§1. ERIC THE RED AND THE COLONIZATION OF GREENLAND
This passage is common to all versions of the story. The source is
Landnámabók, II. 14, which is accordingly the text followed here.
The transcript in the Flatey Book is somewhat abridged. Additional
matter supplied by any version of the story is given in italics.
Thorvald, son of Oswald, son of Wolf, son of Oxen-Thori, and Eric the
Red, his son, came from Jæderen (in Norway) to Iceland because they
were implicated in homicide. _Iceland was then largely settled._[2]
They took land in Hornstrands, and lived at Drange, where Thorvald
died. Eric then married Thjodhild, daughter of Jörund Atlison and
Thorberga the Ship-breasted, who at that time was married to Thorbjörn
of Haukadal. Eric then moved from the north, and cleared ground in
Haukadal, and settled at Ericstad near Vatshorn. _Eric and Thjodhild
had a son called Leif._[2] Now Eric’s slaves sent down a landslide
on the house of Valthjof at Valthjofstad. Eyulf Saur, a relation of
Valthjof, killed the slaves near Skeidsbrekka above Vatshorn. For
this Eric killed Eyulf Saur; he also killed Hrafn the Duellist at
Leikskáli. Geirstein and Odd of Jörfi, Eyulf’s relations, prosecuted
Eric, whereupon he was banished from Haukadal. He then took Brokey and
Öxney, and lived at Trade in Suderey the first winter. At this juncture
he lent his hall-beams[3] to Thorgest. Afterwards Eric moved to Öxney,
and lived at Ericstad. He then asked for his beams and failed to get
them. _Thence arose the quarrels and fights with Thorgest and his party
which are related in Eric’s Saga._[4] [Thereupon he went in search of
his beams to Breidabolstad, but Thorgest came after him. They fought a
short way from the farm at Drange, where two sons of Thorgest fell, and
some other men. After this both sides had a numerous following.[5] Styr
_Thorgrim’s son_[4] helped Eric _in the proceedings_[4] as did Eyulf of
Sviney, the sons of Thorbrand of Alptafjord and Thorbjörn Vifilson; but
the sons of Thord Gelli and Thorgeir of Hitadal, Aslak from Langadal
and his son Illugi sided with Thorgest. Eric and his men were outlawed
at the Thorsness sessions. He made ready his ship in Ericsvág, but
Eyulf hid him in Dimunavág while Thorgest and his men were looking for
him about the islands. Thorbjörn and Eyulf and Styr escorted Eric out
round the islands. He told them that he intended to look for the land
which Gunnbjörn, son of Wolf the Crow, sighted when he was driven west
past Iceland, when he discovered Gunnbjörn’s skerry. He said that he
would come back and look up his friends if he discovered the country,
_and they parted on the best of terms. Eric said that he would repay
them with such help as lay in his power if they should happen to need
him._[6] Eric sailed out to sea past Snæfellsjökul, and arrived (on the
Greenland coast) near Midjökul, which is now called Bláserk[7]; thence
he sailed south along the coast, to ascertain if it was habitable
there. He was the first winter at Ericsey near the centre of the
Western Settlement[8]; the following spring he came to Ericsfjord, and
took himself a site there. He went that summer to the western wilds,
_where he remained a long time_[9]: he gave names to places there over
a wide tract. The next winter he was at Ericsholm off Hvarfsgnipa,
but the third summer he went right up north to Snæfell, and into
Hrafnsfjord. Then he claimed to have come to the head of Ericsfjord.
At this point he turned back, and he was at Ericsey off the mouth of
Ericsfjord the third winter. But afterwards, in the summer, he returned
to Iceland, and arrived in Breidafjord.
[He passed that winter with Ingolf at Holmlat. In the spring he was
attacked by Thorgest and his men, and Eric was then defeated; after
which they were reconciled.[10] That summer Eric went to colonize the
country which he had discovered, and called it Greenland, stating as
his reason that men would be much attracted thither if the country had
a good name.[11]
Learned men tell us that the same summer _that Eric the Red went to
colonize Greenland_[12] twenty-five ships[13] set sail from Breidafjord
and Borgafjord, but only fourteen arrived at their destination: some
were driven back, and some were lost. This was fifteen winters before
Christianity was legally established in Iceland. _Bishop Frederic and
Thorvald Kodranson came out (to Iceland) the same summer._[12]
The following men who went out at this time with Eric took land in
Greenland:—Herjulf took Herjulfsfjord, he lived at Herjulfsness;
Ketil (took) Ketilsfjord; Hrafn, Hrafnsfjord; Sölvi, Sölvadal;
Helgi[14] Thorbrandson, Alptafjord; Thorbjörn Glora, Siglufjord;
Einar, Einarsfjord; Hafgrim, Hafgrimsfjord and Vatnahverfi; Arnlaug,
Arnlaugsfjord; but some went to the Western Settlement.
NOTE, _Hall-pillars_. ‘Setstokkar’ are strictly speaking the
horizontal beams running between the central hall and the side
aisles on to which the bedrooms opened. They were frequently
carved with the figures of Thor, or other heathen deities, and
were a sacred and valuable family possession. The loan of such
articles is difficult to explain, as they would be necessary to
their owner, and at first sight of no use to a temporary borrower.
Eric, however, had not at the time settled down in his new home; he
would wait to build a suitable house until he had definitely fixed
upon a site, and in the meantime presumably would not require his
‘setstokkar’. It may be that Thorgest represented that he wished
to copy them, but we know of another use to which such things
were put, which may throw some light on the matter. When Ingolf,
the founder of the colony, wished to select a home for himself in
Iceland, we are told that he ‘threw overboard the pillars of his
holy place (öndugis sulur) for an omen, saying that he would settle
in that place where the pillars came to land’ (Landnáma, 1. 6).
This practice was evidently widely adopted, for we read (Landnáma,
3. 7) how Kraku-Hreidar ‘said that he would not throw his pillars
overboard, saying that he considered it a poor thing to determine
his plans in that way’. That ‘setstokkar’ were used in the same
way as ‘öndugis sulur’ is shown by another passage in Landnáma
(5. 9) where ‘Hástein threw his setstokkar overboard after the
time-honoured custom’. There is something analogous in the usage,
which is recorded in various traditions of the Scottish Highlands,
whereby a man would take up his residence where the packs first
fell from his horse after he set out on his travels. Thorgest was
no doubt a native of Iceland, for he was the son of Stein the
Great Sailor, who was settled in Breidabolstad, still he may have
required supernatural aid in the choice of a new home.
§2. THE ADVENTURE OF BJARNI HERJULFSON
From the Flatey Book.
Herjulf was a son of Bard the son of Herjulf, who was related to Ingolf
the founder of the Iceland colony. Ingolf gave land between Vóg and
Reykjaness to Herjulf (the elder) and his people. Herjulf (the younger)
lived first at Drepstok. He had a wife named Thorgerd, and their son
was Bjarni, a very promising man. He had taken to foreign voyages
from his youth. This brought him both wealth and credit, and he used
to spend his winters alternately abroad and with his parents. Bjarni
soon had a trading-ship of his own, and the last winter that he was in
Norway was when Herjulf undertook the voyage to Greenland with Eric,
and removed his home there. Herjulf had on board his ship a Christian
from the Hebrides, who composed the Song of the Tidal Wave, which
contains this verse:—
Almighty God, to whom alone
The hearts of all thy saints are known,
Sinless and just, to thee I pray
To guide me on my dangerous way:
Lord of the heavens that roof the land,
Hold o’er me thy protecting hand.
Herjulf settled at Herjulfsness; he was held in the greatest respect.
Eric the Red lived at Brattahlid; he was the most distinguished person
there, and was obeyed by all. Eric’s children were Leif, Thorvald, and
Thorstein, and a daughter named Freydis, who was married to a man named
Thorvard: they lived at Garda, where the cathedral is now: she was
a very haughty woman, but Thorvard was a man of no account; she was
married to him mainly for his money. People were heathen in Greenland
at that time.
