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Chapter 82: Of the Baltic Sea, Scandinavia and the Realms Beyond the Sea
Continuing further in our tour across Europe, we arrive in Scandinavia.
The kingdom of Gaetia[1] begins a slow northward colonization of the Sami lands, and Gaetian colonization of the Finnish coast, at first by Aland Islands, and then also into the regions of Finalnd Proper, Satakunta and Ostrobothnia. By this time, any remaining Asatru (Norse pagan) regions in the area are Christianized. A little further eastwards, in the regions of Uusimaa[2], Tavastia and Savonia, the Finnish tribes gradually establish their own powerful chiefdoms, trying to establish their own realms. The Duchy of Savonia of Tavastia, encompassing much of central Finland (Tavastia plus Uusimaa) has become a polity powerful enough to be reckoned with.[3]
View attachment 511236
Religion in northern Europe
The Tavastians a little further eastwards have joined the Karelians into another important tribal chiefdom; the two tribes appear to be engaged in trade with Novgorod.
The real powerbase in the region is however located in Denmark. The Danes have been plundering the British Isles for quite some time; now again their focus switched and they decided to focus on the Amber Sea. While commanding the Jutlandic Peninsula and the island of Sjaellen, as well as Scania and Bornholm, the Danes have subjugated also Pomerania to their south. Of course, the earlier Pomeranian dynasties remain in place as the dukes and counts; most notable is however the spread of Danish as the principal language in Stettin and Lybaek[4].
It was in fact Danish settlement and Danish communities, which hastened state formation in Prussia and Curonia. There were in fact Latin mentions of a “dux Pruthenorum” and a “dux Curoniae”; it can be assumed that the capital of Prussia was located either at Truso [5] or Elbings [6]. Liepaja, located on the western coast of Curonia, has become its natural capital. The consolidation of Prussians results also in their expansion slightly southwards, which results also in a slight southward expansion of the Sudovians.
View attachment 511238
Danish expansion in Pomerania
As for Estonia, the strongest of the tribes was that living around the fortress called Varbola in the county of Varju. Estonia appears to be still inhabited too sparsely to allow for a unification of the country.
Unsurprisingly, Norway expands further northwards, to encompass the coastline to the eastern end of Finnmark[7]. Needless to say, real Norwegian colocnization only occurred in the coastal areas; the Finnmark wilderness was left mostly untouched by Norwegians and settled by nomadic Sami tribes. Norwegian seamen have discovered the naval road around Sápmi, and could have been found in the White Sea, trading with Pomors.
But I believe what we are all most interested in, is what was happening in the North Atlantic.
Not much happened in Iceland, except that the climate was generally getting colder; while not felt directly, it meant that the island would not support much population growth; and Icelanders would either seek their fortune in the British Isles, or go to Greenland and from there to Vinland.
Greenland has achieved its own bishop seated at Garðar; and a gradual cooling of the climate in the area resulted in more Greenlanders settling in Vinland, which becomes a land of opportunity. Recent arrivals of Icelander and Greenlanders boost the population to some fifteen thousand people by the mid-twelfth century. By the year 1200, the overall population of Vinland reaches some 70 000 people. Evidence from mDNA[8] suggests that the Vinlanders intermarried with not only Celtic, but also Skraelinga women. However, very few Skraelinga men can be found in the paternal line.
Being so distant, Vinland is declared to be a separate church province, with the new archbishop´s residence at Erikshófn. The diocese of Garðar in Greenland is transferred as a suffragan to Erikshófn
View attachment 511242
Ecclasiastical provinces map
The Vinlanders have established trading relations mainly with the neighbouring peoples of the Mikmaqi and the Stadaconi[9]. While at first, all of them are just dumped as Skraelingas, later it appears that closer contact was established with the Mikmaq[10]. The greatest of Vinland´s exports: fish, the Great Banks have come to dominate the European market.
It appears that the original Mikmaq population has dramatically declined at first, upon contact with the Norse, their population fell from some 15 000 to a mere four thousand; and the epidemic spreads throughout the eastern woodlands and reaches the Great Lakes region by the end of the century; however, by this time the Mikmaq have not only fully recovered, but their population rose to as much as 26 000, and not only that, but seem to have adopted iron-smithing and seafaring. As a price, however, they had to give up the areas of Pigtogeoag and Onamag[11].
The Mikmaqi Kingdom is thus the first one which comes into contact with Europeans, and has adopted European customs and religion (there are reports of the Mikmaq being converted by some Papar monks). The land is divided into numerous counties: Gespegeoag, Sigenigteoag, Epegoitnag, Esgigeoag, Segepenegatig and Gespogoitnag. The Mikmaqi receive soon a bishop of their own, which is also suffragan to the Archbishop of Erikshófn.
The new capital of the Mikmaq is the fortress of Kaqoukowek on the Mikmaq Isthmus separating the peninsular part from the mainland of the kingdom.
