Vinland (The Kalmar Union)

Vinland is a large constitutional monarchy in the North of Leifia. It is divided into 10 Fylkír.

In the far West it borders Military Japan and Lingit Aani. Its main northern provinces border Keewatin Terrtory, Algonquinland and Passamaquoddia. The inland Fylkíra of Hafsvaedaland, connected to the other Fylkír by the Breidurass river, border Atikamekwia, Ojibwe, Neshabek, Erie, Álengiamark and Abernakriga. The Fylkír of Lucayanaeyjar is an island group to the east of Aismark.

The capital is Isafjordhur and the population is around 9.8 million.

It also administers two autonomous territories: Keewatin Territory and Alkafuglaeyjar.

The current head of state is Queen Kristjana IX.

The official language is Vinlandic, however numerous other languages are spoken and have local recognition in the Fylkír and counties.

The currency is the Vinlandic Krona (VIK).

Entomology
The name Vinland is attributed to wild berries or 'grapes' found on Vinland island by the early settlers and brought back to the already established colony of Greenland.

History
Vinland was discovered by the Greenlandic explorer Leif Ericsson in 1003 following tales from other Norse sailors. He spent the winter on the northern tip of Vinland island before returning home. It would be his family who would turn the island into a fully fledged colony.

Settlement
The Vinlandnamabok is the main source for the early years of Vinland and it describes in detail the settlement of Vinland during the 11th century. Modelled on the Icelandic Landnamabok it details some 500 settlers, their original homes, place of settlement and their descendants. The history is not linear and the overall events and political growth of the colony need to be teased from various settler histories. The earliest versions were probably written in Iceland in the 1070s from testimony at the Althing, but the earliest surviving version dates from 1284 and was written in the monastery of St Peter & St Michael just off the South Vinlandic coast. Many modern Vinlanders can trace their ancestry back to those mentioned in the Vinlandnamabok.

It was possibily orginally intended to be an accompaniment to the widely distributed Encomium Hadfisae which would result in the canonisation of Queen Hafdis and the recognition of Vinland from the papacy. Indeed many of the events are related in almost exactly the same way in both accounts.

Example history:

"Haukr Karason left [Iceland] with his family and slaves on the second expedition of Freydis [Ericsdottír]. He took a farm and land south of Groenvik and battled with Skraelings with Thorfinn [Karlsefni]. [He] argued with Gudrid and asked her to leave but also did not want Freydis to be [speaker] and supported . Thorgil Haukrson took his father's farm splitting the cattle with his brothers. Olaf Haukrson argued with Snorri [Thorfinson] and settled on Ingolfursey with 6 other [families]. Gathar Haukrson married a [Cornish] woman named Esyld and was given the honour of lighting Hafdis' funeral pyre."

The entry goes on to describe the 17 sons of the three Haukrson brothers, their settlements and what their standing in the community was.

What is clear is that the original settlers were Greenlandic. Leif Ericsson's brothers Thorvald and Thorstein stablished the first real settlement at Thorshavn in 1007. Thorstein's widow Gudrid would remarry in Iceland and opened the way for the overpopulation of Iceland to begin moving westwards. Meanwhile Leif's sister Freydis did much the same, starting a settlement at Groenvik in 1011 and trading with Iceland spreading the news. By 1015 a steady stream of Icelanders were appearing, either aligned to Gudrid or Freydis, and the village of Isafjordhur had been founded. In 1016 Vinland had its first Althing. Modelled on Iceland's Althing, it was intended to bring the settlers together and discuss issues without resorting to the petty feuding of their homelands.



Relations between those who supported Gudrid and those that supported Freydis would come to dominate the Althing for several decades. First Gudrid, then her son Snorri came to represent the 'bad side' of Vinlandic politics, Snorri especially so, as he sought to monopolise trade to the colony. As he tightened his grip many Norse left Vinland and settled on the surrounding islands like Ingolfursey, Gudridsaeyjar and mainland Markland. Settlements on Kyreyja and Eikland followed in the 1060s as Cornish and Breton settlers also joined the steady flow of people from Iceland.

