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Hafgerdingar: a mystery from the King's Mirror explained

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 June 2003

Waldemar H. Lehn  and
Irmgard I. Schroeder
Waldemar H. Lehn
Affiliation:
Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba, 504 Engineering Building, 15 Gillson Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 5V6, Canada ([email protected])
Irmgard I. Schroeder
Affiliation:
60 Thatcher Drive, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2L3, Canada
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Abstract

The medieval King's Mirror describes Iceland and Greenland with a scientific accuracy that is remarkable. One of the very few exceptions is the hafgerdingar in the Greenland Sea. The term translates as ‘sea hedges,’ within which a mariner may become trapped at great peril. Many have believed that a real event was being described, although none of the proposed explanations has been totally satisfactory. The most common view currently is based on Steenstrup (1871), who explained the phenomenon as a tidal wave following a submarine earthquake. A simpler and more consistent theory is developed here: that the hafgerdingar are an optical phenomenon, specifically, a superior mirage. Such mirages, quite common in the polar regions, can produce an appearance fully consistent with the original description, as illustrated by several photographs and a computer simulation. Even the peril to seafarers has been corroborated, in the sense that such a mirage is frequently followed by a storm.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , July 2003 , pp. 211 - 217
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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