DEVELOPMENT OF

GEOGRAPHIC
THOUGHT
Vikings, Irish, Mongols,
Arabs
Fall of the Roman Empire
Centralized government that brought
peace and civilization to Europe broke
down
Spirit of scientific inquiry that was a
feature of classical (Greek & Roman)
culture disappeared
Church was the only unifying force in
medieval Europe
Christian Topography
Beatus of Valcavado
Commentary on the Apocalypse (776 CE)
Beatus Maps Oriented to the East, where
Palestine lies
Fourth part of the world Unknown due
to the heat of the sun
 Vikings
The Vikings were
limited to voyages
along the coast, until
they made a ship
capable of
withstanding sea
conditions for long
periods of time.
8th C: Developed the
knrr
Vikings
Viking Explorations
Began the few explorations which took
place during medieval Europe
Aims of the Vikings: (1) Land, (2) Wealth,
(3) Fame
Sailed to the Atlantic, Iceland,
Greenland, and the New World
 Viking Explorations
793 CE: Sailed to the English coast
842-845 CE: Nantes, Frances Atlantic Coast; Paris
862 CE: Strait of Gibraltar, and raided North Africa,
the Balearics, and the Italian Coast
Vikings Iceland
Gandar Svarsson
Accidentally driven
off course to the
island (860CE)
Named the island
Gandarsholm
Wintered at Husavik,
then circumnavigated
the island
Vikings Iceland
Ingolf First settler to
remain in Iceland
Norwegian Viking
Made his home where
Reykjavik now stands
King Harold Fairhair
Tried to unify Norway
(9th C)
Quickened
emigration to Iceland
Icelands civilization
became exclusively
Norse
Vikings - Greenland
Gunnbjorn
Accidentally made
landfall in Greenland
in 930CE, because of
storm winds
Vikings - Greenland
Erik the Red (Erik
Thorwaldsson) 982 CE

Decided to investigate
the land discovered by
Gunnbjorn
986 CE Led an
colonizing expedition
Settled Brattahlid on
Eriksfjord, (Eastern
Settlement of
Greenland)
Later colonists settled in
Ivigtut and Godthaab,
the Western Settlement
Vikings Americas
Vikings - Americas
Voyagers would continue to visit Vinland in
search of wood and fur
14th Century: expeditions ceased
Greenland colonies were in decline
The weather became colder
Regular contact with Europe died out
Eskimos settled in Greenland in increasing
numbers
By 1500, the Norse settlements in Greenland
have completely disappeared
The Irish
People from the European
mainland fled inland from
the Vikings, for the Irish
people, their escape was
only through sea
Irish monks Sought
religious retreats
700 CE: Irish reached
Faeroes, and eventually
reached Iceland by the 8th
Century, before the Vikings
They have fled further west
to Greenland, which was
relatively secure from the
Norse
DEVELOPMENT OF
GEOGRAPHIC
THOUGHT
Mongols, Marco Polo,
the Arabs
Mongols
At the 13th Century, Europeans knew very
little about Asia, apart from Levant,
Contact with the East was revived through
the incursions of the Mongol conquests
Marco Polo
Born in Venice around 1254
Took the long overland journey to China
and returned to Europe by a sea route
around the Malay peninsula and India
Stayed for 17 years at the Mongol court,
travelled widely within Mongol domains
Wrote Book of the Marvels of the
World or The Travels of Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Maffeo & Nicolo Polo
The first European
travellers to reach
China during that
period
Went on trading
expeditions
Marco travelled with
his uncle (Maffeo)
and his father
(Nicolo)
Marco Polo
Arab Geographers
As early as the 700s, Arab scholars were
translating the works of the Greek
geographers into Arabic. Only after these
Arabic texts were translated into Latin
did Greek geographic learning spread into
Europe.
Ibn Battuta
1325-1353:
Visited all parts of Arabia and Persia, pushed
eastward beyond the Malay peninsula, SEA , and
China.
Went southward along the Atlantic Ocean in the
north, then to Timbuktu and the Niger river.
Refuted Aristotle's theory about the Torrid
Zone. He added Taiga and Tundra to the 5
zones.
Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
A Moslem geographer,
his contribution was
to change the Greek
and Roman ideas
about landforms- the
shape of the surface
of the land.
Ibn Khaldun
A Moslem historian,
much of his writing
on the history of the
Moslem world be
called historical
geography today, that
is, a history in which
human events are
placed in their
geographic setting.