Didrik Pining ( 1430 – 1491) was a German
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
, nobleman and governor of Iceland and
Vardøhus.
In 1925, researcher Sofus Larson proposed that Pining may have landed in North America in the 1470s, almost twenty years before
Columbus' voyages of discovery. Some of the claims concerning Pining are controversial because information about him is, in general, relatively sparse and partially contradictory.
Biography
Early life
Didrik Pining has been found by modern German genealogists to have been a native of
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...
in Germany, and this has according to a report been "suddenly and conclusively proved."
[Hughes, 2003.] It had been assumed that he was a Dane or Norwegian until the 1930s.
[Hughes, 2004, p. 504.]
In
Hanseatic
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...
records until 1468, he is mentioned as a
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
or naval captain in the service of
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, charged with hunting down English merchant ships in the North Atlantic.
[ From 1468 to 1478, he was in the service of ]Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
(by 1470 as an "admiral") first under Christian I of Denmark
Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within Den ...
(ruled 1448–1481), and later for his son, John of Denmark
John (Danish, Norwegian and sv, Hans; né ''Johannes'') (2 February 1455 – 20 February 1513) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1481–1513), Norway (1483–1513) and as John II ( sv, Johan II) ...
(ruled 1481–1513). Before his employment by the Danes, Pining and his partner Hans Pothorst
Hans Pothorst ( 1440 – 1490) was a privateer, likely from the German city Hildesheim.
In 1925, researcher Sofus Larsen proposed that Pothhorst may have landed in North America, along with Didrik Pining, in the 1470s, almost twenty years before ...
had also been regarded by the Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
as "pirates who did much damage to the Hanse towns."[Friedland, 1984, p. 541.] During the later years of the reign of Christian I, Pining and Pothorst are said to have distinguished themselves "not less as capable seamen than as matchless freebooters."[Nansen and Chater, 1911, p. 125.]
Alleged trip to America
Sofus Larsen's theory
The theory of the Pining voyage reaching America was published for the first time by Sofus Larsen of the University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
in his book ''The Discovery of North America Twenty Years Before Columbus'' in 1925. Larsen based his claims on various sources (mainly three) which had no immediately apparent connection.[ Pining was according to Larsen appointed leader of an expedition to the north towards Greenland in the early 1470s.] He, together with Hans Pothorst (also from Hildesheim), and the Portuguese explorers João Vaz Corte-Real
João Vaz Corte-Real (; c. 1420 – 1496) was a Portuguese sailor, claimed by some accounts to have been an explorer of a land called ''Terra Nova do Bacalhau'' (''New Land of the Codfish''), speculated to possibly have been a part of North Americ ...
and Álvaro Martins
Álvaro Martins, also known as Álvaro Martins Homem, was a 15th-century Portugal, Portuguese explorer alleged to have explored the western Atlantic and later the African coast. He is claimed to have accompanied João Vaz Corte-Real on an undocum ...
, were said to have been the principals in the expedition. The navigator was supposedly the semi-mythical figure named John Scolvus. According to Larsen, the mission likely started off from Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
, went on through to Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and Greenland, and eventually discovered '' Terra do Bacalhau'', the "Land of Codfish", later presumed to be Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
or Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
. While it is known that Pining and Corte-Real were respectively appointed governors of Iceland (1478) and the Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
(1474), these appointments were according to Larsen a reward for having discovered the Land of Codfish.
General research
While Larsen's claims have enjoyed strong scholarly and public support in Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
and Portugal, it has been more disputed among German scholars. Reception of the account by American and English historians has generally ranged from ridicule to acceptance of the plausibility of at least part of it. Many further circumstances are known to support the theory, although it is generally concluded that the theory is "not proven" (nor sufficiently "disproven"), with any possible "final proof" lacking.
Regardless, no sources explicitly support that Pining and Pothorst had any connections with the journey by Corte-Real, nor that they reached North America (excluding Greenland). What is known however, is that Pining and Pothorst were sent out by a royal Danish order to find out which of several possible policies concerning trade in Iceland should be developed, in which settlements and harbours. Pining's orders further included investigating what formerly, in the 11th century, had been called the ''regiones finitimae'' (i.e. "the coasts opposite those still-remembered but obsolete settlements in Greenland").[ In 1476, they made this trip, which likely went to Greenland, where they were reported to have encountered hostile ]Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
, and no Norse people
The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic peoples, North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic languages, North Germanic br ...
.[ The location they visited is assumed by some to have been around ]Angmagssalik
Tasiilaq, formerly Ammassalik and Angmagssalik, is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,985 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the seventh-largest town in Green ...
.[Mills, 2003, p. 273.] Nothing specific suggests it went further west than this.[Diffie, 1977, p. 449.]
Later years
In 1478, Didrik Pining became the governor (''höfuðsmaðr'')[Seaver, 1997, p. 200.] of Iceland, serving until 1481, when he is mentioned as having "fared out of Iceland." He replaced the former governor Thorleif Björnsson, whose struggle to marry his own cousin Ingvild was supported by Pining. The following year, Thorleif gave Pining silver and a horn of walrus ivory
The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...
to pay the king for a license for his union. The agreement was constituted in 1484, merging two of Iceland's most fortunate political dynasties. In the same year, there came complaints of Pining and his men having raped women and stolen money from farmers.[ In 1481, Pining was present at the funeral of Danish king Christian I.][Hughes, 2004, p. 506.] He also made state visits of homage to Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
and Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, became knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
ed in Norway, and employed his personal coat of arms which featured a grappling hook
A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hol ...
.[ Some years later, in 1489 and 1490, he is again described as "governor (''hirdstjore'') over the whole of Iceland" in two Icelandic laws or edicts (the so-called Pining's Laws). A later chronicler says about him that "he was in many ways a serviceable man and put many things right that were wrong."] His godson and nephew, Didrik Pining the Younger, succeeded him in 1490, and was governor for the two following years.[
Pining, together with Hans Pothorst, patrolled North Atlantic waters and played prominent roles in the Anglo-Danish Naval War (1484–90).][Jensen, 2007, p. 185.] Around 1484, he captured, off the coast of England or Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
and in the Spanish Sea, three Spanish or Portuguese ships which he brought to King John of Denmark
John (Danish, Norwegian and sv, Hans; né ''Johannes'') (2 February 1455 – 20 February 1513) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1481–1513), Norway (1483–1513) and as John II ( sv, Johan II) ...
in Copenhagen. He accompanied John to Bergen in 1486 as admiral of the royal fleet.[Jensen, 2007, p. 185-86.] In 1487, he led a fleet to the island of Gotland
Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...
in the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
, and secured it for Denmark.[ In a treaty concluded between John of Denmark and the Dutch in 1490, it is, however, expressly stated that Didrik Pining (and another admiral named Bartold Busch) were to be excluded from the peace. He was then also spoken of as a lord of Iceland. In the same year, Pining was appointed governor of Vardøhus, and may thus have been commander-in-chief of the seas and lands in northern waters.][Nansen and Chater, 1911, p. 126.]
Didrik Pining likely died (was possibly killed) around Finnmark
Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024.
On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...
or the North Cape in 1491.[ In the '']Skibby Chronicle
The ''Skibby Chronicle'' (Danish: ''Skibbykrøniken'', Latin: ''Chronicon Skibyense'') is a Danish chronicle written in Latin and dating from the 1530s. It is preserved in a manuscript now held at the Arnamagnæan Institute. The manuscript was ...
'', Pining (and Pothorst) are mentioned among many pirates who "met with a miserable death, being either slain by their friends or hanged on the gallows or drowned in the waves of the sea,"[Nansen and Chater, 1911, p. 129.] although this has been disputed by some modern historians.[
]
Later references
In a letter to Christian III of Denmark
Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...
in 1551, the mayor of Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
, Carsten Griep, sent the king two maps of the north Atlantic made during the expeditions of Pining and Pothorst, "who were sent out by your majesty's royal grandfather King Christian the First, at the request of his majesty of Portugal, with certain ships to explore new countries and islands in the north, have raised on the rock '' Wydthszerck'', lying off Greenland and towards '' Sniefeldsiekel'' in Iceland on the sea, a great sea-mark on account of the Greenland pirates (presumably Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
)."[Nansen and Chater, 1911, p. 127.][Stefansson, 2005, p. 84.]
Olaus Magnus
Olaus Magnus (October 1490 – 1 August 1557) was a Swedish writer, cartographer, and Catholic ecclesiastic.
Biography
Olaus Magnus (a Latin translation of his birth name Olof Månsson) was born in Linköping in October 1490. Like his elder ...
wrote in 1555 that Pining and Pothorst, due to their piracy, had "by the Nordic kings been excluded from all human contact and declared outlaws, as a result of their extremely violent robberies and numerous cruel acts against all sailors that they could catch, whether close or distant." They then took refuge at a cliff called Hvidserken, which apparently was located between Iceland and Greenland.[Daae, 1887, p. 244.] Magnus added that in "1494", the pirates created a giant compass out of a considerable circular space at the top of the cliff, with rings and lines formed of lead, to make it easier for them to know in which direction they could seek a great plunder. Modern historians have suggested that they may in fact have set up some mark at the coast of Greenland to reclaim it for the Danish king.[Jensen, 2007, p. 186.]
In 1625, a report from London talks about Pining and Pothorst (''Punnus'' and ''Potharse'') and states that Pining "gave the Islanders their Lawes," referred to later as Pining's Law, the written Icelandic law
Law of Iceland during the Commonwealth (930—1262) was decided by the Althing. It has changed over the years but the legislative body is still called Althing.
History
Prior to 1262 the law-code was ''Grágás''.
Following the '' Gamli sáttmá ...
.
See also
* Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact
Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact theories are speculative theories which propose that possible visits to the Americas, possible interactions with the indigenous peoples of the Americas, or both, were made by people from Africa, Asia, Europe, ...
* Hans Pothorst
Hans Pothorst ( 1440 – 1490) was a privateer, likely from the German city Hildesheim.
In 1925, researcher Sofus Larsen proposed that Pothhorst may have landed in North America, along with Didrik Pining, in the 1470s, almost twenty years before ...
* John Scolvus
* João Vaz Corte-Real
João Vaz Corte-Real (; c. 1420 – 1496) was a Portuguese sailor, claimed by some accounts to have been an explorer of a land called ''Terra Nova do Bacalhau'' (''New Land of the Codfish''), speculated to possibly have been a part of North Americ ...
* Álvaro Martins
Álvaro Martins, also known as Álvaro Martins Homem, was a 15th-century Portugal, Portuguese explorer alleged to have explored the western Atlantic and later the African coast. He is claimed to have accompanied João Vaz Corte-Real on an undocum ...
Footnotes
References
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pining, Didrik
1430s births
1491 deaths
German explorers
Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact
People from Hildesheim
Norwegian pirates
Age of Discovery
15th-century Norwegian nobility