The Secret History of the Vikings in Greenland & North America
Sharing his extensive and meticulous research, Jacques Privat details the early settlements of the Vikings in Greenland and Canada, long before Columbus arrived in the New World. Drawing on the still-living indigenous oral traditions of the Far North, he shows how the Norsemen and the Eskimoes formed a harmonious community—until the Norse colonies mysteriously disappeared.
Privat also reveals that the Vikings were not only in Greenland, but also occupied its neighboring islands and the eastern shores of Canada. He examines in depth how Greenland and its surroundings were inhabited for nearly five centuries by two Nordic colonies, Vestribygo and Eystribygo, which disappeared mysteriously: one in 1342 and the other in the 16th century. Privat reveals extensive evidence from sculptural art to show how the Vikings and those Eskimoes in Greenland formed a harmonious community.
He also examines ancient maps and other cartography, such as the 15th-century Martin Behaim globe, as well as explorers’ records of their voyages, showing that, far from being constantly at odds with the native population, the Norsemen formed a beneficial relationship. Privat also details his hypothesis that the Christian Vikings of Greenland actually returned to their pagan roots, causing friction with Christian churches in Europe. Also revealed is the English, Irish, German, Danish, Flemish, and Portuguese presence in the Far North.
He explores how Portugal knew all about Greenland and Canada long before Columbus and produced the first correct cartography of Greenland as an island. He also alleges that Portugal may have been behind the disappearance of the Vikings in Greenland, enslaving them for their plantations. Dispelling once and for all the silly claim that the Eskimoes were able to wipe out the Scandinavian colonies of the Far North, the author reveals how, ultimately, the Church opted to cut all ties with the settlements—rather than publicize that a formerly Christian people had become pagan again.
Softcover, 456 pages, #1078.
