Exhibit Honors Vikings’ Passage to New World

President Clinton welcomed five Nordic leaders Friday to mark a new exhibit about Vikings and to declare that Americans should learn more about “this fascinating early chapter” of history.

Clinton, along with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, hosted a luncheon to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of the Vikings’ arrival in North America and the opening today of a Smithsonian Institution exhibit, “Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga.”

“It is amazing to me to look at the Viking ships and imagine that they made it all this way 1,000 years ago,” Clinton said.

Clinton joked that he couldn’t exactly say the Vikings discovered this land, because there is disagreement about who got here first.

“Italian Americans revere Columbus. . . . Anglo Americans argue for the primacy of Jamestown and Plymouth as the first colonies,” Clinton said. “Franco Americans remind us to honor Champlain, Cartier and La Salle alongside all others. And of course, our Native Americans consider all these people insignificant latecomers.”

King Harald V of Norway said 10 million Americans claim Nordic roots “and combine this with a deep-felt and unswerving loyalty” toward the United States. In turn, he said, Nordic nations are looking to the United States for lessons in coping with diversity.

About 100 guests attended the luncheon, including Queen Sonja of Norway, President Olafur Grimsson of Iceland, President Tarja Halonen of Finland, Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Joachim of Denmark.

The $3-million Smithsonian exhibit, at the National Museum of Natural History, features a variety of artifacts and traces the lives, travels, jewelry, religion, clothing, poetry and impact of the Norse.