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 Luyacan 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 sub-fylkír.

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 [Ericsson]. 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 Skraelign 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 to calm the two sides of the deeply felt divide and ensure that 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 til 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.

Expansion
By the 1080s most of the farmland of Vinland island had been claimed and settled in part. The Althing was regularly 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. 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. 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).

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 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 philanthropist, is named Thyri Magnusdottír.

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

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

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