Qassiarsuk is one of the more well-known places in the old world, at least if it goes by its Norse name, Brattahlid. Here, long into Tunulliarfik Fjord, Erik the Red decided to establish his large farm and several subsequent churches in 982 A.D., presumably after carefully investigating literally every fjord and bay in the entire region.
These are all well-known saga elements, but what is not talked about so much is the more recent theory that the wonderfully-prevalent church ruins at Qassiarsuk are not, in fact, Brattahlid. The present-day curator at Narsarsuaq Museum has spent a lot of time writing a support to this theory, proposing that Erik the Red would have chosen the absolute best location, and Qassiarsuk is not the absolute best location (though it is highly favourable). Not to mention, Vikings were like Greenlanders, assigning place names that closely described the landscape. Brattahlid means 'the steep side', which is not entirely concurrent with Qassiarsuk's landscape.
These are all well-known saga elements, but what is not talked about so much is the more recent theory that the wonderfully-prevalent church ruins at Qassiarsuk are not, in fact, Brattahlid. The present-day curator at Narsarsuaq Museum has spent a lot of time writing a support to this theory, proposing that Erik the Red would have chosen the absolute best location, and Qassiarsuk is not the absolute best location (though it is highly favourable). Not to mention, Vikings were like Greenlanders, assigning place names that closely described the landscape. Brattahlid means 'the steep side', which is not entirely concurrent with Qassiarsuk's landscape.