Bjarni arrived in his ship at Eyrar in the summer of the same year
in the spring of which his father had sailed away. Bjarni was much
concerned at the news, and would not discharge his cargo. His crew
thereupon asked him what he meant to do; he replied that he meant to
keep to his custom of passing the winter with his parents, ‘and I
will’, said he, ‘take my ship on to Greenland, if you will accompany
me’. They all said that they would abide by his decision; upon which
Bjarni remarked, ‘Our voyage will be considered rash, since none of us
have been in Greenland waters.’ Notwithstanding this they put to sea as
soon as they had got ready, and they sailed for three days before the
land was laid; but then the fair wind ceased, and north winds and fogs
came on, and they did not know where they were going, and this went on
for many days. After this they saw the sun, and so were able to get
their bearings, whereupon they hoisted sail, and after sailing that day
they saw land, and they discussed among themselves what land this could
be, but Bjarni said he fancied that it could not be Greenland. They
asked him whether he would sail to this land or not. ‘I am for sailing
in close to the land’, he said, and on doing so they soon saw that the
land was not mountainous, and was covered with wood, and that there
were small knolls on it, whereupon they left the land on the port side,
and let the sheet turn towards it. Then after sailing two days they
saw another land. They asked Bjarni if he thought this was Greenland;
he said that he did not think this was Greenland any more than the
first place, ‘for it is said that there are very large glaciers in
Greenland’. They soon neared this land, and saw that it was a flat
country and covered with wood. At this point the fair wind dropped,
whereupon the crew suggested that they should land there: but Bjarni
would not. They considered that they were short both of wood and water.
‘You are in no want of either’, said Bjarni, but he got some abuse for
this from his crew. He ordered them to hoist sail, which was done, and
they turned the bows from the land, and sailed out to sea for three
days before a south-westerly breeze, when they saw the third land: now
this land was high and mountainous, with ice upon it. So they asked if
Bjarni would put in there, but he said that he would not, since—as he
put it—this land appeared to him to be good for nothing. Then without
lowering sail they kept on their course along the coast, and saw that
it was an island: once more they turned the bows away from the land,
and held out to sea with the same breeze; but the wind increased, so
that Bjarni told them to reef, and not crowd more sail than their ship
and rigging could stand. They now sailed for four days, when they
saw the fourth land. Then they asked Bjarni if he thought this was
Greenland, or not. Bjarni replied, ‘This is most like what was told me
of Greenland, and here we will keep our course towards the land.’ So
they did, and that evening they came to land under a cape, which had
a boat on it, and there on that cape lived Herjulf, Bjarni’s father,
and it is from him that the cape received its name, and has since been
called Herjulfsness.
Bjarni now went to his father, and gave up voyaging, and he was with
his parents as long as Herjulf was alive, and afterwards he succeeded
his parents, and lived there.
§3. OF THORBJÖRN VIFILSON
This passage is a translation from the text of Eric’s saga,
collated with that of Hauk’s Book. Both are an accurate abridgement
from the Landnámabók. The words italicized are in Hauk’s book only.
There was a _warrior_ king named Olaf, who was called Olaf the White.
He was a son of King Ingjald, son of Helgi, son of Olaf, son of
Gudröd, son of Halfdan Whitelegs King of the Uplands. Olaf made a
raiding voyage in the West, and conquered Dublin in Ireland and the
Dublin district, and made himself king over it. He married Aud the
Very Wealthy, daughter of Ketil Flatnose, son of Björn Buni, a great
man from Norway. Their son was called Thorstein the Red. Olaf fell
in battle in Ireland, whereupon Aud and Thorstein went away to the
Hebrides. There Thorstein married Thurid, daughter of Eyvind Eastman
and sister of Helgi the Lean: they had many children. Thorstein became
a warrior king: he joined forces with _Earl_ Sigurd the Rich, son of
Eystein Glumri. They won Caithness and Sutherland, Ross and Moray,
and more than half Scotland. Thorstein made himself king over this
district, until the Scots betrayed him, and he fell there in battle.
Aud was in Caithness when she heard of Thorstein’s fall. Thereupon she
had a vessel built secretly in the wood, and when she was ready she
sailed for the Orkneys. There she gave in marriage Thorstein the Red’s
daughter Gró, who became the mother of Grelada, whom Earl Thorfinn the
Skull-cleaver married. After this Aud went to look for Iceland; she had
twenty free men on board. Aud came to Iceland, and stayed the first
winter in Björnhaven with her brother Björn. Later on Aud took all the
Dalelands between the rivers Dogurda and Skraumuhlaup, and she lived at
Hvamm. She had a private chapel at Crossholes, where she had a cross
set up, for she was baptized and of the true faith.
With her came out many distinguished men, who had been captured in the
western raids and were nominally slaves. One of these was named Vifil.
He was a man of good family, who had been taken captive beyond the
western sea, and was nominally a slave until Aud freed him. And when
Aud gave homes to her crew Vifil asked her why she did not give him
a home like the rest. Aud said that it would make no difference, and
remarked that he would be considered noble as he was. (Later on) Aud
gave him Vifilsdal, and he settled there. He had a wife. Their sons
were Thorgeir and Thorbjörn[15]: they were promising men, and they grew
up with their parents.
§4. GUDRID COMES TO GREENLAND
Translation from the saga of Eric the Red: there are no material
variations in Hauk’s Book.
Thorgeir Vifilson married, taking Arnora, daughter of Einar of
Laugarbrekka, the son of Sigmund, the son of Ketil Thistil,
who had taken Thistilsfjord. Einar had another daughter, named
Hallveig; Thorbjörn married her, getting with her Laugarbrekkaland
at Hellisvelli. Thorbjörn moved his home there, and became a most
respected man. He was a local chief (goði), and had a magnificent
estate. The daughter of Thorbjörn was called Gudrid; she was a very
beautiful woman and most noble in all her behaviour.
There was a man called Orm, who lived at Arnarstapi. He had a wife
named Halldis. Orm was a well-to-do yeoman, and a great friend of
Thorbjörn, and Gudrid was brought up for a long time in his home. There
was a man called Thorgeir, who lived at Thorgeirsfell. He was well off
for money and had been freed from slavery. He had a son named Einar,
who was a fine man and well-bred; he was also a great dandy. Einar was
engaged in the trade between Iceland and Norway, a business in which he
throve; he stayed alternate winters for an equal time in Iceland and
Norway. Now at this point it must be told how one autumn when Einar was
out here he went out with his wares along Snæfellness to sell them. He
came to Arnarstapi. Orm asked him to stop there, and Einar accepted,
for they were friends. His wares were carried into an outhouse. Einar
opened his wares and showed them to Orm and his household, inviting
him to take what he liked. Orm accepted, saying that Einar was a good
sailor and a very lucky man. Now as they were engaged over the wares a
woman passed the door of the outhouse. Einar asked Orm, ‘Who may that
beautiful woman be who passed by the door there? I have not seen her
here before.’ ‘That is Gudrid, my foster-child,’ replied Orm, ‘daughter
of squire Thorbjörn of Laugarbrekka.’ ‘She would be a good match,’
said Einar, ‘but I suppose more than one man has come to ask for her
hand.’ ‘Certainly there have been proposals, my friend,’ answered Orm,
‘but she is not to be snapped up by the first comer; it is thought
that both she and her father will prove particular.’ ‘However that may
be,’ said Einar, ‘she is the woman I mean to ask in marriage, so I
wish that you would take up the suit for me with her father, and put
all your mind into the matter to bring it about: for I shall consider
it a most friendly act on your part. Squire Thorbjörn should see that
a union between us would be a good thing, since he is a man of good
standing and of good estate, but I am told that his wealth is greatly
decreasing, while I and my father have no lack of land or goods, and
it will be the strongest support to Thorbjörn if this proposal is
accepted.’ ‘Certainly I consider myself a friend of yours,’ replied
Orm, ‘but still I am unwilling to undertake this suit, for Thorbjörn is
quick-tempered and a very proud man as well.’ Einar said that he would
be content with nothing but that his proposal should be conveyed. Orm
said he would undertake it. Einar went back south till he came home.
