Vinland - An Alternate Timeline

[Sarthak]

The History of Vinland Original Volume. Circa 1824
Sir Douglas Johnson.

Chapter 1 - Creation of a State

1000 AD

To understand the Creation of Vinland, we must first look at the situation is Scandinavia. In the early days of the eleventh century, the Nordic countries were divided into two factions, for a lack of words. These factions were the new zealous Christians who sought to christianize the Nordic countries and the second faction was the Norse, who wanted to retain their old pagan faith. Once the bastion of Germanic Paganism, Scandinavian ruling classes and dynasties had converted to Christianity and adopted them as the state religion. However it was becoming apparent to the pagan Norse day by day that their stance was waning, their once formidable power being lost to the powers of change and time. The massacres and destruction of Pagan people and temples all across Norway by King Olaf I and then in Sweden, Denmark and Frisia were evidence that soon within a century or two, Norse Paganism would die out. Catholics called themselves the living embodiments of Christian peace, prosperity, forgiveness and tolerance. However they simply looked away as Norse pagans were burnt to the ground regardless of them being children, women or men, old or young, sick or healthy. Many Norse believed that the Christians were not trustworthy because of this; they sprouted an ideology that they did not practice. However it was becoming painfully evident to the remaining Scandinavian and German Norse pagans that their faith was on the verge of extinction and if something was not done, their age old beliefs would be lost to the pages of history.

Soon however news filtered to these desperate Pagans that a certain Leif Erikson had found a land far away across the oceans. A land he called Vinland. But a problem arose, Leif was known to be the person who introduced Christianity to Greenland and was a Christian himself. That did not endear him to the people. However, this was their last ditch attempt and several prominent pagans left for Iceland with their families. There, they managed to gain a meeting with Leif Erikson.

* * *

"So, you wish to aid me colonize Vinland?" Leif asked.

"Yes. We wish it to be our new homes, where we can practice our faith without the fear of persecution."

"You do realize I'm a christian?" Leif asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes I do." The pagan merchant bit out. "However, your family is not. That is acceptable to us considering you have not converted them."

"Yes. Thorgil was especially against abandoning the faith like my father." Leif replied folding his hands. He sighed. "Very well. I need the people to make Vinland a successful venture."

"About that...."

"What?"

"If it is successful, we would like to live isolate from europe, perhaps with limited trading through secretive manner in Iceland and Greenland."

"Truly?"

"Yes."

"To think the church would do such atrocities that you would wish to leave Europe entirely.......I do sympathize with you. Very well. I have no life left in Europe either. My home is in Greenland and in the future Vinland. This continent has brought nothing but death, destruction and despair. Let us leave this behind and start a new life."

"Thank you Son of Erik! Thank you!"

"According to you, you have managed to contact families and their thralls enough to have a population of 50,000?"

"No, about 60,000"

"Transporting will take a while."

"We can stay in Iceland till then."

"Very well. We shall start a system of movement for maximum security though I believe living situations will be cramped for a while."

"That is acceptable."

* * *

By 1008, after 8 years of painful slow passage to ensure the safety of the people being transported to Vinland via Iceland and Greenland, the contingent of almost 60,000 pagans reached Vinland. This event became known as The Great Exodus of Europe. The Pope in Rome laughed at these people. A grand exodus of about 80,000 men from all across Scandinavia and the few pockets of land in Germany where Norse paganism still lived were about to leave for Vinland in 1006 AD. The pope called them heretics and called out saying "Beyond the Great Ocean, is nothing but the edge of the world. You fall to your deaths, heretics, because that is what you deserve!"

By 1008 AD, almost all of the people had arrived in modern day Newfoundland. They set up a town named Leifthorp (Leif's Town) in what is modern day St. Johns. They settled down there, renounced all ties to Europe and called themselves Vinlandians or Vinlanders. The people and families of the new settlement pestered Leif to become King of Vinland but he was reluctant, not wishing to be a monarch. He was an explorer at heart, and administrative duties were not a good quality of his. However, the people were insistent, so he cut a compromise. His son, Thorgils, had come with him to Vinland, and he would become king of Vinland. The people also pushed for the formal founding of House Erikson. Under the pressure of the people, Leif agreed. On April 9th, 1008 AD, the Kingdom of Vinland was proclaimed to all the new citizens of the kingdom with Thorgil becoming king and the establishment of House Erikson as the ruling family of Vinland. 20 of the richest Pagan families were elevated to nobility status as Jarls.

