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Description
The Kensington Runestone is a 200-pound slab of greywacke covered in runes on its face and side which, if genuine, would suggest that Scandinavian explorers reached the middle of North America in the 14th century. It was found in 1898 in the largely rural township of Solem, Douglas County, Minnesota, and named after the nearest settlement, Kensington. Almost all Runologists and experts in Scandinavian linguistics consider the runestone to be a hoax. The runestone has been analyzed and dismissed repeatedly without local effect. The community of Kensington is solidly behind the runestone, which has transcended its original cultural purposes and has "taken on a life of its own"--Wikipedia, Nov. 2011. "An excellent pedagogy for critical thinking! In 1898, a farmer in northwestern Minnesota unearthed a large stone engraved with what appeared to be Norse runes carved in 1362. Could medieval Scandinavians have penetrated deep into mainland North America over a century before Columbus discovered the New World? Does the stone provide evidence that forces a rewrite of American history, or was it merely a well-executed hoax? In the absence of written records documenting a Norse expedition into Minnesota, most historians have dismissed what became known as the Kensington Runestone as a hoax. However, Kehoe approaches the question holistically. She examines not only historical and literary evidence, but brings in data from archaeology, geology, linguistics, and biological anthropology. She concludes that the stone's authenticity should not be dismissed as readily as it has been so far, even if that means rethinking deeply ingrained ideas about contact between Europeans! and indigenous Americans."--Amazon.com book description.… (more)
User reviews
In "Kensington Rune Stone: New Light on an Old Riddle," Blegen (a.k.a. "Mr. Minnesota History") writes probably the most readable and accessible overview of the runestone story, including its "discovery" and introduction into the popular culture of the region. In spite of being now forty years old, much of what Blegen discusses in his book are still very relevant to a balanced historical viewpoint on the stone today. The stone, whether "real" or a "hoax" entered into a world that was hungry for its existence, with Scandinavian immigrants looking for an icon to draw them into the landscape of their new American homeland and the mythology of the stone, courtesy of Norwegian American Hjalmar Holand, fit this notion very well. Blegen's writing concisely argues his points and chronicles the development of the stone from debunked hoax to revered regional relic over the course of the twentieth century, one that continues to evolve as new "legends" and "facts" are added every decade. Blegen's account, however, still forms a base for the best, most nuanced understanding of the runestone that I have round in my studies, and should be required reading for anyone interested in studying the Kensington Runestone, no matter their own personal views.