Kirsten Seaver's Vinland Map book- first thoughts

From: David B. (davidb_at_tronospamchos.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: 07/24/04 

Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 19:31:26 +0100

Kirsten Seaver's new book "Maps, Myths, and Men" (ISBN 0-8047-4963-9) is
extremely informative. The title, however, gives a clue that the
information is by no means restricted to the subject indicated in her
subtitle: "The Story of the Vínland Map". Leaving aside the hundred pages
of notes, bibliography and index, it is probable that a good couple of
hundred pages are devoted to various background issues, including a great
deal about known early maps of the North Atlantic area, a 60-page chapter
on the Norse "in and near North America"- mercifully dismissing items like
the Kensington Runestone in a couple of pages- and a 77-page final chapter
interweaving information about the construction of the Vinland Map with the
biography of Father Josef Fischer S.J. ("Dating all the way back to 1440,
the only person in the world who could have made the Vinland Map").

Surprisingly, the central claim about the purpose of the map- that it was
intended to be found by the Nazis who would be unable to cope with its
mixed message of bold Aryan exploration and Roman Catholic world
domination- is given very little space, just a couple of paragraphs. Even
then, Seaver suggests that "Not in his worst nightmares during that dark
period in his life could Fischer have foreseen what actually happened when
the map surfaced in public". Much more detail, however, is given to the
background for the theory, particularly the overt and implied references to
the Church. A point Seaver rightly (but perhaps over-enthusiastically)
emphasises is that the map is meant to represent a globular Earth, on which
the influence of Rome ultimately met itself going east and west. The key
suggestion, which may or may not fall into the "over-enthusiastic"
category, is that Bishop Eirik, after his work in Vinland early in the 12th
century, would have gone west to reach his next alleged destination, the
"wintery east" (an improved translation of the phrase "orientem hiemale").
We readers can't dismiss this idea as anachronistic, because of course the
caption referred to is a fake. This Kirsten Seaver pretty much takes as
given. Very little of the book is devoted to explaining the evidence that
the map is a forgery (at this point I'd better declare my personal interest
and say that if that's all you want to know, you should read my little book
instead).

Old favourites like the anatase debate and the wormholes are covered, of
course, and the book has probably the best compilation of information about
the British Museum tests in the late 1960s, but Seaver is more interested
in the reluctance of the map's owners (and the authors of the 1965 official
book) to acknowledge the many problems. This is obviously the most dramatic
aspect of the book, but its impact is rather dissipated by the structure of
the text. Although it appears to be arranged in clearly defined topic
sections, there are all sorts of overlaps, and many matters are considered
over several chapters. As a result, it is very difficult to gain an
impression of the chain of cause and effect in the story of the map; the
book is better considered as a series of linked essays, with a mercifully
effective index for anybody who wishes to investigate any particular matter
in detail. Although I remain unconvinced by some of Seaver's conclusions, I
learned a great deal (including one or two things I should have known
already- d'oh).

David B.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Kirsten Seavers Vinland Map book- first thoughts
    ... person in the world who could have made the Vinland Map").] ... | interweaving information about the construction of the Vinland Map ... A point Seaver rightly ... | David B. ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Merchandise harbor Greenland - killing a Myth
    ... >>my questions about whether or not and why she disagrees with Seaver over ... > detail of the map is that printed on the cover. ... and could probably have been made "easier" for laypeople ... The above posting is neither a legal opinion nor legal advice, ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Kirsten Seavers Vinland Map book- first thoughts
    ... the Vinland Map since 1957, the more I'm intrigued by Laurence Witten's ... A point Seaver rightly ... >| effective index for anybody who wishes to investigate any particular ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Merchandise harbor Greenland - killing a Myth
    ... >>quotes taken out of their contexts, or even worse misinterpreted, of how ... >my questions about whether or not and why she disagrees with Seaver over ... the reader in what I thought to be poorly organised information. ... detail of the map is that printed on the cover. ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Turn of the 20th century documents on Vinland - Shipley, Fischer & Jelic
    ... Vinland but as historical data *about the study* of Vinland." ... > anyone else subjective view of the scholar, ... I don't believe it until I see evidence. ... The "V+AO0-nland Map" first surfaced on the antiquarian market in 1957 and the ...
    (sci.archaeology)