Norse Settlement of North America II

Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: The Norse, sometimes referred to as Vikings, were exceptional sailors, farmers, traders, and shipwrights. They were also intuitive navigators. Denied modern tools such as the compass, either by dead-reckoning, the use of star patterns born of long experience, or fortuitous pursuit of rumors, they made the far north Atlantic a Viking lake. The islands of present day northern Scotland, Iceland and Greenland fell to Norse discovery and control in the 9th and 10th centuries.