Christianity was introduced by Leif Ericsson at the instance of Olaf Trygvasson, king of Norway, in 1000 and following years. In the beginning of the 12th century Greenland got its own bishop, who resided at Garolar, near the present Eskimo station Igoliko, on an isthmus between two fjords, Igaliksfjord (the old Einarsfjord) and Tunugdliarfik (the old Eriksfjord), inside the present colony Julianehaab. The Norse colonies had twelve churches, one monastery and one nunnery in the Österbygd, and four churches in the Vesterbygd. Greenland, like Iceland, had a republican organization up to the years 1247 to 1261, when the Greenlanders were induced to swear allegiance to the king of Norway. Greenland belonged to the Norwegian crown till 1814, when, at the dissolution of the union between Denmark and Norway, neither it nor Iceland and the Faeroes were mentioned, and they, therefore, were kept by the Danish king and thus came to Denmark. The settlements were called respectively Öster Bygd (or eastern settlement) and Vester (western) Bygd, both being now known to be on the south and west coast (in the districts of Julianehaab and Godthaab respectively), though for long the view was persistently held that the first was on the east coast, and numerous expeditions have been sent in search of these “lost colonies” and their imaginary survivors. These settlements at the height of their prosperity are estimated to have had 10,000 inhabitants, which, however, is an over-estimate, the number having probably been nearer one-half or one-third of that number. The last bishop appointed to Greenland died in 1540, but long before that date those appointed had never reached their sees; the last bishop who resided in Greenland died there in 1377. After the middle of the 14th century very little is heard of the settlements, and their communication with the motherland, Norway, evidently gradually ceased. This may have been due in great part to the fact that the shipping and trade of Greenland became a monopoly of the king of Norway, who kept only one ship sailing at long intervals (of years) to Greenland; at the same time the shipping and trade of Norway came more and more in the hands of the Hanseatic League, which took no interest in Greenland. The last ship that is known to have visited the Norse colony in Greenland returned to Norway in 1410. With no support from home the settlements seem to have decayed rapidly. It has been supposed that they were destroyed by attacks of the Eskimo, who about this period seem to have become more numerous and to have extended southwards along the coast from the north. This seems a less feasible explanation; it is more probable that the Norse settlers intermarried with the Eskimo and were gradually absorbed. About the end of the 15th or the beginning of the 16th century it would appear that all Norse colonization had practically disappeared. When in 1585 John Davis visited it there was no sign of any people save the Eskimo, among whose traditions are a few directly relating to the old Norsemen, and several traces of Norse influence.[1] For more than two hundred years Greenland seems to have been neglected, almost forgotten. It was visited by whalers, chiefly Dutch, but nothing in the form of permanent European settlements was established until the year 1721, when the first missionary, the Norwegian clergyman Hans Egede, landed, and established a settlement near Godthaab. Amid many hardships and discouragements he persevered; and at the present day the native race is civilized and Christianized. Many of the colonists of the 18th century were convicts and other offenders; and in 1750 the trade became a monopoly in the hands of a private company. In 1733–1734 there was a dreadful epidemic of smallpox, which destroyed a great number of the people. In 1774 the trade ceased to be profitable as a private monopoly, and to prevent it being abandoned the government took it over. Julianehaab was founded in the following year. In 1807–1814, owing to the war, communication was cut off with Norway and Denmark; but subsequently the colony prospered in a languid fashion.
Authorities.—As to the discovery of Greenland by the Norsemen and its early history see Konrad Maurer’s excellent paper, “Geschichte der Entdeckung Ostgrönlands” in the report of Die zweite deutsche Nordpolarfahrt 1869–1870 (Leipzig, 1874), vol. i.; G. Storm, Studies on the “Vineland” Voyages (Copenhagen, 1889); Extraits des Mémoires de la Société Royale des Antiquaires du Nord (1888); K. J. V. Steenstrup, “Om Österbygden,” Meddelelser om Grönland, part ix. (1882), pp. 1-51; Finnur Jônsson, “Grönlands gamle Topografi efter Kilderne” in Meddelelser om Grönland, part xx. (1899), pp. 265-329; Joseph Fischer, The Discoveries of the Norsemen in America, translated from German by B. H. Soulsby (London, 1903). As to the general literature on Greenland, a number of the more important modern works have been noticed in footnotes. The often-quoted Meddelelser om Grönland is of especial value; it is published in parts (Copenhagen) since 1879, and is chiefly written in Danish, but each part has a summary in French. In part xiii. there is a most valuable list of literature about Greenland up to 1880. See also Geographical Journal, passim.
