They then took refuge at a cliff called Hvidserken, which apparently was located between Iceland and Greenland. Magnus added that in "1494", the pirates created a giant compass out of a considerable circular space at the top of the cliff, with rings and lines formed of lead, to make it easier for them to know in which direction they could seek a great plunder. Modern historians have suggested that they may in fact have set up some mark at the coast of Greenland to reclaim it for the Danish king. In 1625, a report from London talks about Pining and Pothorst (Punnus and Potharse) and states that Pining "gave the Islanders their Lawes," referred to later as Pining's Law, the written Icelandic law. See also Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact Hans Pothorst John Scolvus João Vaz Corte-Real Álvaro Martins Footnotes References Further reading 1430s births 1491 deaths German explorers Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact People from Hildesheim Norwegian pirates Age of Discovery 15th-century Norwegian nobility