undoubted
reference to Vinland in a mediaeval book written beyond the
limits of the Scandinavian world. There is also, however, a
passage in Ordericus Vitalis (_Historia Ecclesiastica_, iv.
29), in which _Finland_ and the Orkneys, along with Greenland
and Iceland, are loosely described as forming part of the
dominions of the kings of Norway. This Finland does not appear
to refer to the country of the Finns, east of the Baltic, and
it has been supposed that it may have been meant for Vinland.
The book of Ordericus was written about 1140.]

[Footnote 254: The passage from Adam of Bremen deserves to be
quoted in full: "Praeterea unam adhuc insulam [regionam]
recitavit [i. e. Svendus rex] a multis in eo repertam oceano,
quae dicitur Vinland, eo quod ibi vites sponte nascantur, vinum
bonum gerentes [ferentes]; nam et fruges ibi non seminatas
abundare, non fabulosa opinione, sed certa comperimus relatione
Danorum. Post quam insulam terra nulla invenitur habitabilis in
illo oceano, sed omnia quae ultra sunt glacie intolerabili ac
caligine immensa plena sunt; cujus rei Marcianus ita meminit:
ultra Thyle, inquiens, navigare unius diei mare concretum est.
Tentavit hoc nuper experientissimus Nordmannorum princeps
Haroldus, qui latitudinem septentrionalis oceani perscrutatus
navibus, tandem caligantibus ante ora deficientis mundi
finibus, immane abyssi baratrum, retroactis vestigiis, vix
salvus evasit." _Descriptio insularum aquilonis_, cap. 38, apud
_Hist. Ecclesiastica_, iv. ed. Lindenbrog, Leyden, 1595. No
such voyage is known to have been undertaken by Harold of
Norway, nor is it likely. Adam was probably thinking of an
Arctic voyage undertaken by one Thorir under the auspices of
King Harold; one of the company brought back a polar bear and
gave it to King Swend, who was much pleased with it. See Rafn,
339. "Regionam" and "ferentes" in the above extract are variant
readings found in some editions.]

[Footnote 255: "Det har imidlertid ikke forhindret de senere
forfattere, der benyttede Adam, fra at blive mistaenksomme, og
saalaenge Adams beretning stod alene, har man i regelen vaegret
sig for at tro den. Endog