The Sagas of the Icelanders (104 page)

5
Eirik had a wife named Thjodhild, and two sons, Thorstein and Leif. Both of them were promising young men. Thorstein lived at home with his father, and there was no man in Greenland who was considered as handsome as he.

Leif had sailed to Norway where he was one of King Olaf Tryggvason’s men.

But when Leif sailed from Greenland that summer the ship was driven off course to land in the Hebrides. From there they failed to get a favourable wind and had to stay in the islands for much of the summer.

Leif fell in love with a woman named Thorgunna. She was of very good family, and Leif realized that she knew a thing or two.

When Leif was leaving Thorgunna asked to go with him. Leif asked whether her kinsmen were of any mind to agree to this, and she declared she did not care. Leif said he was reluctant to abduct a woman of such high birth from a foreign country – ‘there are so few of us’.

Thorgunna spoke: ‘I’m not sure you’ll like the alternative better.’

‘I’ll take my chances on that,’ Leif said.

‘Then I will tell you,’ Thorgunna said, ‘that I am with child, and that this child is yours. It’s my guess that I will give birth to a boy, in due course. And even though you ignore him, I will raise the boy and send him to you in Greenland as soon as he is of an age to travel with others. But it’s my guess that he will serve you as well as you have served me now with your departure. I intend to come to Greenland myself before it’s all over.’

He gave her a gold ring, a Greenland cape and a belt of ivory.

The boy, who was named Thorgils, did come to Greenland and Leif recognized him as his son. – Some men say that this Thorgils came to Iceland before the hauntings at Froda
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in the summer. – Thorgils stayed in Greenland after that, and before it was all over he was also thought to have something preternatural about him.

Leif and his men left the Hebrides and made land in Norway in the autumn. Leif became one of the king’s men, and King Olaf Tryggvason showed him much honour, as Leif appeared to him to be a man of good breeding.

On one occasion the king spoke to Leif privately and asked, ‘Do you intend to sail to Greenland this summer?’

Leif answered, ‘I would like to do so, if it is your wish.’

The king answered, ‘It could well be so; you will go as my envoy and convert Greenland to Christianity.’

Leif said the king should decide that, but added that he feared this message would meet with a harsh reception in Greenland. The king said he saw no man more suitable for the job than Leif ‘and you’ll have the good fortune that’s needed’.

‘If that’s so,’ Leif declared, ‘then only because I enjoy yours as well.’

Once he had made ready, Leif set sail. After being tossed about at sea for a long time he chanced upon land where he had not expected any to be found. Fields of self-sown wheat and vines were growing there; also, there were trees known as maple, and they took specimens of all of them.

Leif also chanced upon men clinging to a ship’s wreck, whom he brought home and found shelter for over the winter. In so doing he showed his strong character and kindness. He converted the country to Christianity.
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Afterwards he became known as Leif the Lucky.

Leif made land in Eiriksfjord and went home to the farm at Brattahlid. There he was received warmly. He soon began to advocate Christianity and the true catholic faith throughout the country, revealing the messages of King Olaf Tryggvason to the people, and telling them how excellent and glorious this faith was.

Eirik was reluctant to give up his faith, but Thjodhild was quick to convert and had a church built a fair distance from the house. It was called Thjodhild’s church and there she prayed, along with those other people who converted to Christianity, of whom there were many. After her conversion, Thjodhild refused to sleep with Eirik, much to his displeasure.

The suggestion that men go to seek out the land which Leif had found soon gained wide support. The leading proponent was Eirik’s son, Thorstein,
a good, wise and popular man. Eirik was also urged to go, as people valued most his good fortune and leadership. For a long time he was against going, but when his friends urged him he did not refuse.

They made ready the ship on which Thorbjorn had sailed to Greenland, with twenty men to go on the journey. They took few trading goods, but all the more weapons and provisions.

The morning that he left, Eirik took a small chest containing gold and silver. He hid the money and then went on his way. After going only a short way he fell from his horse, breaking several ribs and injuring his shoulder, so that he cried out, ‘Ow, ow!’ Because of his mishap he sent word to his wife to retrieve the money he had hidden, saying he had been punished for having hidden it.