After Snorri's death in a Skraeling raid the dominance of the Ericsson family reasserted itself. Just as Freydis served as a speaker of the Althing so did her daughter Hafdis. She was picked in part, to calm the two sides of the deeply felt divide, but also part of a drive to ensure Vinland could never be monopolised in such a way again. Under her leadership the colony reconnected with the Skraelings, brought the breakaway settlements back under control and strengthened the rule of the Althing.

Native Relations
The first few encounters between Norse and Skraelings were violent. The Skraelings, surprised by settlers on their seasonal hunting grounds, attacked them as they would any other native tribe who intruded on their territory.

Different bands of Skraeling had different attitudes to the newcomers. Those on the East coast soon accepted the Norse. Those on the West stayed much more antagonistic. However once it became clear that the Norse were not about to leave, and that they had foodstuffs that were new and interesting relations became much calmer. It was only when disease unwittingly spread by the Norse began to disrupt the old tribal systems that clashes once again started. The 1030s saw a wave of violence up and down the coasts as Snorri Thorfinnsson restricted livestock to his supporters, and trade to the Skraelings were prohibited.

By the 1040s however the Skraeling bands had been laid low by disease. Their remaining chiefs met with the Althing to discuss peace in 1040. The Norse were confirmed as rulers of the island and the Skraelings began to develop their own villages. Comprehensive marriage between the Skraelings and the newcomers meant they ceased to be a recognisably separate people by the 1300s.

Relations with the Suderfolk further south however would come to define Vinland's borders and the future of the Norse colonies.

The Church
The very earliest settlers of Vinland were Odinist, that is they still followed the old Norse religion with its multiple gods. As Christianity came to Iceland and Greenland so many Odinists travelled to Vinland to be free to follow their old beliefs. Iceland had received its first bishop in 1019 who immediately sent emissaries to Greenland and Vinland. Freydis probably recognising the future of the colony depended on good relations with Iceland, Scandinavia and the papacy and accepted baptism from one of these emissaries in 1020. Thorshavn accepted Christianity alongside her and a small church was built there. However there was no pressure from the Althing to convert and whilst the priests and Freydis and Hafdis certainly helped convert many, they never insisted on religious unity.

The exploits of Hafdis were collected in the Encomium Hadfisae, a history of the colony and Hafdis, that was probably intended to advertise the colony and its good ordered government. It read however like a Hagiography, deliberately out to get Hadfis canonised by the pope. Whether intended or not, this worked. Pope Gregory VII canonised her in 1081. He ordered a bishop to be sent to the colony and also a crown. He intended to raise Hadfis's heirs to royalty. Thorey I was subsequently crowned Queen of Vinland in 1082 by the new bishop. Thorey's brothers and close male kin were styled Earls and granted land. Vinland's first wooden stave church would be built in Isafjordhur in 1087. The rule of the Ericsson family, or more correctly (following the Vinlandic naming system), the Ericsdottírs has continued until the present day.

By 1100 Cluniac monks had and in 1104 the monastery of St Peter & St Michael on the islands to the south on Vinland was established. These monks began experimenting with native crops eventually allowing maize, squash and potatoes to be grown by the Vinlanders.

Elsewhere, priests continued their quest to Christianise the native Leifians often with little success. Indeed they seem to have been more interested in the Leifians than the Vinlanders and Álengsk as Christianity seems to have lapsed to a large degree during the mid-1100s.

The Black Death entrenched beliefs and encouraged many of the more frontier churches to begin to share their space with pagan religions. This practice was largely overlooked. As long as the churches helped the settlement of the surrounding region

Expansion
By the 1080s most of the farmland of Vinland island had been claimed and settled in part. The yearly Althing was receiving representatives from 48 counties:


 * 36 Vinland counties
 * 2 Markland counties
 * 2 Ingolfursey counties
 * 1 Gudridsaeyjar county
 * 3 Kyreyja counties
 * 4 Eikland counties

Eikland and Kyreyja would be the next areas to receive the greatest influx of settlers. Both virtually uninhabited apart from seasonal migrating hunters the settlers had ample land to claim and settle. The churches in Iceland and Vinland often sponsored settler-farmers hoping that the expanding colony could convert the heathens they came across. Also the growing power of the Earls allowed them to claim vast tracts of mainland to be settled by their thralls and, importantly, back the settlements up with military force.

The seasonal hunters moving into Eikland and raids from the larger tribes beyond were effectively stopped in 1101 when the Eikveggur wall was raised along the narrow entrance to the province. This allowed a rapid settlement of the peninsular and its surrounding islands.

