Word: norsemen
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Five hundred years before the arrival of other Europeans in the New World, Vikings settled in Greenland and founded a colony that eventually grew to 3,000 people. During the 12th century, the Norsemen began returning to Europe; by 1410 they had completely abandoned Greenland. For years historians have debated the cause of the mysterious demise. Were the Vikings driven out by hostile natives? Did excessive inbreeding cause genetic deterioration of the tough Norse stock? Now scientists have suggested a simpler explanation: the mild weather that the Vikings originally encountered in Greenland gradually changed and became too harsh even...
...Viking front four have even reached the sobriquet stage: the Four Norsemen (something of a misnomer, since three of the men are Negroes, and only Larsen is of Danish extraction). The key to their success is their cohesive style of play. "They are a highly disciplined group," says Line Coach Bob Hollway. "They don't go crashing all over, each one trying to do the whole job himself. They have a great respect for each other's abilities, and they complement one another perfectly...
...game dominated by passers who throw with pinpoint accuracy, and receivers who can cover 100 yds. in well under ten seconds, a fast and aggressive defensive line has become an absolute prerequisite to victory. If Marshall and his fellow ersatz Norsemen can sustain their brutal brand of trench warfare, the Vikings may have a crack at the N.F.L. title that has so far eluded them...
Fortunately the thing cannot be a blob of irritable radioactive ooze, for a moment later it knocks at the door and announces, with a hammer-and-sickly grin: "We're Norwheeguns." Actually the nervous Norsemen are petrified Soviet sailors whose sub has run aground on a sand bar. Their spokesman is Alan Arkin, a cabaret satirist (Second City) and Broadway clown (Luv), making a major movie debut that probably deserves an Oscar, a Lenin Peace Prize, and any other encouragements a wicked old world can offer...
There, the mother tongue had already begun its centuries-long elaboration. Successive waves of invaders-the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Norsemen, the Normans-all added new words, constructions and usages to the pot. Beneath the weight of this hybridization, the island's forerunner language, Celtic, vanished almost without a trace...