The Eastern Settlement ( non, Eystribygð ) was the first and by far the larger of the two main areas of Norse

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

, settled by

Norsemen The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...

from

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 ...

. At its peak, it contained approximately 4,000 inhabitants. The last written record from the Eastern Settlement is of a wedding in

Hvalsey Hvalsey ("Whale Island"; Greenlandic ''Qaqortukulooq'') is located near Qaqortoq, Greenland and is the site of Greenland's largest, best-preserved Norse ruins in the area known as the Eastern Settlement (''Eystribyggð''). In 2017, it was inscri ...

in 1408, placing it about 50–100 years later than the end of the more northerly

Western Settlement The Western Settlement ( non, Vestribygð ) was a group of farms and communities established by Norsemen from Iceland around 985 in medieval Greenland. Despite its name, the Western Settlement was more north than west of its companion Eastern Set ...

. Despite its name, the Eastern Settlement was more south than east of its companion and, like the Western Settlement, was located on the southwestern tip of Greenland at the head of long fjords such as

Tunulliarfik Fjord Tunulliarfik Fjord (old spelling: ''Tunugdliarfik'') is a fjord near Qaqortoq in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It is the inner section of Skovfjord (Skovfjorden). In times of the Norse settlement in southern Greenland, it was kn ...

or Eiriksfjord,

Igaliku Igaliku is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The town was founded as Igaliko in 1783 by the trader and colonial administrator Anders Olsen and Greenlandic wife Tuperna. In 2020, Igaliku had 21 inhabitants. The ...

or Einarsfjord, and

Sermilik Fjord Sermilik ( da, Egede og Rothes Fjord) is a fjord in eastern Greenland. It is part of the Sermersooq municipality. The settlement of Tasiilaq is located about 15 km to the east of the mouth of the fjord. Geography This fjord, whose Gre ...

. Approximately 500 groups of ruins of Norse farms are found in the area, with 16 church ruins, including

Brattahlíð Brattahlíð (), often anglicised as Brattahlid, was Erik the Red's estate in the Eastern Settlement Viking colony he established in south-western Greenland toward the end of the 10th century. The present settlement of Qassiarsuk, approximately ...

Dyrnæs Dyrnæs was a Norse settlement in Eastern Settlement in Greenland. It was located to the north of modern-day Narsaq. History According to Ívar Bárðarson, Dyrnæs was one of the largest parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Chr ...

, Garðar, Hvalsey and

Herjolfsnes Herjolfsnes was a Norsemen, Norse settlement in Greenland, 50 km northwest of Cape Farewell, Greenland, Cape Farewell. It was established by Herjulf Bårdsson, Herjolf Bardsson in the late 10th century and is believed to have lasted some 500 ...

. The Vatnahverfi district to the southeast of Einarsfjord had some of the best pastoral land in the colony, and boasted 10% of all the known farm sites in the Eastern Settlement. The economy of the medieval Norse settlements was based on livestock farming – mainly sheep and cattle, with some seal hunting. A climate deterioration in the 14th century may have increased the demand for winter fodder and at the same time decreased productivity of hay

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

Isotope analysis Isotope analysis is the identification of isotopic signature, abundance of certain stable isotopes of chemical elements within organic and inorganic compounds. Isotopic analysis can be used to understand the flow of energy through a food web ...

of bones excavated at archaeological investigations in the Norse settlements has found that fishing played an increasing role towards the end of the settlement's life. While the diet of the first settlers consisted of 80% agricultural products and 20% marine food, from the 14th century the Greenland Norsemen had 50–80% of their diet from the sea. In the

Greenlandic Inuit Greenlanders ( kl, Kalaallit / Tunumiit / Inughuit; da, Grønlændere) are people identified with Greenland or the indigenous people, the Greenlandic Inuit (''Grønlansk Inuit''; Kalaallit, Inughuit, and Tunumiit). This connection may be r ...

tradition, there is a legend about Hvalsey. According to this legend, there was open war between the Norse chief Ungortoq and the Inuit leader K'aissape. The Inuit attacked on Hvalsey and burned down the Norse inside their houses, but Ungortoq escaped with his family. K'aissape conquered him after a long pursuit, which ended near Cape Farewell. According to archaeological studies, there is no sign of a conflagration. Other explanations have also been offered, including

soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and ...

due to

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

and the effects of the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

. Major parts of the Eastern Settlement, including

, the homestead of Erik the Red, were included on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

in 2017 as Kujataa Greenland: Norse and Inuit Farming at the Edge of the Ice Cap.

References

{{Authority control Norse settlements in Greenland Populated places established in the 10th century 10th century in Greenland 15th century in North America

See also

References