Of course, Vinland right now was a single sprawling city and the need to expand grew. With a small army raised the Vinlanders started to clash with the native Beothuk population. By 1019, the entire island of modern day Newfoundland had been settled with Leifthorp remaining the capital and other two prominent settlements, Vinfjord (Modern day Corner Brook) and Olaffjord (modern day Stoneville). The local Beothuk population was allowed to remain if they accepted to be citizens of Vinland and learn Norse language as a second language. The Norse were sympathetic to the Beothuk knowing that their native homes were being seized by them. Remembering how their religion was seized from them, they could relate, so Beothuk tribesmen and women became integral parts of Vinlandian society with tribe leaders and their families being elevated to Jarls.

By 1020, a problem arose. Among the many middle class settlers in Vinland, most were former slaves and few slaves existed. The older richer families who had come with them wanted slavery as a material economic belief to provide for the people. But the population could not sustain slavery as a whole. In 1020, Thorgil abolished slavery as a practice but allowed paid laborers to be hired for household work. This was believed to be a suitable middle ground and indeed it was. Society thrived in the fledgling country and in 1022, Leif Erikson died. He was mourned throughout Vinland as the father of the nation. A crypt was constructed in Leifthorp called the 'Vinland Royal Crypts' where his body was buried.

Map of Vinland

flag of Vinland; Green represents the natural beauty of Vinland, Black represents their historic persecution in Europe, White shows their unity, and the raven symbolizes their Norse Pagan beliefs and roots.

The Very First coat of arms of the Kingdom of Vinland depicting The Hammer of Thor and the Yggdrasil

After 1022 AD, Vinland mostly went through an era of peace and prosperity. The terrain was rough and mountainous but, towards the beaches and meadows, the men were able to cultivate farms. Slowly the population grew. Beothuk people were fascinated by the amount of knowledge the former Europeans had brought with them. Even medieval Europe was still more advanced than medieval Native America. In 1034, King Thorgil died of stroke and was succeeded by his grandson, King Thorgil II of House Erikson. Thorgil I's body was buried in the Royal Crypt alongside his father's.

Through independent traders and merchants, Vinland kept in contact with Europe creating a trade route from Vinland to Greenland to Iceland and to mainland Europe. Of course by the time, news from Europe filtered into Vinland, they would be outdated, but at least they got the information and day to day knowings of Europe and the old world. By 1050, the population was prospering and many Beothuk and Norse had intermarried as well creating a whole new race which future historians would un-creatively named "Vinland Race."

In 1053, after almost half a century of peace and prosperity and the population having reached well over 80,000
the Jarls and advisers of Thorgil II were looking forward to exploring new lands in the new continent that their founding father had found years ago. From the upper most tip of the island they could see the continent and were willing to try and settle it like they had done to Vinland. However Thorgil II rejected this idea rebuffing them and stating that they needed to have a more stable society and prolonged prosperity to try and settle outside lands. His Beothuk subjects agreed with him. However Thorgil II allowed exploration expeditions to happen within 200 miles of Vinland to map out the area.

In 1060, Thorgil II abdicated the throne to his son Thorkell and retired into a small hut outside of LeifThorp stating that he wished to lived the remainder of his life in quiet and solitude. Thorkell was an ambitious man and he knew that in order for Vinland to survive he needed unity among the people, with most still stuck in many aspects in their Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish , Finnish and Germanic roots. So he began pouring gold into creating a massive monument designed to unite his people under the fervor of nationalism. HE began the construction of The Vinland Monument in LeifThorp. A giant wall of stone with carvings showing the prosecution of pagans in Europe, then coming to Leif answering his call for settlers. It then depicted the harsh journey across the ocean. The founding of LeifThorp. The crowning of Thorgil. The expansion into the island and the agreement between the Beothuk leader and Thorgil ending the Vinland-Beothuk Wars. The giant monument was completed in 1062 on the northern side of the city overlooking the sea indicating the original roots of Vinland. Thorkell's idea worked. The monument inspired nationalism into his subjects, particularly into the second generation and third general subjects of his kingdom who had only heard stories of their old Germanic roots and had not actually felt and experienced it.

In 1069, Thorkell ran aground into a problem. Most of the population was illiterate. The higher class of Jarls and the nobility were literate but the majority of the population was not. In a society made to assimilate the vast amount of cultures, this could not stand, as linguistic accents and differences could tear them apart in the future. So Thorkell started baby steps ahead to make his populace more literate. He introduced the Learning Centers in LeifThorp for the common people in the city. Slowly these Learning Centers expanded into the other cities and towns of the country. By the time of his death in 1081, most of the new generations of his kingdom were literate. Upon his death, he gained the moniker Thorkell I the Reformer.

He was succeeded by his grandson, Leif II (Leif Erikson was considered Leif I by the populace). Leif in 1097 rescinded his predecessorsplan on colonizing the main continent. Much of the coastlines had been mapped in exploration expeditions and he gave the g ahead green signal for the newly founded Vinland Exploration Committee to start plans on colonizing the northern coast just on the upper side of the island which the native Vinlanders called Noror Vinland (North Vinland).