They then sailed out of Eiriksfjord in fine spirits, pleased with their prospects.

They were tossed about at sea for a long time and failed to reach their intended destination. They came in sight of Iceland and noticed birds from Ireland. Their ship was driven to and fro across the sea until they returned to Greenland in the autumn, worn out and in poor shape, and made land when it was almost winter in Eiriksfjord.

Eirik then spoke: ‘More cheerful we were in the summer to leave this fjord than now to return to it, though we have much to welcome us.’

Thorstein spoke: ‘We’d be doing the generous thing by seeing to those men who have no house to go to and providing for them over the winter.’

Eirik answered, ‘It’s usually true, as they say, that you can’t know a good question until you have the answer, and so it’ll turn out here. We’ll do as you say.’

All those men who had no other house to go to were taken in by father and son for the winter. They went home to Brattahlid then and spent the winter there.

6
The next thing to be told of is the proposal made by Thorstein Eiriksson to Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir. He was given a favourable answer by both Gudrid and her father, and so Thorstein married Gudrid and their wedding was held at Brattahlid that autumn. The wedding feast was a grand one and the guests were many.

Thorstein had a farm and livestock in the western settlement at a place called Lysufjord. A man there named Thorstein owned a half-share in this farm; his wife was named Sigrid. Thorstein and Gudrid went to his namesake
in Lysufjord that autumn where they were received warmly. They spent the winter there.

It then happened that sickness struck the farm shortly after the beginning of winter. The foreman, named Gardi, was an unpopular man. He was the first to fall ill and die. It was not long until the inhabitants caught the sickness, one after the other and died, until Thorstein Eiriksson and Sigrid, the farmer’s wife, fell ill, too.

One evening Sigrid wanted to go to the outhouse which stood opposite the door of the farmhouse. Gudrid went with her and as they looked at the doorway Sigrid cried, ‘Oh!’

Gudrid spoke: ‘We have acted carelessly, you shouldn’t be exposed to the cold at all; we must get back inside as quickly as we can!’

Sigrid answered, ‘I won’t go out with things as they are! All of those who are dead are standing there before the door; among them I recognize your husband Thorstein and myself as well. How horrible to see it!’

When it had passed, she spoke: ‘I don’t see them now.’

Thorstein, whom she had seen with a whip in his hand, ready to strike the dead, had also disappeared. They then entered the house.

Before morning came she was dead and a coffin was made for her body. That same day men were going fishing and Thorstein accompanied them down to where the boats were beached. Towards dusk he went again to check on their catch. Then Thorstein Eiriksson sent him word to come to him, saying there was no peace at home as the farmer’s wife was trying to rise up and get into the bed with him. When he entered she had reached the sideboards of the bed. He took hold of her and drove an axe into her breast.

Thorstein Eiriksson died near sundown. Thorstein told Gudrid to lie down and sleep; he would keep watch over the bodies that night, he said. Gudrid did so and soon fell asleep.

Only a little of the night had passed when Thorstein rose up, saying that he wished Gudrid to be summoned and wanted to speak to her: ‘It is God’s will that I be granted an exception for this brief time to improve my prospects.’

Thorstein went to Gudrid, woke her and told her to cross herself and ask the Lord for help – ‘Thorstein Eiriksson has spoken to me and said he wanted to see you. It is your decision; I will not advise you either way.’

She answered, ‘It may be that there is a purpose for this strange occurrence, and it will have consequences long to be remembered. I expect that God
will grant me his protection. I will take the chance, with God’s mercy, of speaking to him, as I cannot escape any threat to myself. I would rather he need not look farther, and I suspect that would be the alternative.’

Gudrid then went to see Thorstein, and he seemed to her to shed tears. He spoke several words in her ear in a low voice, so that she alone heard, and said that those men rejoiced who kept their faith well and it brought mercy and salvation. Yet he said many kept their faith poorly.

‘These practices will not do which have been followed here in Greenland after the coming of Christianity: burying people in unconsecrated ground with little if any service said over them. I want to have my corpse taken to a church, along with those of the other people who have died here. But Gardi should be burned on a pyre straight away, as he has caused all the hauntings which have occurred here this winter.’

