Names of
countries are always interesting to study. Some names reveal the geography
while some reveal the pioneers who discovered them in the new world. Countries like
Greenland and Iceland too have very interesting names. The land of Greenland in
covered by about 80% ice sheet while in Iceland you can see lots of greenery.
So what caused this very confusing naming. To find out the reason for this
naming which has been an internet joke for many years we must go back to the
early settlers and when the land was discovered in the medieval age.
The early
settlers of Iceland were Vikings. The motherland of Vikings is the region now called
Norway, Denmark and Sweden. These men who were also referred to as Norsemen,
were strongly rooted in a seafaring culture. They fashioned themselves as
warriors, traders and explores.
One such
Viking was Naddodd the Viking. He was on a sea journey when he was blown off
course and landed in a new land in the year 830 CE. Shortly after he left. After
Naddodd left a Viking by the name Gardar the swede followed in his footsteps to
this new land and named it after himself as “Gardar’s island”. This was in 860
CE. After Gardar left, a Viking named Flóki Vilgerðarson came to this land to
colonize it. However, when he tried to leave this island for his homeland,
modern Norway, he was blocked by ice in the sea. Having to stay for much longer
than he planned, he lost most of his livestock and his daughter due to the cold.
He named this land he saw filled in sorrow and ice as Iceland.
When he
finally went home to Norway he spread the word that Iceland was inhospitable.
However, two members of his crew started a rumored that this land was filled
with lush grass and was so beautiful. Trusting the words of these crew members,
people of Norway migrated to Iceland. They found a beautiful grassy land as was
their expectation.
The
temperature of Iceland is actually warmer than those in similar regions. This
warmth is given to the land by the gulf stream that runs near the west side of
the island. You can think of the gulf stream as a river in the ocean which
carry warm water from the coast of Florida (the gulf stream is a result of the
suns gravity, rotation of the earth, climate in the north and south poles and
many other factors). The gulf stream warms the water near the coast of Iceland
by about 6 C.
The Vikings
in Iceland enjoyed the benefits of the gulf stream. They formed their own
unique identity in Iceland. The people in Iceland formed an equalitarian
society. In 982 CE the Viking Erik the Red was a subject to this society and he
was exiled for his crime of murder. Eric the red left Iceland and found a new
land further north. He started a settlement in this new region with a fleet of
14 longships. He named this land he found as Greenland to attract more people.
You could say that the name Greenland was a medieval marketing scheme.
Back then
around the year 985 CE, it is believed that Greenland was actually much warmer.
This time period between 900-1300 CE is known as the medieval warm period. The
seas were much calmer as the water receded as a byproduct of the warming, and
sailing was much easier for these Vikings. However, this warm period lost its
effect in Greenland in 1257 CE. In that year a volcano in the Lombok island of
Indonesia erupted. This massive eruption had far reaching consequences. The sulfur
released from this volcano to the stratosphere reflected solar energy back to
the space cooling the earth’s climate. The effect of this disaster lasted for
decades, in to the 1320’s. Greenland which was at the edge of the known world
cooled further down making the land inhospitable. The Greenland you see today
was not the same when it was given its name.
However, as
the globe is rewarming people in Greenland are facing a different set of
challenges. When glaciers melt they often break. This might cause sudden tide
rise in the rivers. they continue to face sudden, harsh winters interspersing
with wet springs. The people in Greenland continue to live with these grim
realities.
The melting
of glaciers also affects Iceland. the cold water from the melting ice flow from
the north. This increasingly cold water reduces the effect of the gulf stream
and slows it down. With the effect of gulf stream, which the life line of
Iceland, slowed down, the climate in Iceland changes vary rapidly. Iceland is
going to be much colder and fit its name much better in the near future.
The way the
ocean moves and its various quirks are a major factor in regulating the
climate. With the rapid change in climate these factors are altered. Even if
the effect of the climate change does not reach us in Sri Lanka, these
countries are paying for our mistakes with their lives.
Climate
change has always happened throughout the history, and with it you can follow
the footsteps of the ancient sapiens as they migrated. The changes in
the sea levels in various periods facilitated the colonization of new lands by sapiens.
Some of these lands still continue to boast their ancient names.
Article By - Chamudi
Semini
Reference :-
· https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/iceland-greenland-name-swap
· https://www.britannica.com/topic/Viking-people
· https://www.livescience.com/32087-viking-history-facts-myths.html
· https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-greenland-vikings-vanished-180962119/
· https://www.mountainguides.is/blog/icelands-climate-moves-with-gulf-stream
· https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1310/the-vikings-in-iceland/
· https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1208/viking-age-greenland/
