Greenland medieval Norse colonies. Bardsen's Chorography sites per Rafn 1873 map

£115

SKU

'Sketch Chart of the South West of Greenland from the Danish Admiralty Survey corrected to 1873, with Professor Rafn's adaptation of the ancient Sites from Ivar Bardsen's Chorography'


Original lithographed chart prepared under the direction of Richard Henry Major, issued under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society, combining modern Danish Admiralty survey data with historical reconstruction. The map overlays contemporary hydrographic knowledge of south-west Greenland with site locations derived from the 14th-century chorography of Ivar Bardarson (also rendered Bardsen), a Norwegian cleric who described the Eastern Settlement and its churches, fjords, and sailing routes at a time when Norse Greenland was already in decline. These medieval locations are interpreted and adapted by Carl Christian Rafn, whose 19th-century scholarship sought to correlate saga literature and documentary sources with physical geography. The chart reflects Victorian efforts to locate and understand the Norse colonies of Greenland—founded in the late 10th century and abandoned by the 15th—by reconciling archaeological tradition, medieval texts, and modern survey science, and forms part of Major’s broader investigation into pre-Columbian North Atlantic exploration.

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Size 20 x 34 cm | 8.0 x 13.5 inches

Date Published: 1873

Type: Antique Royal Geographical Society map with related text pages

Author: Royal Geographical Society

Royal Geographical Society / Richard Henry Major

Publication: The Geographical Journal

"The Geographical Journal"; Published by Royal Geographical Society, London

Condition: Good |

Good; suitable for framing. Light soiling. Light crease. Please check the scan for any blemishes prior to making your purchase. This is a folding map. There is nothing printed on the reverse side, which is plain

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