He also spoke of his situation and declared that her future held great things in store, but he warned her against marrying a Greenlander. He also asked her to donate their money to a church or to poor people, and then he sank down for the second time.

It had been common practice in Greenland, since Christianity had been adopted, to bury people in unconsecrated ground on the farms where they died. A pole was set up on the breast of each corpse until a priest came, then the pole was pulled out and consecrated water poured into the hole and a burial service performed, even though this was only done much later.

The bodies were taken to the church in Eiriksfjord, and priests held burial services for them.

After this Thorbjorn died. All of his money went to Gudrid. Eirik invited her to live with them and saw that she was well provided for.

7
There was a man named Thorfinn Karlsefni, the son of Thord Horse-head who lived in north Iceland, at the place now called Reynines in Skagafjord. Karlsefni was a man of good family and good means. His mother was named Thorunn. He went on trading voyages and was a merchant of good repute.

One summer Karlsefni made his ship ready for a voyage to Greenland. Snorri Thorbrandsson of Alftafjord was to accompany him and they took a party of forty men with them.

A man named Bjarni Grimolfsson, from Breidafjord, and another named Thorhall Gamlason, from the East Fjords, made their ship ready the same summer as Karlsefni and were also heading for Greenland. There were forty men on their ship. The two ships set sail once they had made ready.

There is no mention of how long they were at sea. But it is said that both these ships sailed into Eiriksfjord that autumn.

Eirik rode to the ships, along with other Greenlanders, and busy trading commenced. The skippers of the vessels invited Eirik to take his pick of their wares, and Eirik repaid them generously, as he invited both crews home to stay the winter with him in Brattahlid. This the merchants accepted and went home with him. Their goods were later transported to Brattahlid, where there was no lack of good and ample outbuildings to store them in. The merchants were highly pleased with their winter stay with Eirik.

But as Yule approached, Eirik grew sadder than was his wont. On one occasion Karlsefni spoke to him privately and asked, ‘Is something troubling you, Eirik? You seem to me to be more silent than before. You have treated us very generously, and we owe it to you to repay you by any means we can. Tell me what is causing your sadness.’

Eirik answered, ‘You have also accepted with gratitude and respect, and I don’t feel that your contribution to our exchange has been lacking in any way. But I’ll regret it if word gets round that you’ve spent here a Yuletide as lean as the one now approaching.’

Karlsefni answered, ‘It won’t be that at all. We’ve malt and flour and grain aboard our ships, and you may help yourself to them as you will, to prepare a feast worthy of your generous hospitality.’

Eirik accepted this. Preparations for a Yule feast began, which proved to be so bountiful that men could scarcely recall having seen its like.

After Yule Karlsefni approached Eirik to ask for Gudrid’s hand, as it seemed to him that she was under Eirik’s protection, and both an attractive and knowledgeable woman. Eirik answered that he would support his suit, and that she was a fine match – ‘and it’s likely that her fate will turn out as prophesied,’ he added, even if she did marry Karlsefni, whom he knew to be a worthy man. The subject was broached with Gudrid and she allowed herself to be guided by Eirik’s advice. No more needs to be said on that point, except that the match was agreed and the celebrations extended to include the wedding which took place.

That winter there was much merrymaking in Brattahlid; many board games were played, there was storytelling and plenty of other entertainment to brighten the life of the household.

8
There were great discussions that winter in Brattahlid of Snorri and Karlsefni setting sail for Vinland, and people talked at length about it. In the end Snorri and Karlsefni made their vessel ready, intending to sail in search of Vinland that summer. Bjarni and Thorhall decided to accompany them on the voyage, taking their own ship and their companions who had sailed with them on the voyage out.

A man named Thorvard was married to Freydis, who was an illegitimate daughter of Eirik the Red. He went with them, along with Thorvald, Eirik’s son, and Thorhall who was called the Huntsman. For years he had accompanied Eirik on hunting trips in the summers, and was entrusted with many tasks. Thorhall was a large man, dark and coarse-featured; he was getting on in years and difficult to handle. He was a silent man, who was not generally given to conversation, devious and yet insulting in his speech, and who usually did his best to make trouble. He had paid scant heed to the faith since it had come to Greenland. Thorhall was not popular with most people but he had long been in Eirik’s confidence. He was among those on the ship with Thorvald and Thorvard, as he had a wide knowledge of the uninhabited regions. They had the ship which Thorbjorn had brought to Greenland and set sail with Karlsefni and his group. Most of the men aboard were from Greenland. The crews of the three ships made a hundred plus forty men.

