Kirsten A. Seaver

In The Frozen Echo, Kristen A. Seaver presents an impressive examina-tion of Greenland’s early colonies of Norsemen with the goal of explaining their eventual disappearance. In particular, Seaver challenges the theories that the neglect of the mother country and the harsh conditions in Greenland gradually weakened Greenlander’s ability and desire to maintain their settlements. In-stead, she asserts that the Norse colonies remained viable and operational throughout their long existence, even in the face of bleak weather, austere and inhospitable surroundings and lack of support from the government back in Scandinavia.
Seaver concedes that the climate did grow worse during “the Little Ice Age,â€? but argues that Icelanders and Norwegians, of similar stock, face approxi-mately similar conditions. Further, she admits that Greenlanders’ habits of farm-ing and animal husbandry suggest that overgrazing had also contributed to envi-ronmental deterioration and a decreased productivity in agriculture. On the other hand, she demonstrates that Greenlanders persevered and engaged in trading well into the fifteenth century.
Marshaling an exhaustive array of sources, Seaver illustrates the vicissi-tudes of See of Gardar and uses this as a context to discuss relations between Greenland and the home country. Long lapses of vacancy, as well as occasional periods of multiple occupancy, characterized this bishopric. More importantly to the Greenlanders themselves, the bishops spent little if any time in Greenland. The main point Seaver makes is when the church demanded high contributions from Greenland’s parishes, Greenlanders successfully resisted. Similarly, they resisted strict adherence to royal strictures on trade. Seaver contends that these qualities characterize a strong and independent people who would not easily submit under pressure.
Much of Seaver’s attention centers on trade. She uses archeological find-ings to argue that trade between Greenlanders and the British Isles, and proba-bly the European continent, existed right up until the end of the settlements. Al-though she admits that the evidence is not conclusive, Seaver, herself, is obvi-ously persuaded that the Rhenish pottery, the items of clothing, and the carvings establish strong support for an ongoing network of trade. In addition, she takes the next logical step that people of marginal subsistence are probably not engag-ing in trade for decorative trinkets or the latest fashions from Europe.
Seaver provides an extensive look at the English trade from Bristol to show that English sailors had ongoing contact with Iceland throughout the Fif-teenth Century. The author contends that both close kinship associations and networks within the sailing community suggest that some contact between the English and Greenlanders also existed. In her view, the fishing trade from Bristol to Greenland knew about the existence of land to the west of Greenland. The new impetus that trade and exploration acquired in the post-Columbian years ad-versely affected the Norse settlements in Greenland. No longer did fishermen and explorers need to hug the coast timidly; increasingly, it became more practi-cal to sail directly to Newfoundland or other shores of the Western hemisphere without needing to stop at Iceland or Greenland. She concludes that direct routes to America isolated Greenland thereby causing Greenlanders to leave their now out-of-the-way settlements.
Once again, Seaver admits that hard evidence for her hypothesis is lack-ing; however, so too, is the proof against her arguments. She builds a compel-ling and persuasive, although not unassailable, case for her position. Her atten-tion to detail suggests a commendable thoroughness. Admittedly, this is a work of history, even though its argument heavily depends upon speculation; it is not a dramatic novel. It would however have been improved if the dénouement could have been delivered with a bit more punch instead of a whimper. The meekness with which Seaver eventually made her point disappointed this reviewer mightily. Her purpose was not to entertain; she did not, however, have to achieve that goal so thoroughly.

Alex Hunnicutt… (altro)