Re: Norumbega Reconsidered

On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 13:40:19 +0200, "Peter Alaca" <P.Alaca@xxxxxx>
wrote:


" Norumbega was a legendary settlement in
northeastern North America, inextricably
connected with attempts to demonstrate
Viking incursions in New England. Like
Cathay, it was a semi-legendary place name
used to fill a gap in existing geographical
knowledge." [Wikipedia]

I know this has little to do with actual archaeology,
but Inger was bringing this up again in the thread
"Iron artifacts validated with prejudices", in
relation with assumed Norse presence in Florida.

" First mentioned as parantese in one of the
early French explorer's diary. Then related to
the Norumbega, which by the way existed and
also noted by many more than discussed here
as a 'town' in same bay where you on older
shore-levels still can find same clam and
molluscs, oeyster types and some sea-weed,
as can be seen in for example Sannäsfjorden
in Bohuslän and in the Baltic harbors of older
days." [IEJ]

In that light it is good to take a look at this new
(web)publication:

H. G. Brack (ed) 2006
Norumbega Reconsidered:
Mawooshen and the Wawenoc Diaspora
The Indigenous Communities of the Central
Maine Coast in Protohistory: 1535 - 1620
http://tinyurl.com/ka8nk (davistownmuseum)
The main text is 123 pages and there is a
37 pp appendix with maps

I used to live in New Hampshire for a couple years. The main fault
that separates the pre-Permian North American continent from the
accreted terranes to the east - Boston is built on a piece of crust
that once belonged to the African continent - is called the Norumbega
fault. That name was taken from history books, of course, where it was
a term for the northerly reaches of the North American coast.

The place names in New England give you a good idea what the Algonquin
languages sounded like, what is, and what is not possible in
Algonquin. It sounded a bit like a machine gun staccato -
Chappaquíddic, Mérrimac, Massachúsetts, Nónesuch, Winnipesáukee,
Connécticut, Adiróndack, and so on. And in the middle of it Norumbega,
very vowel-friendly and soft like the European languages, it sounds
like a violin in a rock band drum solo.

Norumbega is a thoroughly misspelled, misunderstood and misconceived
version of the name NORWAY - Norwegen, but misused by thoroughly
European (and not Algonquin) abusers, namely the Spanish who turned
the French name Norwége into Noruega. The cities Inger refers too were
about as mythical as the El Dorado, but the name Norumbega was used by
the early European explorers because they were well able to make the
connection between the lands in the north of North America and the
sagas of the Vikings. I recall to have read in some book that the 16th
C Spanish knew that "this land belongs to the King of Norway". (Also
remember that there is the possibility that Columbus travelled to
Iceland as a young man.) Later, the facts of power took over, and the
Spanish did not care any more about right of priority, but the name
for the region survived.

Hayabusa
.

Relevant Pages

  • Norumbega Reconsidered
    ... " Norumbega was a legendary settlement in ... Viking incursions in New England. ... Cathay, it was a semi-legendary place name ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Norumbega Reconsidered
    ... " Norumbega was a legendary settlement in ... Viking incursions in New England. ... The place names in New England give you a good idea what the Algonquin ... connection between the lands in the north of North America and the ...
    (sci.archaeology)