eleventh century; but they made no impression on Europeans of that time,
because Iceland and Scandinavia were not in touch with other European
countries. Civilization then had the Mediterranean for its center, and
no one in Southern Europe ever heard of what the Icelanders or the
Norsemen were doing. But these northern peoples did not entirely lose
sight of their discoveries, for they sang about them from century to
century in quaint and beautiful ballads called sagas. It was not until
after Columbus revealed the west to European eyes that these sagas were
published; nevertheless, it is not improbable that, if Columbus landed
in Iceland, some inhabitant who knew the story of the far western
country told it to him. He never refers to it in his writings, however,
and one cannot help thinking that, if it really was true, he would have
mentioned it, at least to those whom he was trying to persuade to help
him. The only reference he ever made to the northern voyage is when
writing his journal in 1492, where he states,

"I have seen all the Levant (where the sun rises); and the Ponent (where
the sun sets); I have seen what is called The Northern Way, and England;
and I have sailed to Guinea."

Columbus's elder brother, Bartholomew, who was a map-maker and a serious
student of geography, also settled in Lisbon. The two either opened a
book-and-map shop, or at least they worked in one at odd times,
Christopher acting as a draftsman; for, as he himself quaintly expressed
it, "God had endowed me with ingenuity and manual skill in designing
spheres, and inscribing upon them in the proper places cities, rivers
and mountains, isles and ports." He appears to have tried to earn a
little money by commerce as well as by map-making. We have no exact
record of this, but it is thought that he borrowed capital for trading
purposes from rich Genoese merchants settled in Lisbon, and lost it.