Some time afterwards Thorbjörn had a harvest festivity, as was his
custom, for he was a man of a very generous disposition. Orm came there
from Arnarstapi, and many others of Thorbjörn’s friends. Orm spoke to
Thorbjörn, and said that Einar had arrived there from Thorgeirsfell,
and that he had grown into a promising man. Then Orm started the
proposal for Einar’s hand, and said that it would be a good thing for
various reasons. ‘It might become a great source of strength to you,
squire, from the pecuniary point of view.’ Thorbjörn replied, ‘I did
not expect you to say such a thing as that I should give my daughter
in marriage to the son of a slave. You evidently think that my wealth
is on the wane, and Gudrid shall not stay with you any more, since you
think her suited to so poor a match.’ After this Orm and all the other
guests went home. Gudrid stayed thenceforward with her parents, and was
at home that winter.
But in spring Thorbjörn gave a party and a good feast was prepared:
many people came, and the feast was of the best. And at the feast
Thorbjörn prayed silence and spoke as follows:—‘I have lived here a
long time, I have experienced men’s goodwill and love towards me, and
I admit that we have got on well together in our intercourse. But now
my fortune is beginning to run low, though it has hitherto been thought
no unworthy one. Now I will rather shift my home than lose my standing,
rather quit the country than disgrace my family; so now I am resolved
to fall back upon the word of my friend Eric the Red, which he gave me
when we parted in Breidafjord, so now I mean to travel to Greenland
this summer, if things go as I wish.’
This decision created a great sensation among the audience,—Thorbjörn
had long been popular—but they felt sure that Thorbjörn, having made
this announcement so publicly, could not be prevailed upon to draw
back. Thorbjörn made presents to the guests, after which the banquet
came to an end and the men went back to their homes. Thorbjörn sold his
estates and bought a ship which was lying at the mouth of Hraunhaven.
Thirty men accompanied him on his voyage. Orm of Arnarstapi and his
wife were there, and such of Thorbjörn’s friends as were unwilling to
part with him. Thereupon they put to sea. The weather was fine when
they set out, but when they came into the ocean the fair breeze took
off and they were caught in a great storm, and they made slow progress
during the summer. Next a plague attacked their party, and Orm and
Halldis his wife and half of them died. The sea began to rise, and
they underwent a great deal of exhaustion and misery in many ways, yet
they reached Herjulfsness in Greenland just as the winter began. Now
a man named Thorkel lived at Herjulfsness. He was a good man and the
principal landowner. He took in Thorbjörn and all his crew for the
winter. Thorkel entertained them liberally. Thorbjörn and all his crew
were well satisfied.
§5. GUDRID AND THE SIBYL
Translation from the saga of Eric the Red, collated with Hauk’s
Book. Passages italicized occur only in Hauk’s Book.
At this time there was a great famine in Greenland; those men who had
gone fishing had made but a small catch, while some did not return.
There was in the settlement a woman named Thorbjörg; she was a
prophetess, and was called the little sibyl. She had had nine sisters,
who were all gifted with prophecy, but she alone remained alive.
Thorbjörg was accustomed to attend banquets in the winter, and she was
especially invited by those who were curious about their fate or the
prospects of the season. And since Thorkel was the principal landowner
there, he thought he would approach her to find out when these times
of scarcity which were oppressing them would cease. Thorkel asked the
prophetess to his house, where a good welcome was prepared for her,
as was customary when this sort of woman was received. A throne was
made ready for her, and a cushion laid beneath, in which there were
hen’s feathers. Now when she came in the evening with the man who had
been sent to fetch her she was attired as follows:—she had on a blue
mantle, which was set with stones down to the hem; she had a rosary
of glass on her neck and a black hood of lambskin lined with white
catskin on her head, and she had a staff in her hand with a knob on it:
it was ornamented with brass, and set with stones down from the knob:
round her waist she had a belt of amadou on which was a great skin
bag, in which she kept those charms which she needed for her art. On
her feet she wore hairy calfskin shoes, the thongs of which were long
and strong-looking and had great buttons of lateen on the ends. On her
hands she had catskin gloves, which were white inside and furry.
Now when she came in every one thought it right to offer her courteous
greetings, which she received according as they were agreeable to
her. Squire Thorkel took the wise-woman by the hand, and led her to
the throne which was ready for her. Thorkel then asked her to run her
eyes over household and herd and home there. She spoke little about
it all. In the evening a table was brought in, and at this point it
must be told what food was made ready for the prophetess. There was
made for her porridge of goat’s beestings, and for her food there were
provided hearts of all living creatures which were obtainable; she had
a brass spoon, and a knife with an ivory handle bound with copper, and
the point was broken off. But when the table was cleared away Squire
Thorkel approached Thorbjörg, and asked what she thought of the house,
or the behaviour of the men, or how soon those things would become
known to her which he had asked and men wished to know. She told him
that she would not say before the following morning, when she had first
slept the night.
But on the morrow late in the day the necessary preparations were made
for her to carry out the spell. She asked that such women should be
procured for her as were instructed in the knowledge which was needed
for the spell, and was called ‘varðlokkur’.[16] But no such women were
found, whereupon a search was made about the house to find if any one
knew these things. Then Gudrid said, ‘I am not skilled in magic, nor a
wise-woman, but Halldis my foster-mother taught me in Iceland that art
which she called “varðlokkur”.’ ‘Then you are wiser than I thought,’
answered Thorbjörg. ‘This is a kind of lore and a proceeding’, said
Gudrid, ‘which I intend in no way to forward, since I am a Christian
woman.’ ‘It may be’, said Thorbjörg, ‘that you might become useful to
the company in this matter, yet be no worse woman than before; however
I will leave it to Thorkel to procure those things which are necessary
to me.’ At this Thorkel urged Gudrid till she said she would do as he
wished.
The women then made a circle about the platform, while Thorbjörg sat
on the top of it; Gudrid sang the song so beautifully and well that
those who were by thought that none had heard the song sung with a more
beautiful voice. The prophetess thanked her for the song, and said that
she had brought many spirits there who thought it delightful to hear
the chant, _since it was so well done_, ‘who before wished to keep
themselves aloof from us, and not to yield us any assistance: and many
of those things are now clear to me which before were hidden from me
and others. Now I can say that this famine will not last longer _than
this winter_, and that the season will improve as the spring comes: the
sickness which has so long oppressed you will grow better sooner than
was hoped. But you, Gudrid, I will reward at once for the help which
has been received from you, for your fate is now quite clear to me.
You shall make the most distinguished match here in Greenland that is
open to you, though it will not last you long, for your ways lie out to
Iceland, where a great lineage and a good shall come from you, and over
the branches of your stock bright rays shall shine. But now farewell
and prosper, daughter mine.’
After this people approached the wise-woman, and every one inquired
about that which he was most curious to know, and she was free with
information, and that which she told turned out true. Next she was
sent for from other houses, and she went there. Then they sent for
Thorbjörn, for he would not be in the house while such heathen rites
were in progress. The state of the weather improved quickly when spring
came, as Thorbjörg had said. Thorbjörn made ready his ship and sailed
till he came to Brattahlid. Eric received him with open arms, and said
that he had done right to come there. Thorbjörn and his family passed
the winter with him, _but they lodged the crew with the farmers_. Later
in the spring Eric gave Thorbjörn land at Stokkaness, and a fine house
was built there, where he lived thenceforward.
§6. LEIF GOES TO NORWAY
From the Saga of Eric the Red, collated with Hauk’s Book.
At that time Eric had a wife named Thjodhild, and by her two sons,
one called Thorstein and the other Leif. They were both likely men.
Thorstein lived at home with his parents, and no man in Greenland was
considered so promising as he. Leif had sailed to Norway, and was with
king Olaf Tryggvason. But when Leif sailed from Greenland in the summer
they were driven by storms to the Hebrides. It was a long time before
they had a fair wind thence, and they made a protracted stay there in
the summer. Leif was attracted by a woman there, named Thorgunna.[17]
She was a woman of good family, and Leif formed the opinion that she
was gifted with supernatural knowledge. Now when Leif prepared to go
away Thorgunna asked to go with him. Leif asked whether this would have
the approval of her kin. She said that as to that she did not care.
