A little game

[Nazheek]

This forum is about the accumulation of knowledge, this is impossible if we dont exercise our brains so I decided to bring a little game here. An assortment of clues based on logical thinking, technological skill, and knowledge of history. The first to tell me my proper geographical location wins. Here we go!

Numbers like men lie, numbers lie of my place, in truth a land some far away. But all lies come from some truth originally...

A war from over long waters, the people from here go. North or south of battle's sight, we will never know.

[Redbeck]

Good morning Nazheek,

Many thanks for all your contributions todate. My first stab at your proper geographic location is New Zealand. My logic tells me that Maoris use the term long for various natural phenomena, as in "Land of the Long White Cloud" and the north and south aspect could be construed as the North and South Islands. I have other ideas but this was my first, plus I was born not all that far away from Captain Cook but with heavy Irish undertones!

Kind Regards Redbeck

[Nazheek]

Oh my, I am definitely not from New Zealand. Its actually a lot more straightforward than it would probably seem. Ah, New Zealand is a beautiful place though. Being a big Lord of the Rings fan I appreciate it, ha. I learned of the native culture there in my Sociology course Freshman year.

[Redbeck]

OK Nazheek,

It is the word long that I seem to be locked on to and a long journey over waters from which I conclude that you originate from a seafaring nation. I am inclined to bring long ships into the puzzle and try somewhere in Scandinavia: hedging my bets with a spread of nation states: Norway, Sweden, Denmark or Finland. Mmmm battle for or between North and South, battle for a better life perhaps?

[Nazheek]

Sorry about the wait @Redbeck, life caught up with me for a moment. You are close... I could maybe kinda be considered Nordic due to ancient ancestry of my people to the Scandinavians.

[violeteyes]

Germany? I can't really say why I think that but it feels right somehow, given what you've said. Particularly about the war (WWII?), involving a long sea distance (from America and Britain, Germany's major enemies in that war) and the scandinavian ancestry.

Or maybe America... hmm.

[Redbeck]

North America, not a half bad call violeteyes, that was actually my next tilt at the guessing game windmill, having failed on two previous occasions. Welcome to the Oracle Forum by the way, this and your other contributions are much appreciated as another shoulder to the wheel of global change. Thank you.

Well, Nazheek, I am going to say Canada based on your latest set of clues, and that conclusion revolves around the following interesting piece of information, well at least I hope it will set enquiring minds alight as it proves that intercontinental migration on our planet was equally prevalent 10 centuries ago.

Viking exploration, migration and settlement was far more extensive than many people are aware, but most discoveries were treated as an expansion of their original homeland, with Nordic peoples having no geographic concept of the world as we recognise it today. Indeed as recently as the 15th century, most of Columbus' crew believed that the world was flat, the Atlantic Ocean to be populated with leviathans large enough to devour their ships, accompanied by horrifying waterfalls down which frail ships would plunge to their destruction. Columbus himself felt sure the earth was round. Nevertheless, looking upon North America as an extension of one's homeland made the whole adventure a lot more palatable I imagine.

Vinland (pronounced 'Winland'), was the name given to a part of North America reached and colonised by Icelandic Norseman Leif Eiríksson, around the year 1000. Beyond that later chronological archeological evidence of Norse settlement in North America was found in L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada.

Vinland was first recorded as an entity by cleric, geographer and historian Adam of Bremen, in his book Descriptio insularum Aquilonis written in circa 1075. In order to gather the information necessary to create the tome he visited Danish king Svend Estridson, who had considerable knowledge of the northern lands.

Descriptio insularum Aquilonis is an appendix to a master work entitled Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (‘Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg’) one of the most important sources of medieval history relating to Northern Europe, and the oldest textual source reporting the discovery of coastal North America. It is well worth reading in English translation.

This is the link to the University of Wisconsin's pertinent extract from the work: http://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-058.pdf

The first discovery made by full name Leifur Eiriksson, was according to other stories Helluland (flatstone land), possibly Baffin Island. Markland (wood land), most likely the Labrador Peninsula was the next discovery (there is some evidence that the tree line in northern Labrador has been diminished or eroded since approximately 1000) and lastly Vinland (commonly interpreted as wine land, but interpreted as pasture land by others), potentially Newfoundland. The Eirikisson expedition included both families and livestock and the aims were to begin new settlements. Straumfjorour was the name of the northern settlement and Hop the name for the southern settlement. However, according to the stories it was cancelled soon due to conflicts with the 'skraelingjar' (potentiallly the later Beothuks, or Dorset people). New voyages for woodcutting to source timber in short supply in colder homelands appears to have been discussed as late as the 1300s.

[Nazheek]

Germany? I can't really say why I think that but it feels right somehow, given what you've said. Particularly about the war (WWII?), involving a long sea distance (from America and Britain, Germany's major enemies in that war) and the scandinavian ancestry.

Or maybe America... hmm.

Spot on, I am German. The war refers to Hessen's activities during the American reveloution. North and South in reference to that some fought for the British who were in the North and Americans Southwise. Numbers were in reference to my posting IP Adress lying about my location as I use a VPN.

[Nazheek]

Redbeck beat in a mindgame by a new user, wow. :p

[violeteyes]

Well it was a blind guess though, he thought more thoroughly about it so really he was the winner.

[Nazheek]

Well it was a blind guess though, he thought more thoroughly about it so really he was the winner.

Ah, mere luck or maybe the math favoured you today.
This does beg the question of which man is better
The one who excels blindly or the one who fails with effort

[violeteyes]

The one who fails with effort, of course. Blind luck is meaningless, the end does not justify the lack of means. But failure with effort - there the means definitely does justify the lack of end.

[Redbeck]

violeteyes firstly welcome to the forum, thank you for your contributions and what a brilliant deduction on your part, I will say I would have logically returned to Europe given the failure of my North American selection, but possibly Central or Eastern rather than Northern Europe. Thank you for compliments, I have my moments as they say but not always great ones. Germany it is.

Some Germanic Viking Art for you.

Nazheek that became a really intriguing interactive post, thanks again, might I be presumptious and ask Hamburg, Munich or Stuttgart?

[Nazheek]

Thank you for the art! I love Germanic culture.
I'm from a place just outside Frankurt, and maybe close to Mainz.