Norse Greenland

E771334

Norse Greenland was a medieval Scandinavian colony in Greenland whose decline and disappearance serve as a classic historical example of societal collapse.

All labels observed (5)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (69)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Norse settlement
historical society
medieval colony
archaeologicalSiteType church ruins
farm ruins
capital Brattahlíð
climateContext Little Ice Age onset
Medieval Warm Period
colonizedBy Norse people
Scandinavians
countryOfOrigin Kingdom of Norway
declineFactors climate cooling
conflict or competition with Inuit
isolation
loss of walrus ivory market
overgrazing
reduced Norwegian support
soil erosion
documentedIn Icelandic sagas
linked to: Íslendingasögur

medieval European documents
economyBasedOn cattle herding
goat herding
pastoral farming
seal hunting
sheep herding
walrus hunting
endTime 15th century
c. 1450
exported hides
rope
walrus ivory
foundedBy Erik the Red
Norse settlers from Iceland
governedBy local chieftains
thing assembly
hadBishopric Gardar
hadContactWith European markets
Iceland
Inuit
Norway
hadLegalSystem Norse law
hasSettlement Eastern Settlement
Middle Settlement
Western Settlement
imported grain
iron
timber
knownFor example of societal collapse
mysterious disappearance
language Old Norse
lastWrittenRecord 1408 wedding at Hvalsey Church
locatedIn Greenland
majorSettlement Brattahlíð
neighboringCulture Dorset culture
Thule Inuit
partOf Norse world
North Atlantic Viking settlements
religion Christianity
Roman Catholic Church
linked to: Roman Catholicism
startTime c. 985
late 10th century
studiedBy archaeologists
environmental historians
underSovereigntyOf Kingdom of Norway
Norway–Iceland union
usedAsCaseStudyIn climate change adaptation
collapse of complex societies
environmental archaeology
writingSystem Latin alphabet

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (20)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Collapse notableCaseStudy Norse Greenland
church at Brattahlid historicalPeriod Norse Greenland period
linked to: Norse Greenland
Thjodhild’s church locatedIn Norse Greenland
Qassiarsuk historicalEra Norse Greenland period
linked to: Norse Greenland
Eastern Settlement, Greenland partOf Norse Greenland
Hvalsey Church locatedNear Erik the Red’s Brattahlid region
linked to: Norse Greenland
Hvalsey Church historicalEra Norse Greenland period
linked to: Norse Greenland
Hvalseyfjorden historicalPeriod Norse Greenland
Gardar ruins historicalRegion Norse Greenland
Diocese of Gardar historicalRegion Norse Greenland
Cathedral of Gardar locatedIn Norse Greenland
subject linked to: cathedral of Gardar
Thjodhild countryOfCitizenship Norse Greenland
Brattahlíð partOf Norse Greenland colony
linked to: Norse Greenland
Álfur historicalRegionOfActivity Norse Greenland
Catholic Church in Norway jurisdictionIncluded Greenland (medieval)
linked to: Norse Greenland
Tunulliarfik Fjord farms partOf Norse Greenland
Brattahlíð church partOf Norse Greenland
Western Settlement, Greenland partOf Norse Greenland
Gardar Cathedral countryAtTimeOfUse Norse Greenland