The Saga
of the Greenlanders
Grænlendinga saga
Sagas of Icelanders
© 2024 We Vikings translation by Eiður Eyþórsson
of Grænlendinga saga (e. The Saga of the Greenlanders)
from Old Norse to English.
Chapter selection
Table of contents
I
Introduction
The story recounts the Norse exploration and settlement of Greenland, led by Erik the Red, and the subsequent voyages to Vinland (North America) by his son, Leif Erikson, and other explorers. The saga highlights their discoveries, encounters with indigenous peoples, and the challenges of establishing and maintaining colonies in these distant lands. It provides a vivid narrative of adventure, exploration, and the Norse spirit of discovery. The Saga of the Greenlanders, along with The Saga of Erik the Red, which together are sometimes referred to as the Vinland sagas, are the two most important literary sources on the Vikings in America.
Here begins The Saga of the Greenlanders
1
The discovery and settlement of Greenland
There was a man named Thorvald, son of Asvald Ulfsson, Ox-Thorir’s son. Thorvald and his son, Erik the Red, left Jadri for Iceland due to some killings. By that time, Iceland was widely settled. They first lived at Drangar on Hornstrandir. There Thorvald died.
Erik then married Thjodhild, the daughter of Jorund Ulfsson and Thorbjorg Knarrarbringa, who was then married to Thorbjorn of the Haukadal. Erik then moved north and lived at Erikstadir near Vatnshorn. Erik and Thjodhild’s son was named Leif.
After the killings of Eyjolf Saur and Holmgang-Hrafn, Erik was made an outlaw from Haukadal. He then traveled west to Breidafjord and lived in Oxney at Erikstadir.
He loaned Thorgest Breidabolstad wooden beams, but when he asked for them back, Thorgest would not return them. This led to disputes and battles between Erik and Thorgest, as told in the Saga of Erik. Styrr Thorgim’s son supported Erik in these matters, as did Eyjolf from Sviney, the sons of Thorbrand from Alftafjord, and Thorbjorn Vifilsson. Thorgest was supported by the sons of Thord Gellir and Thorgeir from Hitardal.
Erik was declared an outlaw at the Thorsnes Assembly. Erik then prepared his ship for a sea voyage at Eriksvog. When he was ready, Styrr and his men accompanied him out through the islands. Erik told them that he intended to seek the land that Gunnbjorn, son of Ulf the Crow, had seen when he was driven west over the sea and discovered Gunnbjarnarsker. He said he would return to his friends if he found the land.
Erik sailed from Snaefellsjokull. He found the land and approached it at a place he named Midjokul. That place is now called Blaserkr. From there, he traveled south along the coast to explore if the land there was habitable.
He spent the first winter on Eriksey, near the middle of the eastern settlement. The following spring, he went to Eriksfjord and settled there. That summer, he explored the western uninhabited regions and named many places. He spent the second winter in Holm near Hvarfsgnipa, and the third summer, he traveled all the way north to Snaefell and into Hrafnsfjord. He then declared that he had reached the bottom of Eriksfjord. He returned and spent the third winter on Eriksey at the mouth of Eriksfjord.
The following summer, he went to Iceland and brought his ship into Breidafjord. He called the land he had found Greenland, saying that the name would encourage people to go there if it had a good name. Erik stayed in Iceland over the winter, and he went to settle the land the following summer. He lived in Brattahlid in Eriksfjord.
Knowledgeable men say that in the same summer when Erik the Red went to settle Greenland, thirty-five ships left Breidafjord and Borgarfjord, but only fourteen reached their destination. Some were driven back, and some were lost. This was fifteen winters before Christianity was adopted by law in Iceland. That same summer, Bishop Fridrek and Thorvald Kodransson left the country.
These men claimed land in Greenland who went out with Erik: Herjolf claimed Herjolfsfjord—he lived at Herjolfsnes—Ketil claimed Ketilsfjord, Hrafn claimed Hrafnsfjord, Solvi claimed Solvadal, Helgi Thorbrandsson claimed Alftafjord, Hafgrim claimed Hafgrimsfjord and Vatnahverfi, and Arnlaug claimed Arnlaugsfjord. Some went to the Western Settlement.