Leif replied that he could not carry off a lady of such high birth in
an unknown country, especially considering how small a force he had.
‘It is not certain that the course which appeals to you is best,’ said
Thorgunna. ‘I must risk that,’ said Leif. ‘Then I tell you’, said
Thorgunna, ‘that I shall not suffer alone. I am with child, and I say
that the child is yours. I prophesy that it will be a boy when it is
born. And though you will not pay any heed still I will bring up the
boy, and send him to Greenland as soon as he can go with other men. And
I prophesy that the possession of this son will turn out such a joy as
befits our parting. And I intend myself to come to Greenland before the
end.’ Leif gave her a gold ring, and a cloak of Greenland homespun, and
a belt of (walrus) ivory. This boy came to Greenland, and was named
Thorgils. Leif accepted paternity; some men say that this Thorgils came
to Iceland in the summer of the Froda miracle. But anyhow Thorgils came
to Greenland, where it was thought that there was something uncanny
about him up to the last.
Leif and his men sailed away from the Hebrides, and reached Norway in
the autumn. Leif joined the court of king Olaf Tryggvason. The king
treated him with honour, evidently recognizing that he must be a man of
good breeding.
One day the king spoke to Leif, and said, ‘Do you mean to go out to
Greenland this summer?’ ‘Yes,’ said Leif, ‘with your consent.’ ‘I think
it will be well,’ replied the king, ‘you shall go with my mission, and
preach Christianity in Greenland.’ Leif said he would consider it, but
added that he thought such a mission would have a difficult task in
Greenland. The king, however, said that he knew no fitter person for
it than he, adding, ‘you will bring it good luck.’ ‘If so, the luck
will be solely derived from you,’ said Leif.[18]
* * * * *
Leif landed in Ericsfjord, and went home afterwards to Brattahlid,
where he was well received. He soon started preaching about the country
Christianity and the Catholic Faith, and published the message of King
Olaf Tryggvason, and told how great glory and treasure accompanied
this creed. Eric was slow to abandon his religion, but Thjodhild was
soon won over, and she had a church built, though not in the immediate
neighbourhood of the houses, which was called Thjodhild’s Church: there
she, and her fellow-converts, who were many, used to offer up their
prayers. Thjodhild would not live with Eric after her conversion, and
this he took very much to heart.
NOTE. _Thorgunna and the Froda Miracle._ From the mention of the
Froda miracle it is clear that this must be the same Thorgunna
who is mentioned in the Eyrbyggja Saga (R. L. Stevenson’s _Waif
Woman_). On the other hand, neither the chronology nor the
description of Thorgunna can be reconciled in the two sagas.
According to Eyrbyggja (chap. 50) Thorgunna came to Iceland in the
summer in which Christianity was legally established (A.D. 1000),
and the Froda miracle, which was concerned with her death, followed
immediately afterwards; Thorgils, her son, could not therefore
have come to Iceland at this time unless he accompanied her as
an infant, and he is not stated to have done so. Again, though
the Eyrbyggja Saga agrees in describing Thorgunna as a Hebridean,
and states that she had valuable dresses and other property with
her, it gives the following account of her personal appearance,
which does not suggest the maiden victim of Leif’s early
passion:—‘Thorgunna was a woman of great size, broad and tall and
very fat, swarthy and with eyes set close together, with a quantity
of brown hair; most men considered that she would have reached
the sixties.’ The words in Eric’s Saga, ‘some men say’, suggest
that there were various accounts of the matter. As the whole story
of the Froda miracle is obviously incredible, there may well be
some inaccuracy about the date of her arrival in Iceland, which is
really all that is required to reconcile the two stories.
§7. LEIF DISCOVERS WINELAND
From the Flatey Book.
Now the next event to be recorded (after the death of Olaf Tryggvason,
September 1000) is that Bjarni Herjulfson came over from Greenland to
Earl Eric (who became the ruler of a large part of Norway after Olaf’s
death), and the earl gave him a good reception. Bjarni told the story
of his voyage when he saw the (strange) lands, but people thought that
he had been lacking in curiosity, since he had nothing to report about
those countries, and some fault was found with him on this account.
Bjarni was made an officer of the earl’s court, but the following
summer he went out to Greenland.
There was now much talk of exploration. Leif, Eric the Red’s son from
Brattahlid, went to Bjarni Herjulfson and bought a ship of him, and
engaged a crew of thirty-five men. Leif asked his father Eric still
to be leader of the expedition.[19] Eric excused himself, saying that
he was now an old man, and less fitted to bear all the hardships than
formerly. Leif said that he was still the member of the family who
would bring the best luck; Eric thereupon gave way to Leif, and as soon
as they were ready for it he rode from home, and came to within a
short distance of the ship. The horse which Eric was riding stumbled,
and he fell off and hurt his foot. Then Eric said, ‘I am not fated to
discover more countries than this in which we are now settled, and we
ought not to bear one another company any longer.’ So Eric went home
to Brattahlid, but Leif went on board with his companions, thirty-five
men. There was a southerner (German) on the expedition called Tyrker.
Now they prepared their ship, and when they were ready they put to
sea, and they found first the country which Bjarni found last. There
they sailed up to the land, and having cast anchor and lowered a boat
went ashore, and saw no grass there. The background was all great
glaciers, and all the intermediate land from the sea to the glaciers
was like one flat rock, and the country seemed to them destitute of
value. Then Leif said, ‘We have not failed to land, like Bjarni; now I
will give this country a name, and call it Helluland (the land of flat
stone).’ Thereupon they returned on board, after which they sailed to
sea and discovered the second land. Again they sailed up to the land
and cast anchor, then lowered the boat and went ashore. This land was
low-lying and wooded, and wherever they went there were wide stretches
of white sand, and the slope from the sea was not abrupt. Then Leif
said, ‘This land shall be given a name from its resources, and shall be
called Markland (woodland),’ after which they returned to the ship as
quickly as possible. And they sailed after that in the open sea with a
north-east wind, and were out two days before they saw land, towards
which they sailed, and having come to an island which lay to the north
of the mainland they landed on it, the weather being fine, and looked
round; and they perceived that there was a dew on the grass, and it
came about that they put their hands in the dew, and carried it to
their mouths, and thought that they had never known anything so sweet
as that was. Then they went back to the ship, and sailing into the
sound which lay between the island and the cape which ran north from
the mainland they steered a westerly course past the cape. It was very
shallow there at low tide, so that their ship ran aground, and soon it
was a long way from the ship to the sea. But they were so very eager to
get to land that they would not wait for the tide to rise under their
ship, but hurried ashore where a river came out of a lake; but when
the sea had risen under their ship they took the boat and rowed to the
ship, and took her up the river and afterwards into the lake, where
they cast anchor, and carrying their leather kitbags ashore they put up
shelters, but later, on deciding to pass the winter there, they made
large houses.
There was no want of salmon, either in the river or the lake, and
bigger salmon than they had seen before; the amenities of the country
were such, as it seemed to them, that no cattle would need fodder there
in the winter; there came no frost in the winter, and the grass did not
wither there much. Day and night were more equally divided there than
in Greenland or Iceland: on the shortest day the sun was up over the
(Icelandic) marks for both nones and breakfast time.[20]
Now when they had finished building their houses, Leif said to his
men, ‘Now I will divide our party into two, and have the country
explored: and one half shall stay at home in camp while the other
explores the country, going no further than they can return by the
evening, and not separating.’ And so for a time they did this, Leif
sometimes going with the explorers and at others staying at home in
camp. Leif was a big, strong man, the handsomest of men in appearance,
and clever; in fact he was in all respects an excellent commander.
It happened one evening that a man of their party was missing, and
this was Tyrker the southerner. Leif was much distressed at this, for
Tyrker had been long with his father and him, and had been very fond
of Leif as a child: so now Leif, after finding great fault with his
men, prepared to look for him, taking a dozen men with him. But when
they had got a little way from camp Tyrker came towards them, and was
received with joy. Leif saw at once that his foster-father was in good
spirits.
Tyrker had a projecting forehead and a very small face with roving
eyes; he was a small and insignificant man, but handy at every kind of
odd job.
