James Timothy Palmer

Hardrada Wars in America James Timothy Palmer

King Harald III of Norway had the epithet: Hardrada and was the subject of a Norse saga. His adventures across the known world were renowned. Adam of Bremen made reference to him in his work in the late 11th century. Adam was a German scholar and chronicler who was known to have visited Hardrada's old enemy, King Sweyn II of Denmark, and it was during his stay that he heard of Hardrada's exploration of America, or as the Norwegians named it, Vinland. Vinland was discovered by Leif Ericsson at the beginning of the 11th century along with the region known as Markland. The latter was harvested of its trees, which were desperately needed in Greenland. A ship repair port was set up on the northern coast of Newfoundland, which also acted a staging post. In his chronicle, Gesta Hammaburgenis ecclesie pontificum, Adam states that King Harald III of Norway, known as Hardrada, voyaged to the lands beyond Greenland: 'King Harald thoroughly searched the length of the northern oceans, and discovered the dark boundaries of a savage world. With difficulty he retraced his steps and escaped from the deep abyss'.