Amongst other important books on Greenland may be mentioned: Hans Egede, Description of Greenland (London, 1745); Crantz, History of Greenland (2 vols., London, 1820); Grönlands historiske Mindesmerker (3 vols., Copenhagen, 1838–1845); H. Rink, Danish Greenland (London, 1877); H. Rink, Tales of the Eskimo (London, 1875); (see also same, “Eskimo Tribes” in Meddelelser om Grönland, part xi.); Johnstrup, Giesecke’s Mineralogiske Reise i Grönland (Copenhagen, 1878). (F. N.)
GREENLAW (a “grassy hill”), a town of Berwickshire, Scotland.
Pop. (1901) 611. It is situated on the Blackadder, 6214 m.
S.E. of Edinburgh by the North British railway company’s branch
line from Reston Junction to St Boswells. The town was built
towards the end of the 17th century, to take the place of an older
one, which stood about a mile to the S.E. It was the county town
from 1696 to 1853, when for several years it shared this dignity
with Duns, which, however, is now the sole capital. The chief
manufactures are woollens and agricultural implements. About
3 m. to the S. the ruin of Hume Castle, founded in the 13th
century, occupies a commanding site. Captured by the English
in 1547, in spite of Lady Home’s gallant defence, it was retaken
two years afterwards, only to fall again in 1569. After its
surrender to Cromwell in 1650 it gradually decayed. Towards
the close of the 18th century the 3rd earl of Marchmont had the
walls rebuilt out of the old stones, and the castle, though a mere
shell of the original structure, is now a picturesque ruin.
GREENLEAF, SIMON (1783–1853), American jurist, was
born at Newburyport, Massachusetts, on the 5th of December
1783. When a child he was taken by his father to Maine, where
he studied law, and in 1806 began to practise at Standish. He
soon removed to Gray, where he practised for twelve years, and
in 1818 removed to Portland. He was reporter of the supreme
court of Maine from 1820 to 1832, and published nine volumes of
Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Maine (1822–1835).
In 1833 he became Royall professor, and in 1846 succeeded
Judge Joseph Story as Dane professor of law in Harvard University;
in 1848 he retired from his active duties, and became
professor emeritus. After being for many years president of the
Massachusetts Bible Society, he died at Cambridge, Mass., on
the 6th of October 1853. Greenleaf’s principal work is a Treatise
on the Law of Evidence (3 vols., 1842–1853). He also published
A Full Collection of Cases Overruled, Denied, Doubted, or Limited
in their Application, taken from American and English Reports
(1821), and Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists
by the Rules of Evidence administered in the Courts of Justice,
with an account of the Trial of Jesus (1846; London, 1847). He
revised for the American courts William Cruise’s Digest of Laws
respecting Real Property (3 vols., 1849–1850).
GREEN MONKEY, a west African representative of the typical
group of the guenon monkeys technically known as Cercopithecus
callitrichus, taking its name from the olive-greenish hue of the fur
of the back, which forms a marked contrast to the white whiskers
and belly.
GREENOCK, a municipal and police burgh and seaport of Renfrewshire, Scotland, on the southern shore of the Firth of Clyde, 23 m. W. by N. of Glasgow by the Caledonian and the Glasgow & South-Western railways, 21 m. by the river and firth. Pop. (1901) 68,142. The town has a water frontage of nearly 4 m. and rises gradually to the hills behind the town in which are situated, about 3 m. distant, Loch Thom and Loch Gryfe, from both of which is derived the water supply for domestic use, and for driving several mills and factories. The streets are
- ↑ Cf. F. Nansen, Eskimo Life (London, 1893).