They sailed along the coast to the western settlement, then to the Bear islands and from there with a northerly wind. After two days at sea they sighted land and rowed over in boats to explore it. There they found many flat slabs of stone, so large that two men could lie foot-to-foot across them. There were many foxes there. They gave the land the name Helluland (Stone-slab land).

After that they sailed with a northerly wind for two days, and again sighted land, with large forests and many animals. An island lay to the south-east, off the coast, where they discovered a bear, and they called it Bjarney (Bear Island), and the forested land itself Markland.

After another two days passed they again sighted land and approached the shore where a peninsula jutted out. They sailed upwind along the coast, keeping the land on the starboard. The country was wild with a long shoreline and sand flats. They rowed ashore in boats and, discovering the keel of a ship there, named this point Kjalàrnes (Keel point). They also gave the beaches the name Furdustrandir (Wonder beaches) for their surprising length. After this the coastline was indented with numerous inlets which they skirted in their ships.

When Leif had served King Olaf Tryggvason and was told by him to convert Greenland to Christianity, the king had given him two Scots, a man named Haki and a woman called Hekja. The king told him to call upon them whenever he needed someone with speed, as they were fleeter of foot than any deer. Leif and Eirik had sent them to accompany Karlsefni.

After sailing the length of the Furdustrandir, they put the two Scots ashore and told them to run southwards to explore the country and return before three days’ time had elapsed. They were dressed in a garment known as a
kjafal
, which had a hood at the top but no arms, and was open at the sides and fastened between the legs with a button and loop; they wore nothing else.

The ships cast anchor and lay to during this time.

After three days had passed the two returned to the shore, one of them with grapes in hand and the other with self-sown wheat. Karlsefni said that they had found good land. After taking them on board once more, they sailed onwards, until they reached a fjord cutting into the coast. They steered the ships into the fjord with an island near its mouth, where there were strong currents, and called the island Straumsey (Stream island). There were so many birds there that they could hardly walk without stepping on eggs. They sailed up into the fjord, which they called Straumsfjord, unloaded the cargo from the ships and began settling in.

They had brought all sorts of livestock with them and explored the land and its resources. There were mountains there, and a pleasant landscape. They paid little attention to things other than exploring the land. The grass there grew tall.

They spent the winter there, and it was a harsh winter, for which they had made little preparation, and they grew short of food and caught nothing when hunting or fishing. They went out to the island, expecting to find some prey to hunt or food on the beaches. They found little food, but their livestock improved there. After this they entreated God to send them something to eat, but the response was not as quick in coming as their need was urgent. Thorhall disappeared and men went to look for him. They searched for three days, and on the fourth Karlsefni and Bjarni found him at the edge of a cliff. He was staring skywards, with his mouth, nostrils and eyes wide open, scratching and pinching himself and mumbling something.

They asked what he was doing there, and he replied that it made no difference. He said they need not look so surprised and said for most of his life he had got along without their advice. They told him to come back with them and he did so.

Shortly afterwards they found a beached whale and flocked to the site to carve it up, although they failed to recognize what type it was. Karlsefni had a wide knowledge of whales, but even he did not recognize it. The cooks boiled the meat and they ate it, but it made everyone ill.

Thorhall then came up and spoke: ‘Didn’t Old Redbeard prove to be more help than your Christ? This was my payment for the poem I composed about Thor, my guardian, who’s seldom disappointed me.’

Once they heard this no one wanted to eat the whale meat, they cast it off a cliff and threw themselves on God’s mercy. The weather improved so they could go fishing, and from then on they had supplies in plenty.

In the spring they moved further into Straumsfjord and lived on the produce of both shores of the fjord: hunting game inland, gathering eggs on the island and fishing at sea.