Then Leif said to him, ‘Why are you so late, my foster-father, and why
did you separate from your companions?’ Tyrker at this spoke for a long
time in German, rolling his eyes and grimacing, but the others did not
distinguish what he was saying. But a little later he said in Norse, ‘I
did not go much further than you, (but) I have found something fresh to
report. I found vines and grapes.’ ‘Is that true, foster-father?’ said
Leif. ‘Certainly it is true,’ he replied, ‘for I was born where there
was no lack of vines or grapes.’
Now they slept that night, but in the morning Leif said to his crew,
‘We will now do two things, keeping separate days for each; we will
gather grapes and cut down vines, and fell wood, to make a cargo for
my ship,’ and this suggestion was adopted. The story goes that their
pinnace was full of grapes. So a cargo was cut for the ship, and in
spring they made ready and sailed away, and Leif gave the country a
name according to its resources, and called it Wineland.
So after this they put to sea, and the breeze was fair till they
sighted Greenland, and the mountains under its glaciers. Then a man
spoke up and said to Leif, ‘Why are you steering the ship so much into
the wind?’ ‘I am paying attention to my steering,’ replied Leif, ‘but
to something else as well: what do you see that is strange?’ They
said they could see nothing remarkable. ‘I do not know’, said Leif,
‘whether it is a ship or a reef that I see.’ Then they saw it, and said
that it was a reef. But Leif was longer sighted than they, so that he
saw men on the reef. ‘Now,’ said Leif, ‘I wish that we should beat up
wind, so as to reach them if they need our help and it is necessary
to assist them, and if they are not peaceably disposed we are masters
of the situation and they are not.’ So they came up to the reef, and
lowered their sail and cast anchor: and they launched a second dinghy
that they had with them. Then Tyrker asked who was the captain (of the
shipwrecked party). ‘His name is Thori,’ was the reply, ‘and he is a
Norseman, but what is your name?’ Leif told his name. ‘Are you a son
of Eric the Red of Brattahlid?’ said Thori. Leif assented. ‘Now,’ said
Leif, ‘I will take you all on board my ship, and as much of your stuff
as the ship can hold.’ They agreed to these terms, and afterwards they
sailed to Ericsfjord with this freight, until they came to Brattahlid
where they unloaded the ship. After that Leif invited Thori and Gudrid
his wife, and three other men to stay with him, and procured lodgings
for the rest of the crews, both Thori’s men and his own. Leif took
fifteen men from the reef; he was subsequently called Leif the lucky.
So Leif gained both wealth and honour. That winter Thori’s folk were
much attacked by sickness, and Thori and a great part of his crew
died.[21]
§8. THORVALD’S VOYAGE AND DEATH
Translation from the Flatey Book.
Now there was much discussion of Leif’s expedition to Wineland, and
Thorvald, his brother, thought that the exploration of the country had
been confined to too narrow an area. So Leif said to Thorvald, ‘If you
wish, brother, you shall go to Wineland in my ship: but I wish the ship
to go first for the wood which Thori had on the reef.’ And this was
done. Thereupon Thorvald prepared for this expedition, taking thirty
men, by the advice of Leif, his brother. Afterwards they made their
ship ready and held out to sea, and there is no report of their voyage
before they came to Wineland to Leif’s camp. There they laid up their
ship, and remained quiet that winter, catching fish for their food.
But in the spring Thorvald told them to make ready their ship, and
ordered the ship’s pinnace with some of the crew to go to the west of
the country and explore there during the summer. It seemed to them a
fine wooded country, the trees coming close down to the sea, and there
were white sands. There were many islands, and many shoals. They found
no traces either of men or beasts, except that on an island to the west
they found a wooden barn.[22] Finding no further human handiwork they
returned, and came to Leif’s camp in the autumn. But the next summer
Thorvald sailed to the east with his trading ship, and along the more
northerly part of the country: then a sharp storm arose off a cape, so
that they ran ashore, breaking the keel under their ship; so they made
a long stay there to repair their vessel. Then Thorvald said to his
companions, ‘Now I wish that we should raise up the keel here on the
cape, and call it Keelness,’ and so they did. Afterwards they sailed
away thence and eastward along the coast and into the nearest fjord
mouths, and to a headland which ran out there: it was all covered with
wood. Then they moored their ship, and put out the gangway to land,
and there Thorvald went ashore with all his crew. Then he remarked,
‘This is a beautiful spot, where I should like to make my home.’
After this they returned to the ship, and saw on the sands inside the
headland three lumps, and on approaching they saw three canoes of
skin, with three men beneath each. Thereupon they divided their party,
and laid hands on all of them, except one who escaped with his canoe.
They killed the eight, and afterwards went back to the headland,
when they saw inside in the fjord some mounds, which they took to be
dwelling-places. After this there came over them so great a heaviness
that they could not keep awake, and they all fell asleep. Then came
a cry above them, so that they all woke up, and the cry was, ‘Awake,
Thorvald, and all your company, if you value your life: and return to
your ship with all your men, and leave the land with all speed.’ At
that there came from within the fjord countless skin canoes, which
made towards them. So Thorvald said, ‘We must set the war-shields over
the side, and defend ourselves as well as we can, while assuming the
offensive but little.’ So they did, but the savages,[23] after shooting
at them for a while, afterwards fled away, each as quickly as he could.
Then Thorvald asked his men if they were wounded at all; they said
there were no casualties. ‘I have got a wound under the arm,’ said he;
‘an arrow flew between the gunwale and the shield under my arm and here
it is, and it will be my death. Now my advice is that you prepare to go
away as quickly as possible, after carrying me to that headland which
I thought the best place to dwell in: maybe it was the truth that came
into my mouth that I should stay there awhile. Bury me there with a
cross at my head and at my feet, and call it Crossness hereafter for
ever.’ Greenland was then converted, though Eric the Red died before
conversion.
Now Thorvald died, but they carried out all his instructions, after
which they went and met their companions, and told each other such
tidings as they knew, and they stayed there that winter, gathering
grapes and vines for their ship. Then in the spring they prepared to
go back to Greenland, and arrived with their ship in Ericsfjord, with
great news to tell Leif.
NOTE. ‘_A wooden barn_’. (_Kornhjálm af tre_). This is the only
allusion, direct or indirect, which is made to corn in the course
of the Flatey Book version. It is frequently referred to as one of
the absurdities affecting the credit of this part of the story.
But it does not seem to me to have any necessary or probable
connexion with the wild corn of the Saga of Eric. The ‘selfsown
wheat’ is never mentioned by the historian of the Flatey Book;
unlike the wild grapes, he does not seem to have heard of this
feature. It is therefore impossible to suppose that the barn is an
imaginary feature introduced to colour the reports of wild corn.
It is recorded merely as the only trace of human occupation met
with during the exploration conducted in the ship’s pinnace. And
its very inappropriateness to the uncultivated crops of which we
are told in the rival version seems to me a strong proof of its
authenticity. Like the whole of this part of the story, it is too
purposeless to be invented. We need not on this account imagine
that it actually was a barn. The storage of Indian corn in New
England, according to the earliest observers, was, for the most
part at any rate, in holes in the ground, and an island remote from
human habitation seems a most unlikely situation.
On the other hand, De Laet’s _Nieuwe Werelt_ reports Hudson as
having seen ‘a house well constructed of oak bark, and circular in
shape, so that it had the appearance of being well built, with an
arched roof. It contained a great quantity of maize or Indian corn,
and beans of the last year’s growth, and there lay near the house,
for the purpose of drying, enough to load three ships.’ (_Hudson
the Navigator_, Hakluyt Society, p. 161).
But there may easily be a different interpretation. ‘Hjálm’ in its
primary meaning is a conical helm, then a stack or cock of similar
shape, and so finally a building used to cover such a stack of
corn. Two possible explanations occur to me. One is that what was
seen and originally reported was a structure of poles and bark of
conical shape, and that the explorers, being unfamiliar at this
time with savage architecture, assumed that it was intended to
cover a rick of corn, which in shape it resembled. Alternatively it
may be that originally the reference was solely to its shape, and
not to its purpose, and that the first report mentioned a conical
‘stack’ of poles. In either case what was actually seen may well
have been a deserted wigwam of poles and bark such as the Micmacs
and other Indians build at the present day. In the earliest records
similar dwellings are described, while in some cases those observed
by Champlain appear to have been roughly dome-shaped at the top;
this, as a glance at those illustrated in the sketch-maps of that
writer will show, would give them even more exactly the form of
a cock of hay or corn. It seems to me that the knowledge of the
wild corn mentioned in Eric’s Saga and by Adam of Bremen has alone
diverted the minds of previous commentators from this, the most
probable explanation.
§9. THORSTEIN’S UNSUCCESSFUL VENTURE
Translation from the Flatey Book.
It had happened in Greenland, meanwhile, that Thorstein of Ericsfjord
had taken in marriage Thorbjörn’s daughter Gudrid, who, as has already
been mentioned, had been the wife of Thori Eastman. Now Thorstein
Ericson wished to go to Wineland for the body of Thorvald his brother,
so he made ready the same ship, choosing his crew for their strength
and size; and with twenty-five men and Gudrid his wife they put to
sea when they were ready, and lost sight of land. All the summer they
tossed about in the open, and did not know where they went, and in the
first week of winter they made the land at Lysefjord in Greenland in
the Western Settlement.
Thorstein looked for lodgings for the party, and got them for all his
crew, but he and his wife were houseless. So they remained behind by
the ship some two nights. Christianity was still new then in Greenland.
One day some men came to their tent early in the morning. So these
men who were there asked what persons were in the tent. Thorstein
replied: ‘Two persons,’ he said, ‘but who are you who ask?’ ‘My name
is Thorstein,’ (said one of the men), ‘and I am called Thorstein the
Black, but my errand here is to invite both of you to lodge with me.’
Thorstein said that he wished to consult his wife, but she told him
to decide, whereupon he accepted. ‘Then,’ (said the man), ‘I will come
for you to-morrow with a carthorse, for I have plenty of room to take
you in; but it is very dull to stay with me, for there are just the
two of us, my wife and I, and I am of a very obstinate disposition. I
hold a different faith from you, though I consider that which you hold
is superior.’ So then he came for them in the morning with a horse,
and they went to lodge with Thorstein the Black, and he treated them
well. Gudrid was a woman of striking appearance, and a clever woman
who could get on well with strangers. Early in the winter a plague
attacked Thorstein Ericson’s party, and many of his companions died
there. Thorstein ordered coffins to be made for the bodies of those who
died, and directed that they should be taken to the ship and looked
after, ‘for’, he said, ‘I wish to remove all the bodies to Ericsfjord
in the summer.’ Now after a short interval plague attacked Thorstein’s
house, and his wife, whose name was Grimhild, was the first to fall
ill. She was very energetic, and as strong as a man, yet the plague
got the better of her, and soon afterwards Thorstein Ericson caught
the plague, and they were both laid up at the same time: and Grimhild,
wife of Thorstein the Black, died. Now when she was dead Thorstein
(the Black) went out of the room for a plank to lay the body on. Then
Gudrid spoke: ‘Do not stay away long, my Thorstein,’ she said. He said
it should be as she wished. Then said Thorstein Ericson, ‘Wonderful
things are happening to our hostess now, for she is raising herself
up with her elbows, and moving her feet from the bench, and groping
for her shoes’: and with that Thorstein the owner of the place came
in, whereupon Grimhild laid herself down, and every beam in the room
creaked. Now Thorstein made a coffin for Grimhild’s body, and took
it away and made preparations. He was a big man and strong, but he
needed all this before he got her out of the house. Now the illness
of Thorstein Ericson grew worse, and he died. Gudrid his wife hardly
realized it. They were all in the room at the time. Gudrid had seated
herself on a chair before the bench on which Thorstein her husband
had been laid. Then Thorstein the owner of the house took Gudrid from
the chair in his arms, and sat on another bench with her opposite
Thorstein’s corpse, and spoke to her about it in many ways, and
comforted her, promising her that he would go with her to Ericsfjord
with the bodies of Thorstein her husband and his companions, and said,
‘I will also engage more servants here to console and entertain you.’
She thanked him. Then Thorstein Ericson sat up and cried, ‘Where is
Gudrid?’ Three times he said this, but she remained silent. Then she
said to Thorstein of the house, ‘Shall I answer his speech or not?’
He told her not to answer. Then Thorstein of the house crossed the
floor, and sat on the chair with Gudrid on his knees, and then he
spoke, saying, ‘What do you want, namesake?’ A moment passed, and the
other answered: ‘I am anxious to tell Gudrid her fortune, so that she
can the better bear my death, for I have come to a good resting-place.
Now there is this to tell you, Gudrid, that you will be married to a
man of Iceland, and your life together will be long, and a great line
of men will spring from you, vigorous, bright and good, sweet and of
a good savour. You will travel from Greenland to Norway, and thence
to Iceland, where you will build a home. There the two of you will
live long, and you will survive him. You will go abroad and make a
pilgrimage to Rome (lit.: go south), and come back home to Iceland,
and then a church will be built there where you will remain and take
the vows of a nun, and there you will die.’ Upon this Thorstein sank
back, and his body was prepared and carried to the ship. Thorstein of
the house thoroughly performed all that he had promised Gudrid. He sold
his land and livestock in the spring, and accompanied Gudrid to the
ship with all that was his; he made the ship ready and engaged a crew,
and then sailed away to Ericsfjord. The bodies were now buried by the
church. Gudrid went to Leif at Brattahlid, while Thorstein the Black
built a house on Ericsfjord, where he stayed during his life, being
considered the most chivalrous of men.
§10. THE EXPEDITION OF THORFIN KARLSEFNI
Translation from the text of the saga of Eric the Red collated with
that of Hauk’s Book. Passages in italics from Hauk’s Book only.
There was a man named _Thord, who lived at Höfda in Höfdastrand. He
married Fridgerda, daughter of Thori Hyma and of Fridgerda daughter of
Kjarval king of the Irish. Thord was a son of Björn Byrdusmör, son of
Thorvald Hrygg, son of Asleik, son of Björn Ironside, son of Ragnar
Shaggy-Breeches. They had a son called Snorri: he married Thorhild
Rype, a daughter of Thord Gelli: their son was Thord Horsehead. Thord
Horsehead had a son called_ Thorfin Karlsefni, who lived in the north
at Reynisness in Skagafjord, as it now is called. Besides being of a
good stock Karlsefni was a wealthy man. His mother’s name was Thorunn.
He was in the cruising trade, and had a good reputation as a sailor.
One summer Karlsefni made ready his ship for a voyage to Greenland.
Snorri Thorbrandson from Alptafjord joined him,[24] and they had forty
men with them. A man named Bjarni Grimolfson from Breidafjord, and
another called Thorhall Gamlison[25] from Eastfjord both made ready
their ship the same summer as Karlsefni to go to Greenland; they had
forty men on board. They put to sea with these two ships, when they
were ready. We are not told how long they were at sea; suffice it to
say that both these ships arrived at Ericsfjord in the autumn. Eric and
other settlers rode to the ships, where they began to trade freely: the
skippers told Gudrid[26] to help herself from their wares, but Eric was
not behindhand in generosity, for he invited the crews of both ships to
his home at Brattahlid for the winter. The traders accepted this offer
and went with Eric. Thereupon their stuff was removed to the house at
Brattahlid, where there was no lack of good large out-buildings in
which to store their goods, and the merchants had a good time with Eric
during the winter.
But as it drew towards Christmas Eric began to be less cheerful than
usual. One day Karlsefni came to speak to Eric, and said: ‘Is anything
the matter, Eric? It seems to me that you are rather more silent than
you used to be; you are treating us with the greatest generosity, and
we owe it to you to repay you so far as lies in our power, so tell us
what is troubling you.’ ‘You have been good and courteous guests,’
replied Eric, ‘my mind is not troubled by any lack of response on
your part, _it is rather that I am afraid it will be said when you go
elsewhere that you never passed a worse Christmas than when you stayed
with Eric the Red at Brattahlid in Greenland_.’[27] ‘That shall not be
so,’ replied Karlsefni, ‘we have on our ships malt and meal and corn,
and you are welcome to take of it what you will, and make as fine a
feast as your ideas of hospitality suggest.’ Eric accepted this offer,
and a Christmas feast was prepared, which was so splendid that people
thought they had hardly ever seen so magnificent a feast _in a poor
country_.
