In Northern Mists
Arctic Exploration in Early Times

Translated from Norwegian and published in 1911, this two-volume work traces Arctic exploration from antiquity to the sixteenth century.

Fridtjof Nansen (Author), Arthur G. Chater (Translated by)

9781108071697, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 April 2014

428 pages, 86 b/w illus. 1 colour illus.
24.4 x 17 x 2.2 cm, 0.68 kg

Accounts of the earliest exploration of the Arctic are scattered through many literatures. In writing this work, reissued here in the two-volume English translation of 1911, the celebrated Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930) returned to many of the original sources. Calling on others to help him interpret texts in several languages, Nansen begins his account with the first mentions of the Arctic in Greek literature and ends with voyages of the sixteenth century. He notably questions some of the traditional history based on Norse sagas. Each volume contains lengthy quotations from little-known documents, making much valuable information accessible to non-specialists. Volume 2 continues from the discovery of North America through the explorations of the Inuit to the decline of the settlements in Greenland. Nansen describes early Norwegian explorations, considers the maps available to early explorers, and closes with the discoveries made by Cabot and the Portuguese.

9. Wineland the Good, the Fortunate Isles, and the discovery of America (cont.)
10. Eskimo and Skraeling
11. The decline of the Norse settlements in Greenland
12. Expeditions of the Norwegians to the White Sea, voyages in the polar sea, whaling and sealing
13. The north in maps and geographical works of the middle ages
14. John Cabot and the English discovery of North America
15. The Portuguese discoveries in the north-west
Conclusion
List of the more important works referred to
Index.

Subject Areas: Historical geography [HBTP]