By 1100 small settlements had been made in the coast.

Thus this chapter concludes with the beggining of the Vinnish nation. We shall go on to talk about the rest of the history of Vinland in following chapters.

END OF CHAPTER 1

NOTE:-
So I had tried my hand at writing a Vinland TL but it got kind of ASB and far fetched in the middle. So this is my new edited TL regarding that if you will. So replies on how its going on please, they are more than welcome. Constructive criticism is welcomed as well, but please do not repeat questions that have already been answered because i do find that very tedious if you will.

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 2

The 12th Century in Vinland is known to be The Era of Settlement. Throughout the century they would settle all across north America. In 1105, for the first time in Vinland history, a Vinlandian Monarch was killed. In Noror Vinland Vinlandians who had by now started to adopt the term Vinnish to called themselves, encountered natives that were not as friendly as the Beothuk. These natives plundered their settlements. Raided them, killed them, raped the women and stole the children. Leif II was furious. He led an army of 1500 across the straits to Noror Vinland and hit the natives in a battle. The resulting Battle of Norfjord (modern day Mary's Harbor) was seen as a crucial victory as the natives were pushed inland. However Leif had been struck by an arrow right into his chest that had punctured his lungs. He only had a daughter named Eerika, and feared that the more power hungry Jarls would try to seize the throne and make the country erupt into civil war. As a last wish, he ordered the male succession dead and announced that the eldest child of the reigning monarch, irrespective of gender, would be the heir to the kingdom. His most trusted friend, General Dustin affirmed his wishes and Leif died on the fields of Norfjord surrounded by his army. His body was lead in a procession back to Leifthorp and buried. As per his wishes, his daughter Eerika became Queen Eerika I of Vinland. A scribe who went by the name of Egil had written the last testimony and will of Leif and had presented it to Eerika.

"I am King Leif the Second of The Kingdom of Vinland. Patron of the Aesir and Vanir on Midgard. Friend of Beothuk and Ruler of Vinland and its subjects. I lay here dying from my wounds. I ask this from you as my last wish, my men. We Norse practiced a tradition of male succession on the throne regardless of age of other children in the monarch's family. But no more. As my last wish, I denounce the male succession and announce, that the eldest child of the monarch, from here henceforth in the House of Erikson, and any other House that may come to rule Vinland, regardless of Gender shall become the heir of the Kingdom of Vinland. May Forseti, the god of truth, honor and justice hear my plea and lord Odin seal my declaration. This is the last wish of your monarch!"

Eerika had been so touched by it that she elevated Egil to become Jarl of Norfjord. As a female, she knew that women were inherently looked down upon in society, though the discrimination was slightly less than how the Christians treated their women. She wanted women to have the same privileges that men had in society. However the more conservative nobles, which was basically most of them, opposed her, already embittered that a female had usurped the throne. So Eerika made baby steps. She allowed women to join the exploration expeditions. In 1114, she allowed women who were willing to become members of the Vinnish Royal Army. However, even these baby steps made her an adversity to her nobles who already disliked her. Her King-consort, the Jarl of Haakonthorp wanted to be King and conspired with the nobles to kill his wife, the Queen of Vinland.

Eerika had been an avid hunter and spent much of her free time hunting in the Royal preserves. One fateful day in 1117, whilst she was hunting a deer, assassins crept up behind her and stabbed her in the head, killing her instantly. However Eerika was a clever woman. She knew that the nobles were conspiring against her and that her estranged husband was likely a collaborator. She had left a specific code of instructions to her 15 year old son, Eirik on what to do if she was assassinated. When news came to him that his mother had been assassinated, he immediately began a massive investigation program with the aid of Eerika's now close friend, Egil, the Jarl of Norfjord. The within a month found proof that his father and 4 other Jarl's were the ones to have sent the assassins after them. Eirik killed all of the Jarls and replaced them with their children and imprisoned his father in the Tower of Hel. The Tower of Hel had been made in 1063, as a massive tower jail to house all of Vinland's criminals in the last century. At night, the aurora and dark night gave the tower an ominous feeling and thus the locals gave it the name, the Tower of the Queen of the Dead, or as we know it The Tower of Hel. For his acts Eirik became christened Eirik the Avenger and Eerika was christened Eerika the Killed.

King Eirik immediately set out to limit the nobility's power to their own realm and created a fiefdom and loyalty system much like feudalism. This would be called Vinnish Feudalism. This was awfully reminiscent of the feudal system in Europe. Many of the nobles blanched at this but Eirik's youthful fiery spirit made them back down. He had already proved himself when he avenged his mother. The Assassination of Eerika would become the first political intrigue of the Kingdom of Vinland.