And after Christmas Karlsefni asked Eric for Gudrid’s hand, since it
appeared to him to be a matter under Eric’s control, and moreover he
thought her a beautiful and accomplished woman. Eric answered, saying
that he would certainly entertain his suit, but that she was a good
match; that it was likely that she would be fulfilling her destiny
if she was married to him, and that he had heard good of Karlsefni.
So then the proposal was conveyed to her, and she left it to Eric
to decide for her. And now it was not long before this proposal was
accepted, and the festivities began again, and their wedding was
celebrated. There was a very merry time at Brattahlid in the winter
with much playing at draughts and story-telling, and a great deal to
make their stay pleasant.
[At this time there was much discussion at Brattahlid during the
winter[28] _about a search for Wineland the Good, and it was said
that it would be a profitable country to visit_; Karlsefni and Snorri
resolved to search for Wineland, and the project was much talked about,
so it came about that Karlsefni and Snorri made ready their ship to
go and look for the country in the summer.[29] The man named Bjarni,
and Thorhall, _who have already been mentioned_, joined the expedition
with their ship, and the crew which had accompanied them. There was
a man named Thorvald[30] (evidently Thorvard), who was connected by
marriage with Eric the Red. _He also went with them, and_ Thorhall _who
was called the Hunter_, he had been long engaged with Eric as hunter
in the summer,[31] and had many things in his charge. Thorhall was
big _and strong_ and dark, and like a giant: he was rather old, of a
temper hard to manage, taciturn and of few words as a rule, cunning but
abusive, and he was always urging _Eric to_ the worse course. He had
had little dealings with the faith since it came to Greenland. Thorhall
was rather unpopular, yet for a long time Eric had been in the habit of
consulting him. He was on the ship with Thorvald’s men,[32] for he had
a wide experience of wild countries. They had the ship which Thorbjörn
had brought out there, and they joined themselves to Karlsefni’s party
for the expedition, and the majority of the men were Greenlanders.
The total force on board their ships was 160 men.[33] After this they
sailed away to the Western Settlement and the Bear Isles. They sailed
away from the Bear Isles with a northerly wind. They were at sea two
days. Then they found land, and rowing ashore in boats they examined
the country, and found there a quantity of flat stones, which were so
large that two men could easily have lain sole to sole on them: there
were many arctic foxes there. They gave the place a name, calling it
Helluland. Then they sailed for two days with north wind, _and changed
their course from south to south-east_, and then there was a land
before them on which was much wood and many beasts. An island lay there
off shore to the south-east, on which they found a bear, and they
called it Bjarney (Bear Island), but the land where the wood was they
called Markland (woodland).
[Then when two days were passed they sighted land, up to which they
sailed. There was a cape where they arrived.[34] They beat along the
coast, and left the land to starboard: it was a desolate place, and
there were long beaches and sands there. They rowed ashore, and found
_there on the cape_ the keel of a ship, so they called the place
Keelness: they gave the beaches also a name, calling them Furdustrands
(the Wonder Beaches) because the sail past them was long. Next the
country became indented with bays, into _one of_ which they steered the
ships.]
Now when Leif was with king Olaf Tryggvason and he commissioned him
to preach Christianity in Greenland, the king gave him two Scots, a
man called Hake and a woman Hekja. The king told Leif to make use
of these people if he had need of speed, for they were swifter than
deer: these people Leif and Eric provided to accompany Karlsefni. Now
when they had coasted past Furdustrands they set the Scots ashore,
telling them to run southward along the land to explore the resources
of the country and come back before three days were past. They were
dressed in what they called a ‘_kjafal_’,[35] which was made with a
hood above, and open at the sides without sleeves: it was fastened
between the legs, where a button and a loop held it together: otherwise
they were naked. They cast anchor and lay there in the meanwhile. And
when three days were past they came running down from the land, and
one of them had in his hand a grape-_cluster_ while the other had
a wild (lit: self-sown[36]) ear of wheat. They told Karlsefni that
they thought that they had found that the resources of the country
were good. They received them into their ship, and went their ways,
till the country was indented by a fjord. They took the ships into
the fjord. There was an island outside, about which there were strong
currents, so they called it Straumsey (Tide or Current Island). There
were so many birds[37] on the island that a man’s feet could hardly
come down between the eggs. They held along the fjord, and called the
place Straumsfjord, and there they carried up their goods from the
ships and prepared to stay: they had with them all sorts of cattle, and
they explored the resources of the country there. There were mountains
there, and the view was beautiful. They did nothing but explore the
country. There was plenty of grass there. They were there for the
winter, and the winter was severe, but they had done nothing to provide
for it, and victuals grew scarce, and hunting and fishing deteriorated.
Then they went out to the island, in the hope that this place might
yield something in the way of fishing or jetsam. But there was little
food to be obtained on it, though their cattle throve there well. After
this they cried to God to send them something to eat, and their prayer
was not answered as soon as they desired. Thorhall disappeared and
men went in search of him: that lasted three successive days. On the
fourth day Karlsefni and Bjarni found Thorhall on a crag; he was gazing
into the air with staring eyes, open mouth, and dilated nostrils, and
scratching and pinching himself and reciting something. They asked him
why he had come there. He said it was no business of theirs, told them
not to be surprised at it, and said that he had lived long enough to
make it unnecessary for them to trouble about him. They told him to
come home with them, and he did so. Soon afterwards there came a whale,
and they went to it and cut it up, but no one knew what sort of whale
it was. Karlsefni had a great knowledge of whales, but still he did not
recognize this one. The cooks boiled this whale, and they ate it, but
were all ill from it: then Thorhall came up and said: ‘Was not the
Red-Beard (Thor) more useful than your Christ? This is my reward for
chanting of Thor my patron; seldom has he failed me.’ But when they
heard this none of them would avail themselves of the food, and they
threw it down off the rocks and committed their cause to God’s mercy:
_the state of the weather then improved and_ permitted them to row out,
and from that time there was no lack of provision during the spring.
They went into Straumsfjord, and got supplies from both places, hunting
on the mainland, and eggs and fishing from the sea.
Now they consulted about their expedition, and were divided. Thorhall
the Hunter wished to go north by Furdustrands and past Keelness, and
so look for Wineland, but Karlsefni wished to coast south [and off the
east coast, considering that the region which lay more to the south
was the larger, and it seemed to him the best plan to explore both
ways.[38] So then Thorhall made ready out by the islands, and there
were no more than nine men for his venture, the rest of the party going
with Karlsefni. And one day as Thorhall was carrying water to his ship
he drank it, and recited this verse:
_They flattered my confiding ear
With tales of drink abounding here:
My curse upon the thirsty land!
A warrior, trained to bear a brand,
A pail instead I have to bring,
And bow my back beside the spring:
For ne’er a single draught of wine
Has passed these parching lips of mine._[39]
After this they set out, and Karlsefni accompanied them by the islands.
Before they hoisted their sail Thorhall recited a verse:
_Now let the vessel plough the main
To Greenland and our friends again:
Away, and leave the strenuous host
Who praise this God-forsaken coast
To linger in a desert land,
And boil their whales in Furdustrand._[40]
Afterwards they parted, and they sailed north past Furdustrands and
Keelness, and wished to bear westward; but they were met by a storm and
cast ashore in Ireland, where they were much ill-treated and enslaved.
There Thorhall died, _according to the reports of traders_.
Karlsefni coasted south with Snorri and Bjarni and the rest of their
party. They sailed a long time, till they came to a river which flowed
down from the land and through a lake into the sea: there were great
shoals of gravel there in front of the estuary and they could not enter
the river except at high tide. Karlsefni and his party sailed into the
estuary, and called the place Hóp.
They found there wild (lit: self-sown) fields of wheat wherever the
ground was low, but vines wherever they explored the hills. Every brook
was full of fish. They made pits where the land met high-water mark,
and when the tide ebbed there were halibut in the pits. There was a
great quantity of animals of all sorts in the woods. They were there a
fortnight, enjoying themselves, without noticing anything further: they
had their cattle with them.
And one morning early, as they looked about them, they saw nine skin
canoes, on which staves were waved with a noise just like threshing,
and they were waved with the sun. Then Karlsefni said, ‘What is the
meaning of this?’ Snorri answered him, ‘Perhaps this is a sign of
peace, so let us take a white shield and lift it in answer,’ and they
did so. Then these men rowed to meet them, and, astonished at what they
saw, they landed. They were _swarthy_[41] men and ugly, with unkempt
hair on their heads. They had large eyes and broad cheeks. They stayed
there some time, showing surprise. Then they rowed away south past the
cape.
Karlsefni and his men had made their camp above the lake, and some
of the huts were near the mainland while others were near the lake.
So they remained there that winter; no snow fell, and their cattle
remained in the open, finding their own pasture. But at the beginning
of spring they saw one morning early a fleet of skin canoes rowing from
the south past the cape, so many that the sea was black with them,[42]
and on each boat there were staves waved. Karlsefni and his men raised
their shields, and they began to trade: the (strange) people wanted
particularly to buy red cloth, _in exchange for which they offered
skins and grey furs_. They wished also to buy swords and spears, but
Karlsefni and Snorri forbade this. _The savages got for a dark skin a
spans length of red cloth, which they bound round their heads._[43]
Thus things continued for awhile, but when the cloth began to give
out they cut it into pieces so small that they were not more than a
finger’s breadth. The savages gave as much for it as before, or more.
It happened that a bull belonging to Karlsefni’s party ran out of the
wood, and bellowed loudly: this terrified the savages, and they ran
out to their canoes, and rowed south along the coast, and there was
nothing more seen of them for three consecutive weeks. But when that
time had elapsed they saw a great number of the boats of the savages
coming from the south like a rushing torrent, and this time all the
staves were waved widdershins, and all the savages yelled loudly. Upon
this Karlsefni’s men took a red shield and raised it in answer. _The
savages ran from their boats and_ thereupon they met and fought; there
was a heavy rain of missiles; the savages had war-slings too. Karlsefni
and Snorri observed that the savages raised up on a pole a _very_ large
globe, _closely resembling a sheep’s paunch_ and dark in colour, and
it flew _from the pole_ up on land over the party, and made a terrible
noise where it came down. Upon this a great fear came on Karlsefni and
his party, so that they wished for nothing but to get away up stream,
_for they thought that the savages were setting upon them from all
sides, nor did they halt till they came_ to some rocks where they made
a determined resistance.
Freydis came out, and seeing Karlsefni’s men retreating she cried out,
‘Why are such fine fellows as you running away from these unworthy men,
whom I thought you could have butchered like cattle? Now if I had a
weapon it seems to me that I should fight better than any of you.’ They
paid no attention to what she said. Freydis wished to follow them, but
was rather slow because she was not well; yet she went after them into
the wood, pursued by the savages. She found before her a dead man,
Thorbrand Snorreson, with a flat stone standing in his head: his sword
lay beside him. This she took up, and prepared to defend herself with
it. Then the savages set upon her, but she drew out her breast from
beneath her clothes and beat the sword upon it: with that the savages
were afraid, and running back to their ships they withdrew. Karlsefni’s
men came up to her and praised her courage. Two men of Karlsefni’s
force fell, but four[44] of the savages, although the former were
outnumbered. So then they went back to their huts, _and bound their
wounds_, and considered what that force could have been which set upon
them from the land side; it now appeared to them that the attacking
party consisted solely of those who came from the ships, and that the
others must have been a delusion.
Moreover the savages found a dead man with an axe lying beside him.
_One of them took up the axe and cut at a tree, and then each of the
others did so, and they thought it a treasure and that it cut well.
Afterwards_ one of them cut at a stone, and the axe broke, whereupon he
thought that it was useless, since it did not stand against the stone,
and threw it down.
It now appeared to Karlsefni’s party that though this country had good
resources yet they would live in a perpetual state of warfare and alarm
on account of the aborigines. So they prepared to depart, intending to
return to their own country. They coasted northward, and found five
savages in skins sleeping _by the sea_; these had with them receptacles
in which was beast’s marrow mixed with blood. They concluded that
these men must have been sent from the country[45]: they killed them.
Later on they discovered a promontory and a quantity of beasts: the
promontory had the appearance of a cake of dung, because the beasts lay
there in the winter.[46] Now they came to Straumsfjord, where there was
plenty of every kind.
Some men say that Bjarni and Freydis[47] stayed there with a hundred
men and went no further, while Karlsefni and Snorri went south with
forty men, staying no longer at Hóp than a scant two months, and
returning the same summer.[48]
* * * * *
_They considered that those mountains which were at Hóp and those which
they now found were all one, and were therefore close opposite one
another, and that the distance from Straumsfjord was the same in both
directions._[49] They were at Straumsfjord the third winter.
At this time the men were much divided into parties, _which happened
because of the women_, the unmarried men claiming the wives of those
who were married, which gave rise to the greatest disorder. There
Karlsefni’s son, Snorri, was born the first autumn, _and he was three
winters old when they left_.[50]
_On sailing from Wineland_ they got a south wind, and came to Markland,
where they found five savages, one of whom was bearded. There were
two women and two children: Karlsefni’s men caught the boys, but the
others escaped, disappearing into the ground. But they kept the two
boys with them, and taught them speech, and they were christened.
They called their mother Vætilldi and _their father_ Uvægi. They
said that the savages’ country was governed by kings, one of whom
was called Avalldamon and the other Valldidida. They said that there
were no houses there: people lived in dens or caves. They reported
that another country lay on the other side, opposite to their own,
where people lived who wore white clothes, and uttered loud cries,
and carried poles, and went with flags. It is thought that this
was Hvítramannaland, _or Ireland the Great_. So then they came to
Greenland, and stayed with Eric the Red for the winter.
Then Bjarni Grimolfson was carried into the sea of Greenland,[51]
and came into a sea infested by the teredo, and the first thing
they noticed was that the ship beneath them was worm-eaten. So they
discussed what plan should be adopted. They had a boat which was coated
with seal-tar. It is said that the teredo does not eat wood which is
coated with seal-tar. The majority declared in favour of the proposal
to man the boat with such men as she would accommodate. But when this
was tested the boat would not accommodate more than half the crew.
Bjarni then said that the manning of the boat should be by lot, and
not by rank. But every man who was there wished to go in the boat, and
she could not take them all. For this reason[52] they agreed to the
course of drawing lots for the manning of the boat from the ship. So
the result of the drawing was that Bjarni drew a seat in the boat, and
about half the crew with him. So those who had been chosen by the lots
went from the ship into the boat. When they had got into the boat, a
young Icelander, who had been one of Bjarni’s companions, said, ‘Do you
mean, Bjarni, to desert me here?’ Bjarni replied, ‘So it has turned
out.’ ‘This is not what you promised me’, said he, ‘when I left my
father’s house in Iceland to go with you.’ ‘But still’, said Bjarni, ‘I
do not see any other course in this predicament: but answer me, what
course do you advise?’ ‘The course I see’, said he, ‘is that we change
places, and you come here while I go there.’ Bjarni answered, ‘Be it
so. For I see that you cling greedily to life, and think it a hard
thing to die.’ Thereupon they changed places. This man went down into
the boat, while Bjarni got on board the ship, and men say that Bjarni
was lost there in the teredo sea, with those men who were on board with
him. But the boat and those on board of her went their ways, till they
came to land, _at Dublin in Ireland_, where they afterwards told this
story.
NOTE. _Snorri Thorbrandson comes to Greenland._ The Eyrbyggja Saga
(chap. 48) mentions this emigration of Snorri Thorbrandson as an
event taking place ‘after the reconciliation of the men of Eyr
and Alptafjord’. The ingenuity of commentators in constructing a
difficulty is well exemplified in connexion with this passage.