and lesbian PM.
New election was held again in 2016…Johansson gets elected but due to the "Panama Papers" scandal (how he handled it) he resigns last Oct. 2016.
The people took to the streets. Tear gas fired at crowds protesting- we need new mgt! As previously noted, they did pull out of it but made for some raucous politics.
The new PM (Jan 2017) Bjarni Ben (a Univ of Miami grad by the way) is doing his best to square things up.
The former PM-Gunnlaugsson went to trial- no punishment? Huh? Where is he now? Maybe one of the "hidden people"?
Pleep's favorite is the Pirate Party... a real up and coming force. Seriously. The under 30 crowd chants "crowd sourced constitution".
How did these modest hard working people ended up with this s$%& storm? I guess they could say the same about us.
FYI
Iceland is a parliamentary republic run by a directly elected president and legislative assembly.
Iceland’s parliament is called Alþingi (pronounced ‘Althingi’), a democratic institution which can trace its history right back to 930 AD and the first Norse settlers.
63 MPs are elected from Icelandic constituencies by proportional representation sit in Alþingi and pass national legislation.
Any political party, or coalition of parties, with 32 MPs can form a majority government. General elections (and, indeed, presidential elections) are held every four years.
From 2009-2013 Ms. Haarde was the Prime Minister…, first woman and lesbian PM.
Ice Save called Ice Slave (the rigorous roll back of spending) and they did pay off the $5 billion IMF loan…Bravo! Maybe Greece will follow suit?
Gunnlaugsson was elected PM in 2013…oops he forgot to tell the people about his many hidden holding companies etc.- he was a creditor of the 3 failed Icelandic banks. Oy vey- do you think the creditors (him) got a good deal? He had to resign.
New election was held again in 2016…Johansson gets elected but due to the "Panama Papers" scandal (how he handled it) he resigns last Oct. 2016.
The people took to the streets. Tear gas fired at crowds protesting- we need new mgt! As previously noted, they did pull out of it but made for some raucous politics.
The new PM (Jan 2017) Bjarni Ben (a Univ of Miami grad by the way) is doing his best to square things up.
The former PM-Gunnlaugsson went to trial- no punishment? Huh? Where is he now? Maybe one of the "hidden people"?Pleep's favorite is the Pirate Party... a real up and coming force. Seriously. The under 30 crowd chants "crowd sourced constitution".
So who are they? The Pirate Party formed in 2012, in the wake of the collapse of Iceland’s hugely over leveraged banking industry following the 2008 financial crisis. The Party and its motley group of of anarchists, libertarians and Internet activists is led by Birgitta Jonsdottir. The 49-year-old former Wikileaks activists, web programmer and “poetician” has been an MP for different parties since 2009, but decided to help start the party, which part of an international anti-copyright movement that originates in Sweden, because "I’m often crossing paths with nerds as I’m such a nerd myself" she told the Financial Times. It's all about wealth redistribution. Is she channeling Bernie Sanders?
How did these modest hard working people ended up with this s$%& storm? I guess they could say the same about us.
Corruption is a world wide phenomenon and seems to be a never ending freak show in many countries.FINALLY!
Saw a whale while eating lunch in Prime. Boca doesn't understand why the ship doesn't have food drag along the boat for the whales so we can see lots of them?
And the lady sitting next to me asked her husband, "is our ship made of wood?"
And speaking of someone who has been to MANY countries, our Persian Princess, my pal and wonderful neighbor,Tina the Terrific sends love to all.
Bubs is getting into his crabby zone....I wanna go home. Oy Oy Oy. Have a glass of Caymus and calm down Bubs, or take another nap.
