Hello to you all and thanks for viewing! I have been getting really interested lately about Vinland. It is just such an odd phenomenon that I cant help but want to learn more. Anyways, as to the first category, are there any good books out there that talk about ancient Icelandic/Greenlandic culture? It may be one and the same with Scandinavian culture, I am not all so sure. I would like to find something that talks about their customs, religion, ways of interacting with others, etc. About Vinland, I am already aware of and in the process of getting the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red. I was wondering if there are any other books about the Vikings there at the time. I would be particularly interested in something about their interactions with the Native Americans (Thules in this case?). Thank you guys so much for reading and I would love it if you could help a nerd out! Clarifying thing-a-majig, I am fine with links to web pages, I just want to learn as much as possible!
Bonus Question: Anyone have a good article about Runestones? I would like to know more about those too. +
Hi there. Depending on how much you enjoy reading academic texts, I personally believe Gwyn Jones' The Vikings to be the best and most reputable general introduction, with lengthy sections on Iceland/ Greenland, up till and past the end of the Viking Age. Personally I would recommend you skip those sagas as they are not the best, from a literary perspective, though interesting, and suggest you purchase Njal's Saga and the Saga of Egill Skallagrimsson, which are some of the best and most accessible works of the genre.
Only book I have that can relate to your topic that I found easy to read and engaging was the Eyrbyggja Saga, more specifically the Penguin Classics edition translated by Hermann Palsson. While it doesn't go into much specific detail about Vinland, it does give you a good sense of what the culture of Iceland was like in the time period your interested in.