In this connection the statement in Ivar Bárdsson's description must also be borne in mind:
"Item there lies in the north, farther from the Western Settlement, a great mountain that is called Himinraðzfjall,[278] and farther than to this mountain must no man sail, if he would preserve his life from the many whirlpools which there lie round all the ocean."
It is true that Ivar's description as a whole does not seem to be very trustworthy as regards details, nor do the whirlpools here spoken of tend to inspire confidence, suggesting as they do that it was near the earth's limit, where the ocean ends in one or more vast abysses; but it is nevertheless possible that the mountain in question may have been an actual landmark in the extreme north, on that part of the west coast of Greenland to which voyages were habitually made, and in that case it must have been situated in "Nordrsetur."
Mention may also be made of a puzzling scholium to Adam of Bremen's work [cf. Lappenberg, 1838, pp. 851 f.]; it was added at a late period, ostensibly from "Danish fragments," but the form of the names betrays a Norse origin, and we must suppose that it is derived from ancient Norwegian or Icelandic sources. The following is a translation of the Latin text:
"From Norway to Iceland is fourteen dozen leagues ('duodene leucarum') across the sea (or XIII. dozen sea-leagues, that is, 168 leagues).[279] From Iceland as far as the green land ('terram viridem') Gronlandt is about fourteen dozen ('duodenæ'). There is a promontory and it is called 'Huerff' [i.e., Hvarf], and there snow lies continually and it is called 'Hwideserck.' From 'Hwideserck' as far as 'Sunderbondt' is ten dozen leagues ('duodenæ leucarum'); from 'Sunderbondt' as far as 'Norderbondt' is eleven dozen leagues (d. l.). From 'Nordbundt' to 'Hunenrioth' is seventeen dozen leagues, and here men resort in order to kill white bears and 'Tauwallen'" ["tandhvaler" (?)--"tusk-whales"--i.e., walrus and narwhale (?)].[280]
This passage is difficult to understand. "Sunderbondt" and "Norderbondt" are probably to be regarded as translations of the Norwegian "Syd-botten" and "Nord-botten." The latter might be the Polar Sea, or "Hafsbotn," north of Iceland and Norway; on Claudius Clavus's map this is called "Nordhindh Bondh" (Nancy map) and "Nordenbodhn" (Vienna text).[281] But in that case we should have to suppose that the distances referred to a voyage from Norway to Iceland, from thence to Hvarf and Hvitserk, and then back again northward along the east coast of Greenland. It seems more probable that the direction of the voyage was supposed to be continued round Hvarf and up along the west coast; but where "Sunderbondt" and "Norderbondt" are to be looked for on that coast is difficult to say; the names would most naturally apply to two fjords or bays, and in some way or other these might be connected with the Eastern and Western Settlements; "Norderbondt" might, for instance, have come to mean the largest fjord, Godthaabs-fjord, in the Western Settlement. Since "hún" in Old Norse means a bear-cub or young bear, one might be inclined to connect "Hunenrioth" with Bjarn-eyar, where perhaps bears were hunted; but in that case "-rioth" must be taken to be the Old Norse "hrjotr" (growl, roar), which would be an unlikely name for islands or lands. It is more reasonable to suppose that it means the same as the above-mentioned mountain "Himinrað," from Ivar Bárdsson's description. It might then be probable that this was called "Himinroð" (i.e., flushing of the sky, sun-gold, from the root-form "rioða") a natural name for a high mountain;[282] by an error in writing or reading this might easily become "Hunenrioth," as it might also become "Himinrað." Thus it is possibly a mountain in Nordrsetur (see above). But in any case the distances are impossible as they stand, and until more light has been thrown upon this scholium, we cannot attach much importance to it.