The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.2004, Side 41

Vol. 58 #4
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
187
Book Reviews
Feeding the Vikings
By Martin F. Kilmer and Peter J. Scott
Legas Publishing, Ottawa, 206 pages
Distributed by Hushion House, Toronto,
Cloth bound $60, paper $40
Reviewed by E. Leigh Syms
Despite the title, this is not a book
about the foods or eating habits of the
Vikings. It is a field guide of the plants of
the North Peninsula of Newfoundland,
plus a short photo documentation of a
selection of local animal resources includ-
ing mammals, birds and a few ocean crea-
tures. There is nothing on the food habits
of the Vikings including those who lived at
L'Anse Aux Meadows nor any discussion
on the plants identified in the sagas as being
used by the people of L'Anse Aux
Meadows. The only link lies in the fact that
most of these local resources were proba-
bly available to the Vikings, to First
Nations through the millennia and to the
early Europeans who inhabited the area.
The bulk of this book is a field guide of
local plants. These plants are presented in
alphabetical order by taxonomic name.
Each species is described briefly, its distri-
bution noted and illustrated with 2-4
colour photos, ranging from close-ups of
diagnostic traits such as flowers and fruit to
the occasional scenic shot to put it in a
landscape context. In addition there are a
variety of observations and anecdotes scat-
tered haphazardly throughout that
includes recipes, plant uses for food, medi-
cinal purposes, dyes, etc by First Nations
and Europeans but virtually nothing about
the Viking uses. There are also little gems
of wisdom scattered throughout, such as
not making smudges of juniper when chil-
dren and pregnant women are present.
Following the section on the flora is a
brief section on the fauna. This begins with
a brief (one page each) introduction on the
physical setting, climate, geological history
and vegetation summary, all of which
should have been placed at the beginning of
the book. The faunal section includes pic-
tures of one butterfly, one dragonfly, sev-
eral species of birds, one mussel, harp seals,
one diving humpback whale (the only
species to be illustrated despite several
being listed) and several land mammals.
This is, essentially, just a photographic sec-
tion with no descriptive, definitive or taxo-
nomic data.
This book lacks the systematic format
for taxonomic identification that is com-
mon in field guides, making it impossible
to identify most of the plants unless they
are in flower or bearing fruit. Although it
is a visual feast, it is marred, because most
of the photos are slightly out of focus with