After the brief instability brought on by the assassination, Eirik turned his eye north. In Noror Vinland, the Vinnish explorers were moving slowly inland having met stiffing resistance by the natives. He ordered inland expeditions to stop and ordered his explorers to fully colonize the coasts of Noror Vinland first. He was the first proto-European monarch to create an official standing centralized army. The Vinnish Royal Army was more of a levied system before where the men gave their allegiance to the Jarl, not the King, but Eirik saw this as a threat and removed the levy system in 1126 and the Vinnish Royal Army was centralized, made an active army that owed their allegiance to only the King of Vinland. He created the Chamber of Generals which would coordinate the army and its various divisions. The Chamber would consist of the Grand General, General, Vice-General, Grand Admiral, Admiral, Vice-Admiral, and the King himself. By the end of 1130, two standing armies were fully functional and ready to fight known as the Home Army with 5000 men in Vinland and 3000 men in Noror Vinland.

Eirik had been tutored by economists, traders, and merchants in his youth. So, Eirik saw the need for his country to have an economic base. He created the proto-bank called the National Economic and Financial Barter Treasury of Vinland (NEFBT). He also created the currency of Vinland which was called Hodd.

Hodd currency coins

He created the first merchant guilds in Vinland and created fixed rates with adherence to inflation for all good stuffs in markets with only a normal amount of profit allowed. Staffs of the NEFBT would supervise the markets and the prices to keep the new currency afloat and stable. He also started to wisely limit trade to Greenland a lot after the Bishop of Garðar was appointed to Greenland, though Nuuk itself was relatively free of the bishop's influence so trade continued with Nuuk in Greenland though in amore cautious scale.

In 1135, he died of pneumonia leaving behind a country that was becoming economically very prosperous. He did not have a child so the line of succession fell to his nephew, Thorkell who was named Thorkell II.

In 1143, King Thorkell II inaugurated the new settlement of Eirikthorp (North West River) on the banks of Laguz Aegir (modern day Lake Melville). Eirikthorp would be the most inland settlement of Vinland till date in Noror Vinland. Because of former king Eirik's many economical and financial decisions, the Vinnish economy boomed as economic prosperity in the country grew and continued to grow. King Thorkell II was a common un-noteworthy king who did little of importance giving more preference to sit in the Royal Erikson Castle in Leifthorp and continued to eat in his lavish parties that he threw for the nobles. He was an extremely gluttonous man and most of the administration of Kingdom was done by the Chamber and his court.

He died in 1149 having done nothing of import and was thus christened 'Thorkell II the Fat." He was succeeded by his eldest child, Princess Kari, now Queen Kari of Vinland. She was a ferocious fighter with the bow and arrow and hunting knife and personally led many expeditions inland to fight against the natives. When natives harassed the settlers of Snio Habno (Cold Harbor in English; Modern day Chevery) she personally led her 1000 strong army against twice or so that number of natives and in the Battle of Snio Habno decisively defeated the natives so badly that their threat would wane for the next couple of years. Queen Kari also instituted a policy called the 5000 policy. Before, the country would continue to send settlers to a certain new settlement until a random number was achieved and deemed sufficient to support the new settlement. However the 5000 policy demanded at least 5000 people in a major settlement to complete colonization and at least 2000 people in a minor settlement thus making the distribution of population in the new settled lands more even and balanced.

In 1156, Queen Kari authorized an expedition into the Northern Seas west of Greenland and North of Vinland to see what was out there. However due to cold torrential rain, blizzards and storms, the expedition was unsuccessful. However after a long land expedition was held, the expedition came into contact with the Inuit people. The explorers managed to stay there for 5 years among the Inuit people and returned in 1163 with 100 Inuit families trailing behind them eager to join the Norse Kingdom. Queen Kari was surprised at the turn of events but agreed and made the Inuit's citizens of the Kingdom of Vinland and established trade links with the remaining indigenous Inuit tribes to the north in fur trade. The Inuits brought with them several techniques of survival in the snow, and hunting techniques and transportation techniques like sledding etc as well. Queen Kari saw the benefits in their practices and immediately set out to adopt many of those advantageous techniques into the Kingdom.

In 1171 news came from Greenland that a sizable amount of Irish people had fled Ireland in the wake of the Norman Invasion of Ireland was looking to start a new life. Queen Kari sent 100 ships to Nuuk in Greenland and personally asked that all Irish who had fled their homes to come to Vinland and settle there. The Irish hesitantly agreed and arrived in Vinland. Thus, 7500 Irish found new homes in Vinland and that is also why, a sizable amount of Irish minority can be found in Vinland. Especially in Eirikthorp.

In 1178, Queen Kari died while fighting a native raid at Snio Habno again. The natives were repelled but she was killed in combat. She was dubbed Queen Kari I the Warrior.

A portrait of Queen Kari. She was known to be a very ferocious fighter and a beautiful maiden. She was nicknamed 'Kari the irresistible' by her suitors.

