Vestrí Óbygðír

The Vestrí Óbygðír, IPA: (Old Norse) /wɛstri: o:bygði:r/ (Old Norse: ᚠᛁᛋᚦᚱᛁ ᚢᛒᚢᚴᚦᛁᛦ, fisþri ubukþiR, or Ꝩeſtri Obygþir) (Western Wilderness), sometimes referred to in English as Vestri Obygdir, was a Viking fishing and hunting ground during the 10th and 13th century. It is now located in what is now the Cumberland Sound in south eastern Baffin Island in Canada.

Use by the Norse

Erik the Red was the first European to the discover the Óbygðír in 982. He led a group across the Davis Strait from Eriksfjörd, his settlement in western Greenland, and spent the summer hunting whales, seals, walrus, narwhals and other sea mammals.

Use by Non-Norse peoples

The Area was used by many peoples to fish gather and hunt. In the 1420s, Basque fishermen fished there. It is not known very well, but Christopher Columbus knew about the area before his voyage to the Americas.

Bibliography

Sources- Erik the Red Saga, Karlsnefni Saga, The Short Saga, and West Viking by Farley Mowat