View attachment 511237View attachment 511239View attachment 511241
Chrisitianity in North America; Realm of North America
Adjacent to the Papar on the Anticosti is the land called Nitassinan by its Innu inhabitants. The Innu lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers, mainly hunting for deer, caribou, and moose.
Boreal forest in the Subarctic
The Papar society on the Anticosti consists mainly of monks and former Vinlander thralls; however the island offered little to no natural sources as it lies already in the Subarctic[12]. Therefore, they sought to establish a new settlement on the mainland, which is named Cuán[13]. This small town becomes their first foothold on the North American mainland. Its inhabitants enter the woodland regions in search for furs and wood, living off by hunting, and intermarrying with the local Innu women. The people develop a new identity and are generally called Lúmaná[14]. Their language consist of the core of Irish vocabulary, with a layer of Norse terminology, especially regarding structures of power, and ultimately, many words from the native Innu language. This new Lúmanár language is thus a fully creolized language, taking also native pattern .The land they settle, in the southern part of the Labrador Peninsula becomes known as Nithásinn[15].
View attachment 511243
Languages of North America
Meanwhile other groups venture into the more pleasant valley of the Great River which they call Cánúaca River [16]. Here, some of them settle amongst the peoples of Stadacona and Hochelaga, while others make a living of trading between them and Vinland as middlemen.
[1] Corresponding to a more inward-looking Sweden
[2] Around Helsinki
[3] Comparing the Gaetian conquest of Finland to the Swedish one in OTL, I would consider this ATL process to be more gradual, not only because the Swedes were the coastla peoples and the Gaet core of the country is more inland, but also as the Catholicism here is not so much Crusader-driven as in OTL.
[4] The German city of Luebeck (Liubice) in Schleswig-Holstein
[5] Koenigsberg
[6] Elblang, Poland
[7] Practically to its borders with Russia
[8] Mitochondrial DNA contains information which is passed from mother to daughter, and thus the female lines of the populations can be found out.
[9] The St.Lawrence Iroquoians, who spoke a supposedly „Laurentian language“ as it says on wikipedia, living in the Quebec heartland.
[10] The Mikmaq inhabited the region of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
[11] Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton Island, respectively.
[12] Although the climate could have been a little warmer by then
[13] Meaning „bay“, which is of the same meaning as the Innu word Uashau for the town in the location of Sept-Isles, Quebec.
[14] From Lomanai, meaning Lumberjacks, adapted to Norse and then Innu phonology
[15] The original Innu word, Nitassinan, adapted to Irish
[16] From Kahawakye, the native name of the St. Lawrence River
The kingdom of Gaetia[1] begins a slow northward colonization of the Sami lands, and Gaetian colonization of the Finnish coast, at first by Aland Islands, and then also into the regions of Finalnd Proper, Satakunta and Ostrobothnia. By this time, any remaining Asatru (Norse pagan) regions in the area are Christianized. A little further eastwards, in the regions of Uusimaa[2], Tavastia and Savonia, the Finnish tribes gradually establish their own powerful chiefdoms, trying to establish their own realms. The Duchy of Savonia of Tavastia, encompassing much of central Finland (Tavastia plus Uusimaa) has become a polity powerful enough to be reckoned with.[3]
View attachment 511236
Religion in northern Europe
The Tavastians a little further eastwards have joined the Karelians into another important tribal chiefdom; the two tribes appear to be engaged in trade with Novgorod.
The real powerbase in the region is however located in Denmark. The Danes have been plundering the British Isles for quite some time; now again their focus switched and they decided to focus on the Amber Sea. While commanding the Jutlandic Peninsula and the island of Sjaellen, as well as Scania and Bornholm, the Danes have subjugated also Pomerania to their south. Of course, the earlier Pomeranian dynasties remain in place as the dukes and counts; most notable is however the spread of Danish as the principal language in Stettin and Lybaek[4].
It was in fact Danish settlement and Danish communities, which hastened state formation in Prussia and Curonia. There were in fact Latin mentions of a “dux Pruthenorum” and a “dux Curoniae”; it can be assumed that the capital of Prussia was located either at Truso [5] or Elbings [6]. Liepaja, located on the western coast of Curonia, has become its natural capital. The consolidation of Prussians results also in their expansion slightly southwards, which results also in a slight southward expansion of the Sudovians.
View attachment 511238
Danish expansion in Pomerania
As for Estonia, the strongest of the tribes was that living around the fortress called Varbola in the county of Varju. Estonia appears to be still inhabited too sparsely to allow for a unification of the country.
Unsurprisingly, Norway expands further northwards, to encompass the coastline to the eastern end of Finnmark[7]. Needless to say, real Norwegian colocnization only occurred in the coastal areas; the Finnmark wilderness was left mostly untouched by Norwegians and settled by nomadic Sami tribes. Norwegian seamen have discovered the naval road around Sápmi, and could have been found in the White Sea, trading with Pomors.
But I believe what we are all most interested in, is what was happening in the North Atlantic.