She was succeeded by her grandson, Leif III. Leif was a more isolationist monarch. He feared that dabbling too much in Greenland would make the pope aware of his kingdom across the ocean and prompt him to invade the islands in order to convert his population to Christianity. In his paranoia he had all of the Irish refugee's agree to never convert any other Vinnish citizen to Catholicism, whether they wanted to or not. Converting anyone would be punishable by death. He famously said "the only faith you are allowed to practice is the faith in which you were born to. For foreigners seeking refuge in my kingdom, your faith is tolerated by us as long as you do not try to convert our people. Should you do so, then foreign heads will begin to roll downwards."

Leif III thus began a very isolationist stance regarding Greenland and Europe as a whole. He devoted more time into developing Noror Vinland up to the level of Vinland Island (The main Vinnish island). By the end of his reign in 1202, all of modern day Labrador had been been colonized and settled with the biggest settlement being Karifjord (Modern day Labrador City).

Thus came the end of another century as the Vinnish lands began to expand. The Era of settlement came to a close.

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 3 - The Dark Years

In 1202, King Leif III died at the age of 71. He was succeeded by his granddaughter, Queen Eerika II. Queen Eerika II followed the policy of isolation in regards to Europe that was put in place by her grandfather. She was also particularly paranoid about a Christian Invasion, more so when she heard that a crusade was being conducted in the Baltic regions of Europe to convert the Baltic tribes who practiced the Romuva faith. She needed a population great enough to fight off invaders, whether they be European or Native Amerindian invaders. She passed the Law of Reproduction in 1206 which demanded that families have at least three children within ten years of marriage. Eerika, despite her paranoia, was an avid economist. She frowned at the ongoing costs of colonizing Noror Vinland a lot and decided that instead of the rapid colonization that had been going on in the past century, she directed colonization efforts to more passive colonization in order to keep more funds. By 1214, she started the Population Numbering Program which started the bi-yearly consensus programs in Vinland to tabulate and record the population of Vinland. She was very pleased when she learned that from 1202 to 1216, the population had risen from 278,000 to 372,000. Of course, most of the new population was dependent population and she also introduced proto-welfare systems which were designed to take care of children and old people.

Of course Queen Eerika wasn't a perfect monarch either. She was known to be very promiscuous and had a lot of lovers, both male and female. Perhaps the first Royal Scandal of Vinland took place when she had incestuous sex with her 14 year old son Magnus in 1218. Magnus who had been indoctrinated from childhood by his mother, was also very promiscuous, and many a nobles detested the heir for being as promiscuous as his mother. By 1221, Magnus had 3 Half-brothers and 2 half-sisters all of whom were fathered by different men. Queen Eerika II wasn't known to be picky either with her youngest daughter Runa being fathered by a local forger who had caught the queen's eye. All of these made her very unpopular in the public. The continuing incestuous relationship between Magnus and Eerika finally imploded into crisis when in 1223, Eerika gave birth to her grandson/son, who was named Vidar. Finally, in 1224, the Chamber with help of Prince Thorkell, Magnus's second half-brother led a coup against Eerika and Magnus who were caught having sexual intercourse in their cabins. They were stripped of their royal titles and exiled into the wilderness of Noror Vinland forbidden from returning. Thorkell ascended the throne as King Thorkell III and he outlawed incest throughout Vinland and enforced it with an iron fist.

Then began the 'Pretender War'. Magnus and Eerika had traveled into the wilderness and had bargained with the local native tribes to assist her to take back the throne. With around 5000 to 10,000 natives backing them, Magnus and Eerika came back with a vengeance. The natives wished to install a friendly monarch on the Vinnish throne who could give the natives the Vinnish shipbuilding and iron forging techniques and technology to strengthen themselves. Noror Vinland which had about 4000 of the Royal Vinnish Army was overrun within days. Almost the entire Vinnish 2nd Army in Noror Vinland was forced to surrender. Thorkell was not pleased.

The Pretender War lasted 9 years from 1225 to 1234. By 1227, Noror Vinland was under the command of Eerika. Thorkell mustered up a huge army and fleet and set sail for Eerika's new proclaimed capital, Norfjord where her engineers had constructed a grand fortress. The Noror Fortress, or in English, the Northern Fortress. Thorkell landed in the shores of Norjord on July 23rd, 1229 and besieged the fortress. The siege would last 4 years until Thorkell managed to finally capture the fortress along with his mother and half-brother. The fortress had been made in medieval European style with heavy rocks and stone slabs making Thorkell's archers useless against it. Throughout the five years of the siege, Thorkell invented many siege weapons.