The closest major tribe, the Passamaquoddy were largely peaceful, unlike those to their south, and had. Queen Thorey I met with the Passamaquoddy King in 1104 on Kyreyja. There they pledged peace and assistance to one another. Thorey gave the king a horse as a gift and also began the process of teaching Norse methods of war and agriculture to the tribe, whilst also agreeing to patrol the Passamaquoddy coastline. In return the Passamaquoddy agreed to assist the Vinlanders to pacifying the lands to the south. Delegations to the Algonquin and the Abernaki soon followed. However the warlike Wampanoags refused discussions with the Vinlanders and would often attempt to storm the Eikveggur.

Meanwhile, Vinlanders were exploring their surroundings. By 1045 they had sailed up the Breidurras (OTL St Lawrence River) as far as Godifoss (OTL Niagra), southwards as far as Langaeyja (OTL Long Island), and up the coast of Markland into Issjo (OTL Hudson Bay). Non-church diplomatic expeditions back to Europe were organised from the 1080s. By 1130 the entire eastern coast of Leifia had been explored down to Myrland (OTL Florida) while the Mexic and Tawantinsuyu had been contacted.

Álengiamark
During the early 1100s settlers had begun to claim various outlying islands to the south of Eikland. These Austureyjar settlers were regularly attacked and ejected by the Wampanoags. The effort to protect Eikland slowly turned into a 'crusade' to forceably pacify the Sudefolk. A secondary reason appeared in 1117 when Queen Snaedis I gave birth to twin daughters. The desire amongst both the Earls and the Althing to give them equal realms soon overrode the need to keep a defensible frontier.

With Passamaquoddy and Abernaki assistance Vinland carved out a territory amongst the Suderfolk. Christened 'Álengiamark' it became independent after the death of Snaedis I in 1131, though Vinland would have to continually intervene in its sister Queendom for many years to come.

As the supply of Álengsk heirs dried up in the 1180s Vinland was forced to mediate on the succession but was unable to prevent descent into civil war. Queen Iofridr was eventually forced into invading the queendom to secure her own rule succeeding in 1199 to be crowned in St. Hafdiss. She allowed her daughter Eydis to be regent. On her death in 1201 the realms were split once more. The relationship almost immediately broke down as Eydis quarrelled with her sisters, Thorey II and Kristjana I, accusing Kristjana of the murder of Thorey in 1206 and was only dissuaded from an invasion by resurgent activity from Kanienmark.

To the West
As the two Norse states slowly reconciled themselves to rebuilding their relationships rather than forcing each other to submit, Vinland looked to the West for trade and expansion. Settlers continued to pour in from Scandinavia and although the adoption of the potato and improved sea fishing techniques allowed a much larger population to live on the marginal lands the Althing began to cast its eye around for further conquests away from Álengsk territory. The tribes of the Fraeburt Votnum (OTL Great Lakes) allowed seasonal trading forts but no permanent settlements. Vinland looked to change this.

It had gained a foothold in the Breidurass by receiving the island of Konunglegursaey, opposite the Algonquin capital of Quebec, in 1112, as part of their alliance with Passamaquoddia. The island of Fjallasay followed in 1208, fortified in the face of hostility from various neighbouring tribes. From there it could oppose the Aniyunwiyan Empire, then at the apex of its power, destroying its lake fleet and ensuring its own dominance on the lakes.

It began to employ Icelandic troops to boost its own meager forces and campaigned repeatedly in the 'Hafsvaedaland' securing its grip. The 1282 Treaty of Mississuga confirmed their ownership of the region. At first this was tenuous and Vinland could project very little power on the ground. But as the settler forts multiplied and trade and farming flourished so the native tribes became more content with Vinlandic rule. Revolts still rocked the region however, especially after the Black Death destroyed decades of growth and stability. Vinland would be deep in defending its growing Hafsvaedaland cities when the Unami tribes revolted against Álengsk rule and was unable to assist them.

Concurrently, Vinland slowly took over control of Greenland as its ability to sustain itself as a independent colony began to falter under the strain of the Black Death and worsening weather conditions. Trade had also shifted southwards as Portugal was making direct trips from Europe. By 1370 Greenland's affairs were being run from Isafjordhur as a fief of the crown.

