Vinland

The Vinland Saga

Nonetheless, most of the inscriptions bear the stamp of authenticity when seafaring, geography, zoology, ethnography, astronomy, and other subjects are discussed, which in themselves support the true historical basis of the sagas.
We may think of the sagas in modern literacy terms as 'faction': stories underscored by a great deal of fact, embellished by some dramatic refinements of faction.

The Vinland saga is based upon two earlier sagas both written in the 14th century: The Saga of the Greenlanders and The Saga of Eirik the Red. To some extent the sagas are not wholly reliable in terms of factual accuracy, simply because no records were actually kept by the protagonists themselves.