With his mother and half-brother in captivity, Thorkell decisively defeated the natives in the Battle For Noror Vinland and drove them out by 1234. He executed his half-brother and made a creative punishment for his mother. He tied her to the mast of a ship and set it to sail into the uncharted southern seas. Her shipwrecked boat and dead body would be found in the 15th century by English colonizers in Bermuda, identified by the worn out but still identifiable Coat of Arms of Vinland on her clothes

Thus Magnus became known as 'Magnus the Usurper' and Eerika II was known as "Eerika the Promiscuous'. After the Pretender War, Thorkell settled down to regain stability in his kingdom. Many people had died in the war and he followed his mother's policy of reproduction. He wished for Vinland to reach a population of 1 million by the turn of the century. He also constructed fortresses in the boundaries of his kingdom with the new stone slabs and with the new european methods. The destroyed Noror Fortress was kept preserved as a historical monument by Thorkell as a testament of his power and might. From 1202 to 1234, the 32 year old period in Vinnish history became known as 'The Dark Era.' Many Vinnish and Native people would die in this horrendous era of overarching political intrigue, sexual debauchery etc. The era from 1235 to 1268 would be known as the Era of Reform. Thorkell III sought to make his Kingdom stronger again. The Kingdom had been on the verge of disintegration in the Pretender War and the other natives like the Abenaki's and Mikmaq's were trying to take advantage of the fact. Thorkell knew that in order to prevent such loathsome monarch from nearly destroying his kingdom anytime in the future he formed the High Council in 1239. The High Council consisted of the Nobles, Elite, minorities (Irish, Germans) and friendly native americans who had assimilated with them (Beothuk). He made power distribution possible and gave 40% of the executive power to the High Council and 20% of the executive power to the Chamber. The monarch would retain 40% of the executive power. The High Council would come to act like Vinland's parliament.

Thorkell III was worried about the massive amount of native american soldiers that had invaded Noror Vinland and the inability of VInland proper to respond in time. So he began a massive bridge construction project from 1239 from the northern most tip of Vinland, from Blomthorp (modern day Flower's Cove) to Skaoifjord (modern day Blanc Sablon). The bridge would be finished by 1242 linking Vinland Island to the mainland. He also increased the amount of garrisons in Noror Vinland and since the Erikson Bridge as it was come to be known was made entirely of stone, destroying it would be a monumental task for anyone in the late medieval era. Erikson bridge is considered to be the cornerstone of Vinnish engineering with the bridge being 4 lanes wide in modern terms allowing traffic to be less messy and the bridge was supported by powerful pillars that had the statues of the previous powerful monarchs of Vinland. On Vinland proper were the statues of Queen Kari and Thorkell I. On the other were the statues of Thorgil I and Eirik I. The bridge is still there today, with modern adjustments put in place of course.

Thorkell III would also go on to colonize modern day Anticosti island which was given the name Island of Vanir in regards to its beautiful natural sites and with the Vanir being gods of nature. The island was made into an Island fortress as a coastal fort to dissuade any native thoughts about invading Vinland by sea.

Now comes the story of a young English scholar who went by the name of Alfred Hampton. The scholar was one of the first well-known scholars of Oxford in England. There had been rumors throughout Europe for the last two centuries regarding the Mass Exodus that the pagans had survived and settled into a new Kingdom in a land west of Greenland. Almost all of the European elite thought that these rumors were simply rumors and nothing else. The pope had said that all of the heretics had died from falling from the edge of the world. But Alfred was curious. Taking the Second Baron's War as an excuse to leave England, he went to Iceland. There he started conversing and interrogating people. The Icelandic people were very reluctant to talk about Vinland considering it to be a taboo topic. Disappointed he sailed to Greenland. The people there were also very tight lipped regarding Vinland but by a stroke of luck, Thorkell's closest adviser, Vidar, Prince of Vinland (The son of Eerika and Magnus) had been there to negotiate a fishing and lumber trade agreement with the chieftain of Nuuk. When Alfred saw the coat of arms that distinct from any other nation in Europe and ships docked in harbor with viking designs he knew that the pagans had survived. He bought a local ship from a villager and shadowed Vidar's ships as they returned to Leifthorp. Midway, he was spotted and captured by Vidar. At first he thought that his great grandfather's premonition had come true and that Alfred was an European Spy. Due to language barriers, Alfred could not communicate properly. However, he noticed the distinct ancient norse tongue of Vidar and his men. Alfred could not speak Norse, but he could speak Icelandic, which was a cousin tongue of Norse. Slowly but surely he got his point across to Vidar. Vidar was in a conundrum. This European was not a spy, but a curious scholar. He had brought many books and scrolls regarding European technology along with him which would be very useful to Vinland. So Vidar made Alfred cut all ties to Europe and made Alfred into a Vinnish Citizen and brought him to Vinland. Alfred brought with him the rediscovered works of Aristotle, Archimedes, Ptolemy, Galen etc. This provided a more fundamental basis for philosophy and science to take hold in Vinland. Alfred became a quick friend to King Thorkell III who was very taken with the works of Archimedes in particular. In 1267, Alfred requested King Thorkell III to establish a national University for Vinnish scholars. King Thorkell III agreed and in 1268, the University of Midgard was established on the outskirts of Leifthorp with Alfred being the University's first dean.

