Ferðir þessa heims og annars

Paradís — Ódáinsakur — Vínland í íslenskum ferðalýsingum miöalda*

Abstract

This article attempts to locate the Vinland sagas within the saga world of the Middle Ages. Well-known Icelandic and foreign travel descriptions — such as the voyage of St Brendan (Brandanus saga), Eiríks saga víðförla, Yngvars saga víðförla and Duggals leiðsla — are compared with Eiríks saga rauða, and reasons are giving for including that saga in the same genre. Eiríks saga must then be interpreted in the same manner as medieval maps, in which the difference between the real and the imaginary is not always discernible. It is shown how the religious theme of Paradise is skilfully used in the account of Vinland, and how the names Markland and Helluland can be seen as variations of well known descriptions in visionary literature of the dwelling places of men who were regarded as not exceedingly good (summi boni)