Conflict
1388 saw the First Congress of Fjallasay convene in that city. Essentially a fortressed island, Fjallasay was probably the largest Leifian city outside of Mexica, and Snaedis II was keen to show it off to the world. The chance came with the end of the Great Unami Revolt.

There Snaedis II and her minsters carefully orchestrated the proceedings to promote Vinland as prosperous and good christian nation. While Álengiamark and its former Unami possessions were carefully separated and pacified, Vinland received recognition for its control of Greenland and Hafsvaedaland.

It had already reformed its Althing, making it a permanent institution rather than a occasional gathering, reorganising the counties for better representation and developing a second house to keep noble and church interference out of the main chamber. Fjallasay itself was rewarded in 1393 by being raised to an Archbishopric with control over all the Leifian bishops. This was the high point.

However the newly arrived archbishop soon wrote back to Rome complaining of pagan gods being honoured within Fjallasay cathedral itself (and indeed they were - the Odinist Hel having an extremely popular altar and the similarly morbid Mexic Coatlicue popular with travelling merchants from the far-south). The threat of excommunication hung over Queen Kristjana V and she began a very haphazard attempt to reform religious practice in Vinland. Widely disliked, apparently unwilling to leave the safety of Fjallasay and blindly ignoring the Althing she soon had a revolt on her hands.

Eikland and Vinland island rebelled in 1395, electing Kristjana's cousin Asdis as their queen. Europe and Álengiamark saw it as a clash between christianity and paganism and mostly refused to support Asdis. Asdis had control of the sea routes however and could slowly strangle off Kristjana's economy. The war enriched mercenary armies like those of Iceland and Erie, and, importantly, led to the rapid growth of Quebec as a mercantile rival to the blockaded Fjallasay. When the Ohio successfully captured Hafsvaedaland in 1404 it led to Kristjana's downfall, and she fled, only to be murdered on Verao Island, probably by Portuguese agents.

Once secure, Asdis attempted the same reforms Kristjana had tried but this time worked much more with the Althing and allowed the pagan rites to continue, just outside of church property this time, making them subject to the Althing rather than the crown. She also began moving Greenlanders to Hafsvaedaland to help settle the area.

The century that followed is often regarded as a quiet one. However the calm that fell over North-east Leifia was not repeated elsewhere and the Vinlandic armies were often busy campaigning as far as the Mississippi. Vinland joined the Kalmar Union in 1434.

It was the calm before the storm however. The 16th century exploded in violence as Vinland was invaded by the now-wealthy and European-ised Algonquinland. The Great Northern War against Algonquinland was a badly-conducted blood bath and was only concluded with the assistance of Denmark. It left Konunglegursaey a wasteland.

Soon after Vinland was fighting Hordaland for the continued independence of Iceland.

The Fylkír


Vinland is divided into 10 Fylkír. These are the top level administrative divisions. Below them are the counties.

Government
Vinland's Althing government is the template for many other Leifian states.

There are 559 members of the Althing, made up of a single representative from each county. These range from the vast but virtually empty Norrland and Greenland counties to the small but densely-populated sub-divisions of Fjallasay.

The Prime Minister is Arnór Magnusson.

Names
Vinlandic names follow the old naming Norse system (also shared with Iceland and Álengiamark). Briefly, the child takes the father's name as its last name, appending -sson or -dottír depending on their sex. These do not alter with marriage as they do in most European countries.

Most forenames are Norse in origin though native names and more general European names are also popular and growing in usage.

Therefore, the Prime Minister is named Arnór Magnusson after his father Magnus Birgirsson. His sister, the well respected naturalist and philanthropist, is named Thyri Magnusdottír.

However, many familes who can trace their ancestry back to the original settlement (including the royal family) also use an overriding family name, often of that of their ancestral settler.

Hence Queen Kristjana IX's full name is Kristjana Arlín Sofía Svenný Elisiv Ericsdottír Reynirsdottír.

This convention has become increasingly popular amongst newer settlers who use the name of their first traceable Vinlandic ancestor to give their new family name. Hence the opposition leader Marteinn Koitsson Thorfinnsson can trace his ancestry back to the the 19th century when his ancestor, Koit Uluots emigrated from Estonia in the 19th century.