Eastern Settlement

[2] The Vatnahverfi district to the southeast of Einarsfjord had some of the best pastoral land in the colony, and boasted 10% of all the known farm sites in the Eastern Settlement.

The economy of the medieval Norse settlements was based on livestock farming – mainly sheep and cattle, with some seal hunting.

A Little Ice Age in the 14th century may have increased the demand for winter fodder and at the same time decreased productivity of hay meadows.

[3][4] In the Greenlandic Inuit oral tradition, there is a legend about why the Norse population of Hvalsey died out and why their houses and churches are in ruins.

According to the legend, the reason was a blood feud between local Norse chieftain Ungortoq and a young but determined Inuit warrior named K'aissape.

Map of the eastern Norse settlement in medieval Greenland. The area is within the current municipality of Kujalleq . The known major farms and churches are identified, as well as some probable geographical names.