ABSTRACT
EARLIER, in the third chapter of this book, I explained a good deal about the nature and characteristics of that frozen country, Iceland, together with the appearance of the spirits of folk who had gone fishing and had recently been drowned in those waters. Here I must describe the passage from the Icelandic port of Vestrabord to the lofty sea rock called Hvitsark, which marks the mid-point in the passage to Greenland. 1 On this rock a kind of pirate is found who sails about in craft made of hide, with no set goal, and lies in wait so that he can bore into the bilges of merchant ships from below, rather than above the waterline. I saw two such boats of hide in the year 1505 above the west door inside the cathedral church at Oslo, dedicated to St Hallvard and hung up on the wall as exhibits. King Hakon of that kingdom was said to have picked them up as he was sailing with a fleet of war-ships past the shores of Greenland, in case those on board might be harbouring a design to sink his vessels. 2 For the natives of that region habitually gain no small profit from robbery through these and similar stratagems. With stealthy skill, as I have said, they silently bore through the planks of ships from below, letting in the water and sinking the ship there and then.
The picture belonging to this chapter has been destroyed
Port of Vestrabord Hvitsark
Craft of hide
Håkon, king of the Norwegian realm Twin boats of leather