Not much happened in Iceland, except that the climate was generally getting colder; while not felt directly, it meant that the island would not support much population growth; and Icelanders would either seek their fortune in the British Isles, or go to Greenland and from there to Vinland.
Greenland has achieved its own bishop seated at Garðar; and a gradual cooling of the climate in the area resulted in more Greenlanders settling in Vinland, which becomes a land of opportunity. Recent arrivals of Icelander and Greenlanders boost the population to some fifteen thousand people by the mid-twelfth century. By the year 1200, the overall population of Vinland reaches some 70 000 people. Evidence from mDNA[8] suggests that the Vinlanders intermarried with not only Celtic, but also Skraelinga women. However, very few Skraelinga men can be found in the paternal line.
Being so distant, Vinland is declared to be a separate church province, with the new archbishop´s residence at Erikshófn. The diocese of Garðar in Greenland is transferred as a suffragan to Erikshófn
View attachment 511242
Ecclasiastical provinces map
The Vinlanders have established trading relations mainly with the neighbouring peoples of the Mikmaqi and the Stadaconi[9]. While at first, all of them are just dumped as Skraelingas, later it appears that closer contact was established with the Mikmaq[10]. The greatest of Vinland´s exports: fish, the Great Banks have come to dominate the European market.
It appears that the original Mikmaq population has dramatically declined at first, upon contact with the Norse, their population fell from some 15 000 to a mere four thousand; and the epidemic spreads throughout the eastern woodlands and reaches the Great Lakes region by the end of the century; however, by this time the Mikmaq have not only fully recovered, but their population rose to as much as 26 000, and not only that, but seem to have adopted iron-smithing and seafaring. As a price, however, they had to give up the areas of Pigtogeoag and Onamag[11].
The Mikmaqi Kingdom is thus the first one which comes into contact with Europeans, and has adopted European customs and religion (there are reports of the Mikmaq being converted by some Papar monks). The land is divided into numerous counties: Gespegeoag, Sigenigteoag, Epegoitnag, Esgigeoag, Segepenegatig and Gespogoitnag. The Mikmaqi receive soon a bishop of their own, which is also suffragan to the Archbishop of Erikshófn.
The new capital of the Mikmaq is the fortress of Kaqoukowek on the Mikmaq Isthmus separating the peninsular part from the mainland of the kingdom.
View attachment 511237View attachment 511239View attachment 511241
Chrisitianity in North America; Realm of North America
Adjacent to the Papar on the Anticosti is the land called Nitassinan by its Innu inhabitants. The Innu lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers, mainly hunting for deer, caribou, and moose.
Boreal forest in the Subarctic
The Papar society on the Anticosti consists mainly of monks and former Vinlander thralls; however the island offered little to no natural sources as it lies already in the Subarctic[12]. Therefore, they sought to establish a new settlement on the mainland, which is named Cuán[13]. This small town becomes their first foothold on the North American mainland. Its inhabitants enter the woodland regions in search for furs and wood, living off by hunting, and intermarrying with the local Innu women. The people develop a new identity and are generally called Lúmaná[14]. Their language consist of the core of Irish vocabulary, with a layer of Norse terminology, especially regarding structures of power, and ultimately, many words from the native Innu language. This new Lúmanár language is thus a fully creolized language, taking also native pattern .The land they settle, in the southern part of the Labrador Peninsula becomes known as Nithásinn[15].
View attachment 511243
Languages of North America
Meanwhile other groups venture into the more pleasant valley of the Great River which they call Cánúaca River [16]. Here, some of them settle amongst the peoples of Stadacona and Hochelaga, while others make a living of trading between them and Vinland as middlemen.
[1] Corresponding to a more inward-looking Sweden
[2] Around Helsinki
[3] Comparing the Gaetian conquest of Finland to the Swedish one in OTL, I would consider this ATL process to be more gradual, not only because the Swedes were the coastla peoples and the Gaet core of the country is more inland, but also as the Catholicism here is not so much Crusader-driven as in OTL.
[4] The German city of Luebeck (Liubice) in Schleswig-Holstein
[5] Koenigsberg
[6] Elblang, Poland
[7] Practically to its borders with Russia
[8] Mitochondrial DNA contains information which is passed from mother to daughter, and thus the female lines of the populations can be found out.
[9] The St.Lawrence Iroquoians, who spoke a supposedly „Laurentian language“ as it says on wikipedia, living in the Quebec heartland.
[10] The Mikmaq inhabited the region of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
[11] Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton Island, respectively.
[12] Although the climate could have been a little warmer by then
[13] Meaning „bay“, which is of the same meaning as the Innu word Uashau for the town in the location of Sept-Isles, Quebec.
[14] From Lomanai, meaning Lumberjacks, adapted to Norse and then Innu phonology
[15] The original Innu word, Nitassinan, adapted to Irish
[16] From Kahawakye, the native name of the St. Lawrence River
- Tomislav Addai
- Word Count: 1.3k