In 1269, King Thorkell III died of lung cancer. He was a beloved king of the nation. His era of reform had made Vinland much more prosperous and had brought Vinland out of the instability of The Dark Era. He was dubbed Thorkell III The Great.

He was succeeded by his son, Thorgil who christened Thorgil III. Thorgil III let the High Council run the nation until 1272 by which time Thorgil finished his education in The University of Midgard in medieval ecology. He assumed full command in 1272. He was a learned man and knew that if people like Alfred could find Vinland, then one day, the entirety of Europe would soon follow. He thus followed a rapid policy of armament production and militarization. This was encouraged by his uncle Vidar, who by this time had been dubbed 'Vidar the Legitimate Illegitimate.' His moniker defined him as a illegitimate child, who had gained legitimacy and love of the people by shedding blood, tears and sweat for his nation against the native raids, his powerful trading and commercial abilities.

Vidar died in 1275 leading an attack at the age of 51 on a native war post. To the natives he was known as Vidar the Berserker. Legends say that more than a thousand natives fell to his blade personally. The natives who respected bravery and courage returned body respectfully with the Abenaki chieftain praising the man for his battle prowess. Vidar was buried in the Royal Crypt and a statue of him was erected in the main square in Leifthorp where a plaque was glued to the base of his statue. It contained one sentence written by Thorgil III himself. "Never judge a man from his origins, but judge him by his actions."

Thorgil III also pursued the policy of his predecessors of increasing the population of his country. By 1290, the population of Vinland hit 800,000. Eerika's policy of three child per family had made population grow rapidly throughout the century. Thorgil was also known to be a devout follower of the Norse faith. He constructed more than 50 temples all across Vinland devoting himself to the Vanir and Aesir gods. In 1297, Thorgil III died being known as Thorgil III the Devout.

Thus another chapter in Vinland's history came to an end





End of Chapter 3

 

[Some Bloke]

With an established European presence in the Americas, presumably including imported crops and livestock, how long before this starts affecting indigenous populations, e.g. new diseases etc.

 

[altwere]

I'm sure that things have started already. Eerika was able to get together an army who wanted the new weapon technologies. I'll sure that trade with the natives have spread crops and metal widly.
All of the Europ[ean diseases will not be arriving all at the same time.

 

[SwampTiger]

I like the basic outline and history of this timeline. But, I have a few quibbles. The maximum recorded population of Newfoundland and Labrador was 568,350 in 1986, with modern agriculture and transportation. Unless these folks settle further south, your populations figure don't work. Second is the bridge across the Straight of Belle Isle. Wooden technology will not allow such a construction. Even a pontoon bridge cannot survive winter ice, storms and currents. Create a ferry service for the ice free part of the year.

 

[Gwyain]

I have to agree with SwampTiger, the narrowest point across the Strait of Belle Isle is 9 miles across, that's just not feasible with the technology available at the time, nor will it be for a quite a long time. I would also seriously consider lowering the number of initial settlers down. 60,000 people is more than the entire population of Iceland at the time, for starters that shear number is a bit hard to believe, but I don't think Iceland could or would want to handle more than doubling its population for even a few months, let alone years. Something like 6,000 settlers is significantly more reasonable, and with time population growth can get you to a decent population size. With even just a 1% annual growth rate that number is going to be ~44,000 after 200 years, bump it to 1.5% and you're at 117,000 after 200 years, 2% 314,000. That's probably the realistic upper limit on growth rates, I'd recommend no higher than 1.5ish overall, a 2% continuous growth rate is assuming a lot of things going the right way all the time for 200 years. I'd also be cautious of the rate of progress in economics and the like, some of what you're suggesting took a significantly longer time to develop than is occurring here. Banking in particular was a multi-century development in an area of abundant, high value trade.

The flag seems a bit odd for a pagan community, I'm not sure why they would have a cross in it myself given the Christian connotations.

 

[Sarthak]

If it's not obvious already this TL is abandoned to be redone after proper research which is still going on.

