Norumbega, or Nurembega, is a
legendary settlement in northeastern
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
which was featured on many early maps from the 16th century until further European colonization of the region. It was alleged that the houses had pillars of gold and the inhabitants carried quarts of pearls on their heads.
Etymology and spelling
The word "Norumbega" was originally spelled ''Oranbega'' in
Giovanni da Verrazzano
Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , ; often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1491–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, who led most of his later expeditions, including the one to America, in the service of King Francis I of ...
's 1529 map of America, and the word is believed to derive from one of the
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages ( ; also Algonkian) are a family of Indigenous languages of the Americas and most of the languages in the Algic language family are included in the group. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from ...
spoken in New England. It may mean "quiet place between the rapids" or "quiet stretch of water". In 1542,
Jean Allefonsce reported that he had coasted south from
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
and had discovered a great river. It often appeared on subsequent European maps of North America, lying south of
Acadia
Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...
in what is now
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. In 1598,
Marquis de La Roche de Mesgouez was appointed lieutenant-general of Newfoundland, Labrador, and Norumbega. Norumbega was described as "an ambiguous location that includes what is now Maine and the Maritimes" in the 2020 book ''History of the Canadian Peoples: Beginnings to 1867''.
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...
searched for Norumbega in 1604 and believed he had found Allefonsce's river in the form of the
Penobscot River, Penobscot, which he called "the great river of Norumbega". He sailed as far as the rapids at what is now
Bangor, Maine
Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...
, but finding only villages, his and subsequent maps deleted reference to Norumbega as a town, region, or even river. Most historians have subsequently accepted the Penobscot region as Allefonsce's source for Norumbega, though the matter was hotly contested by some nineteenth century antiquarians, who argued that the name should be identified with their own river or region.
The town of
Bangor, Maine
Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...
, commemorated the legend during the nineteenth century, naming their municipal hall "Norumbega Hall". In 1886, inventor
Joseph Barker Stearns built a mansion named "
Norumbega Castle", which still stands on
US Route 1 in
Camden, Maine
Camden is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,232 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is ...
, overlooking
Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay () is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean in south central Maine, a stretch known as Midcoast Maine, in a broader Atlantic region known as Down East. The bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River, ...
.
[
] During the late 19th century,
Eben Norton Horsford
Eben Norton Horsford (July 27, 1818 – January 1, 1893) was an American scientist who taught agricultural chemistry in the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard from 1847 to 1863. Later he was known for his reformulation of baking powder, his i ...
associated the name and legend of Norumbega with supposed
Norse settlements on the
Charles River
The Charles River (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton to Boston along a highly me ...
, and built the
Norumbega Tower at the confluence of
Stony Brook and the Charles River in
Weston, Massachusetts
Weston is an affluent town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately west of Boston. At the time of the 2020 United States census, the population of Weston was 11,851.
Weston was incorporated in 1713, and protect ...
, where he claimed Fort Norumbega was located. In honor of Horsford's generous donations to
Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...
, a building named Norumbega Hall was dedicated in 1886 and celebrated in a poem by
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
. Presently, the myth is commemorated by such place names as Norumbega Mountain (formerly Brown Mountain) in
Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor, Maine, Bar Harbor. The park includes about half of Mount Desert ...
.
[Acadia National Park - Norumbega Mountain Loop]
accessed 2018.01.25.
References
Further reading
*Baker, Emerson W., Churchill, Edwin A., D'Abate, Richard S., Jones, Kristine L., Konrad, Victor A. and Prins, Harald E.L., editors, 1994. ''American beginnings: Exploration, culture, and cartography in the land of Norumbega'' (University of Nebraska Press)
*DeCosta, B.F. 1890. ''Ancient Norumbega, or the voyages of Simon Ferdinando and John Walker to the Penobscot River, 1579-1580.'' Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany, NY
* Ramsay, R. H., 1972. ''No Longer on the Map'', Viking Books
* Reider T, Sherwin '' The Viking and The Red Man ''
*
{{Authority control
Mythological populated places
Canadian mythology
Pseudohistory
Norse colonization of North America
Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact