SOME YEARS AGO I came upon the historical story of the discovery of America by Leif Ericsson in A (6 page)

50

[ DISSOLVE TO:

Bjarni's Ship

(
The ship is seen beaching at Brattahlid. All the colony are on the beach to greet the travellers, headed by
Eric.
)

[ DISSOLVE TO:

The Classroom

CALLENDER The season was too far advanced for them to risk the journey back to Iceland that year, and so they stayed for the winter; Bjarni stayed with his father, Heriulf. In the meantime, Leif had gone on his way from Iceland, and he, too, had trouble with the weather. He went like this (
indicates on the map
) and he put in at the Hebrides, here, to wait for a fair wind. He found he wasn't very welcome.

[FADE TO:

A Harbour in the Hebrides

(
Leif's
ship is coming into a small made harbour, with a stone quay and a few rude houses behind it. The King of the Islands is standing on the quay, fully armed; there are a number of armed men behind him. The
King
should be a hard, ruthless, Puritan type. One or two powerful Viking warships are in the harbour, in contrast to
Leif's
merchant ship, which is small and old. In this sequence the impression must be held throughout that
Leif's
party are greatly outnumbered.
)

(
The ship comes to the quay. It is evident that they have had a long, hard passage. There is water in the ship, and the men are exhausted and wet. There should be slight damage; a broken steering oar, tears patched in the sail, etc.
)

KING Who are you people? What do you want here?

LEIF We are on our way to King Olaf in Norway, but the winds are foul and we can't lie anywhere near our course. We are a long time out from Iceland. My name is Leif, the son of Eric the Red. We come from a country over to the west of Iceland, that we call Greenland. May we stay here till the wind is fair for Norway?

KING You are Leif Ericsson?

LEIF I am.

KING I have heard of your father. You are outlaws both from Norway and from Iceland.

LEIF That's true of my father, though we think that he was badly used. For myself—I am technically an outlaw in Iceland, though I was only six years old when we left. I am a free man in Norway. That is why my father sent me on this mission to the King instead of going himself, so that I might speak for him and for our people as a free man.

KING I'll have no outlaw in my country, even whitewashed ones.

LEIF Surely, sir, whatever you may think of us, you won't refuse us shelter here till the wind changes? We've been a long time at sea, and we intend to make no trouble.

(
The
King
turns aside and speaks in conference with one or two of his men. This is a moment of tension in the boat.)

KING
(Turning back to
Leif)
I will not refuse a refuge to seafarers, if they behave themselves. Beyond that point, there, you will find a little bay, and a green sward of grass. You may land there, and camp. You may not stray beyond the grassy patch

without my leave; you may not talk to any of my people. You can stay there till the wind changes, and no longer. God help you if you make any trouble in this country.

[ DISSOLVE TO:

Leif's Camp

(
The ship is beached in a little bay. The Norsemen have made a camp on shore, very near their ship. They have put up two tents, a large one for the men and a small one for
Leif;
these tents are of leather well made and efficient. There is a small fire in a stone hearth before
Leif's
tent—an important feature later on. There is another very large fire near the men's tent. They are drying all their bedding, spare clothes, sleeping bags, etc., before this fire, so that the camp is in a great confusion of drying clothes and steam.
)

(A
Girl
walks over the hill down to the camp by the ship. This is
Thorgunna,
the daughter of the
King.
She should be dark, and very intelligent. Historically there are some grounds for the suggestion that she had the Scotch peasant's gift of 'second sight.' She should be beautiful, and rather dignified. She may be dressed in a woollen gown, delicately embroidered. )

THORGUNNA Who is the Chief here? I want to see the Chief.

TYRKER Come with me.

(
He takes her to
Leif
who is arranging his bedding to dry at his fire. He turns to meet them.)

THORGUNNA Are you the Chief of these outlaws?

LEIF
(With dignity)
There's only one outlaw here, Lady, and that's me. The rest of us are free men and serfs. We aren't an outlaw gang.

THORGUNNA I am sorry, Chief; they told me wrong. Are you the man they call Leif Ericsson?

LEIF That's right. They call me an outlaw, but you don't have to worry about that. I was outlawed with my father when I was a little boy.

THORGUNNA You have committed no crime yourself?

LEIF Lady, what is a crime? In the land I come from we have no set laws; we've never had a Thing. My father had enough of Godis when he was a young man; he won't have one in the place. I can't remember doing anything of which I am ashamed.

THORGUNNA
(Looking at him curiously)
That's a very good answer, Chief.

LEIF Is it?

THORGUNNA Tell me, where do you live? That is really why I came to see you.

LEIF Look, Lady, I appreciate that very much. But when we came here yesterday the King said we might stay here till the wind changed, but we weren't to talk to any of his people. I don't want to get you into trouble, and much more, I don't want you to get us into trouble.

THORGUNNA
(With regal dignity)
I heard about that at our Hall. I am the King's daughter and I have no brothers; one day I shall be the Queen and I shall rule the people of these Isles. My name is Thorgunna.

LEIF Would you care to sit down?

(
She sits down on a heap of furs before his fire; he remains standing in front of her.)

—What can I tell you, Lady?

THORGUNNA Tell me about the country that you live in. Is it true that you live over to the west of Iceland?

LEIF That's right. Five days west of Iceland you come to our country, but it is wild and desolate in that part; a man could not exist except by hunting seals. From there you sail south along the coast for another five days and turn the corner of the land. There you come to the place where we have our farms.

THORGUNNA Is it a good land? Is it warm, and sunny, and beautiful?

LEIF
(Regretfully)
No, it's not. We always say it is, but it's not really. We can just get a living there, but it's not really much good. (
He looks around the barren Hebridean moorland.
) It's not such a good country as this.

THORGUNNA What is there further west from you? Are there any other lands?

LEIF
(Thoughtfully)
Lady, that's a strange question. This place lies to the west of Norway, and west of this place there is Iceland. If you go west again there is our own country, Greenland, where I come from. When you come to think of it there is no reason why there should not be another land again, westwards of us. I don't believe these stories that the sea comes to an end quite suddenly, and you fall over the edge like falling into a pit.

THORGUNNA I don't believe those, either. But do you know of any other lands, westwards again from your place, where men live?

LEIF I'm sorry, Lady, but I never heard of any lands like that.

THORGUNNA
(Sighs)
No matter.
(She looks around.)
Have your men everything they need? Are you all right for food? I will send you down a sheep.

LEIF Lady, that is a kind thought. They have plenty to eat, but it is dull, dry stuff. They would like fresh meat.

THORGUNNA I will see they get it.
(She gets up to go.)

LEIF Just one thing, Lady. Why did you ask about land over to the west of us? Is there such a place?

THORGUNNA
(Sitting down again)
I'll tell you. A man came to us from Ireland last summer, a holy man, a monk. He came to tell us all about a new religion, a new way of life. He gave me this. (
She pulls out a small wooden cross from within her dress, suspended on a gold chain round her neck.
) My father does not like it, so I have to keep it hidden.

LEIF
(Curiously) Is
it a talisman?

THORGUNNA It is the sign of a new way of life.

LEIF
(Puzzled
) I'm afraid I don't quite understand.

THORGUNNA No matter. I did not come here to convert you. I was telling you about this holy man. He said that in Ireland, where he came from, they had a legend of a country over to the west, beyond the sea. He called it Hy Breasail, the Happy Land.

LEIF
(Shaking his head)
I have never heard of it.

THORGUNNA It may be that it is not there at all. But if it is, it would be worth while to spend one's whole life looking for it.

LEIF What sort of country is it, Lady?

THORGUNNA If you stand on the edge of the sea looking westwards to the sunset on the evening of a fine day in summer, just after the sun has gone down, you see the sea and the high clouds flushed with pink and gold. Past the horizon and beyond those rosy clouds there lies the Happy Land, which this man called Hy Breasail. No thief, no robber, and no enemy pursues one there; there is no violence, and no winter snow. In that place it is always spring. No flower or lily is wanting, no rose or violet but you will find them there. There apple trees bear flowers and fruit on the same branch, all the year round. There young men live in quiet happiness with their girls; there is no old age, and no sickness, and no sorrow there. All is full of joy ... (
Her voice dies away.
)

LEIF
(Gently)
Lady, there is no place in the world like that.

THORGUNNA I suppose you're right. I think this monk was mixing up old legends of his country with the Heaven beyond this world that he was telling us about. (
She gets up.
) Thank you for listening to me so patiently, Chief. I will send you down the sheep. (
She turns to go.)

[ DISSOLVE TO:

The Beach

(
Leif
and
Tyrker
are standing together by the ship, watching
Thorgunna
as she goes away across the hill.)

LEIF She's going to send us down a sheep this afternoon. We can have fresh meat to-night.

TYRKER That's the best bit of news we've had so far in this stinking hole. I like her better than her father.

LEIF She is the only woman I have ever met who talks intelligently. She is a very clever girl.

TYRKER
(Grinning-)
Looks all right, too.

[ DISSOLVE TO:

The Beach at Sunrise

(
The ship is seen silhouetted against the dawn sky; one man is awake on watch. In the hencoop a cock crows and the men stir; each man as he wakes looks up at the burgee at the masthead. It is seen blowing straight towards the land.)

[DISSOLVE
TO:

Leif's Camp

(
Thorgunna
is standing with
Leif
before his tent.
)

LEIF The men are good for nothing this morning, Lady—I can't get any work out of them. They ate too much last night; they ate every bit of that sheep. It was good of you to send it down for them. Next time you'd better send a Iamb.

THORGUNNA
(Smiling)
They will want more than that. You may be here for a long time, you know.

LEIF
(Glancing at the burgee at the masthead)
What winds do you get here at this time of year? How long does it go on blowing east like this?

THORGUNNA It blows west in July, but you may be here until the end of June.

LEIF Lady, that's bad news.

THORGUNNA I am sorry.

LEIF
(Worried)
My father sent me on a mission to the King in Norway, but he expects me back this year. If I don't get to Norway till July I shall have to stay the winter there.

THORGUNNA The wind won't change because of that, Leif.

LEIF No.
(He stands for a minute, deep in thought.)
There's another thing, Lady. I shall have to be careful that my men don't get into trouble if I keep them here in idleness so long. They're only human, and they are a long way from their homes and from their wives. Will you warn your people to keep their daughters well away from this place? I don't want difficulties of that sort to make your father angry with us.