I have to agree with SwampTiger, the narrowest point across the Strait of Belle Isle is 9 miles across, that's just not feasible with the technology available at the time, nor will it be for a quite a long time. I would also seriously consider lowering the number of initial settlers down. 60,000 people is more than the entire population of Iceland at the time, for starters that shear number is a bit hard to believe, but I don't think Iceland could or would want to handle more than doubling its population for even a few months, let alone years. Something like 6,000 settlers is significantly more reasonable, and with time population growth can get you to a decent population size. With even just a 1% annual growth rate that number is going to be ~44,000 after 200 years, bump it to 1.5% and you're at 117,000 after 200 years, 2% 314,000. That's probably the realistic upper limit on growth rates, I'd recommend no higher than 1.5ish overall, a 2% continuous growth rate is assuming a lot of things going the right way all the time for 200 years. I'd also be cautious of the rate of progress in economics and the like, some of what you're suggesting took a significantly longer time to develop than is occurring here. Banking in particular was a multi-century development in an area of abundant, high value trade.

The flag seems a bit odd for a pagan community, I'm not sure why they would have a cross in it myself given the Christian connotations.

I like the basic outline and history of this timeline. But, I have a few quibbles. The maximum recorded population of Newfoundland and Labrador was 568,350 in 1986, with modern agriculture and transportation. Unless these folks settle further south, your populations figure don't work. Second is the bridge across the Straight of Belle Isle. Wooden technology will not allow such a construction. Even a pontoon bridge cannot survive winter ice, storms and currents. Create a ferry service for the ice free part of the year.

 

[SwampTiger]

Great! I had considered a similar POD before. Plus, there are similar threads to mine for info. I eagerly anticipate the new version.

Note the northern Jarldom of Norway included Sami. It knew of tamed reindeer. Newfoundland anyone?

 

[Sarthak]

Great! I had considered a similar POD before. Plus, there are similar threads to mine for info. I eagerly anticipate the new version.

Note the northern Jarldom of Norway included Sami. It knew of tamed reindeer. Newfoundland anyone?

Well for starters I got a New PoD for the TL to make the Pagan Exodus actually realistic. OTL Bjarni was a pagan when he saw Newfoundland and whilst his crew desperately wanted to weather the storm that led them there in Newfoundland, Bjarni went on and somehow managed to escape that storm with his crew alive. ITTL I was planning to make Bjarni actually cave in to the demands of the crew and weather the storm in Newfoundland, and him taking an active role in it's colonization 2 decades earlier which makes the Pagan Vinland parallel actually work considering from 986-999 AD, Pagans were being zealously persecuted and by 1005 AD when Leif set out, that zealousness had settled down.

 

[SwampTiger]

Great POD. Bjarni sailed from Iceland to Greenland. He knows he can reach Vinland without stopping at Greenland. Vinland could receive several thousand refugees before the cutting off ties east. Look up Asatru and the Chritianization of Iceland.

 

[Iwanttoreadit]

Well for starters I got a New PoD for the TL to make the Pagan Exodus actually realistic. OTL Bjarni was a pagan when he saw Newfoundland and whilst his crew desperately wanted to weather the storm that led them there in Newfoundland, Bjarni went on and somehow managed to escape that storm with his crew alive. ITTL I was planning to make Bjarni actually cave in to the demands of the crew and weather the storm in Newfoundland, and him taking an active role in it's colonization 2 decades earlier which makes the Pagan Vinland parallel actually work considering from 986-999 AD, Pagans were being zealously persecuted and by 1005 AD when Leif set out, that zealousness had settled down.

So will you continue your rewrite in this thread or create a new one? Because from the moment I read "Vinland, norse pagan" you had me.

 

[Sarthak]

So will you continue your rewrite in this thread or create a new one? Because from the moment I read "Vinland, norse pagan" you had me.

New One. After I make the thread will provide the link here.

 

[altwere]

Good I was hoping you would have a link.

 

[Gwyain]

If it's not obvious already this TL is abandoned to be redone after proper research which is still going on.

Well for starters I got a New PoD for the TL to make the Pagan Exodus actually realistic. OTL Bjarni was a pagan when he saw Newfoundland and whilst his crew desperately wanted to weather the storm that led them there in Newfoundland, Bjarni went on and somehow managed to escape that storm with his crew alive. ITTL I was planning to make Bjarni actually cave in to the demands of the crew and weather the storm in Newfoundland, and him taking an active role in it's colonization 2 decades earlier which makes the Pagan Vinland parallel actually work considering from 986-999 AD, Pagans were being zealously persecuted and by 1005 AD when Leif set out, that zealousness had settled down.

Ah, gotcha, I like the PoD.

 

[Sarthak]

Ah, gotcha, I like the PoD.

Good I was hoping you would have a link.

So will you continue your rewrite in this thread or create a new one? Because from the moment I read "Vinland, norse pagan" you had me.

Great POD. Bjarni sailed from Iceland to Greenland. He knows he can reach Vinland without stopping at Greenland. Vinland could receive several thousand refugees before the cutting off ties east. Look up Asatru and the Chritianization of Iceland.

Longboats and Norsemen: A Vinland TL

Bjarni found Vinland. And history changed forever.

www.alternatehistory.com

Well if you want to read it, I just started it. Responses would be welcome!