2
Bjarni Herjolfsson goes in search of Greenland
Herjolf was the son of Bard Herjolf’s son. He was a kinsman of Ingolf, the settler. Ingolf gave Herjolf land between Vog and Reykjanes.
Herjolf first lived at Drepstokk. His wife was named Thorgerd, and their son was Bjarni, who was a very promising man. Bjarni desired to go abroad at a young age. He was successful both in wealth and in respect, and he spent each winter either abroad or with his father. Soon, Bjarni owned a ship for trading. In the last winter he spent in Norway, Herjolf decided to go to Greenland with Erik and moved his household.
With Herjolf on the ship was a man from the south Isles, a Christian, who composed the Hafgerdingadrapa. One stanza of it goes:
“I ask the monk to try
a trouble-free journey to go.
May the high lord of the hall of the high land
hold his hand over me.”
Herjolf lived at Herjolfsnes. He was a very noble man.
Erik the Red lived in Brattahlid. He was held in the highest regard there, and everyone respected him. These were Erik’s children: Leif, Thorvald, and Thorstein, and his daughter was named Freydis. She was married to a man named Thorvard, and they lived in Gardar, where the bishop’s seat is now. She was very assertive, while Thorvard was a weakling. She was very greedy. At that time, people in Greenland were heathen.
That same summer, Bjarni arrived at Eyrar with his ship, after his father had sailed away in the spring. This news was significant to Bjarni, and he did not want to unload his ship. The crew asked him what he intended to do, and he answered that he planned to follow his usual custom and stay with his father for the winter. “And I want to take the ship to Greenland, if you will accompany me.”
They all said they would follow his advice.
Then Bjarni said: “Our journey will seem foolish, as none of us has ever sailed the Greenland Sea.”
However, they set out to sea as soon as they were ready and sailed for three days until the land was out of sight. Then the wind died down, and a northerly wind and fog set in, and they did not know where they were going. This lasted for many days.
After that, they saw the sun and were able to determine directions. The wind was now blowing in their sails, and they sailed for a day before they saw land. They discussed among themselves what land this might be, but Bjarni said he thought it was not Greenland.
They asked if he wanted to sail toward this land or not.
He answered, “My advice is to sail close to the land.” They did so and soon saw that the land was flat and covered with forests, with small hills on it. They left the land to port and kept their course with the sail pointed toward land.
Then they sailed for two days before they saw another land.
They asked if Bjarni thought this was Greenland. He said he did not think this was Greenland any more than the previous land, “because it is said that Greenland has very large glaciers.”
They soon approached this land and saw that it was flat and forested. Then the wind died down. The crew discussed that they thought it would be wise to land there, but Bjarni did not want that. They felt they needed both wood and water.
“You are not lacking in any of these,” said Bjarni, but he still received some criticism from his crew.
He then asked them to hoist the sail, which they did, and they set the prow away from the land and sailed out to sea with a southwesterly wind for three days, and then they saw land again. But this land was high and mountainous with glaciers on it.
They then asked Bjarni if he wanted to land there, but he said he did not want to, “because this land does not seem to me to be hospitable.”
They did not lower their sail, kept close to the land, and saw that it was an island. They set the prow away from that land and sailed out to sea with the same wind. But the weather worsened, and Bjarni then asked them to lower the sail and not sail faster than what would be safe for their ship and rigging. They now sailed for four days.
Then they saw land for the fourth time. They asked Bjarni whether he thought this was Greenland or not.
Bjarni answered, “This is most likely what I have been told about Greenland, and here we will head for land.”
So they did, and they made land under some headland at the end of the day, and there was a boat at the headland. Herjolf, Bjarni’s father, lived on that headland, and it took its name from him and has since been called Herjolfsnes. Bjarni then went to his father and gave up sailing and stayed with his father while Herjolf lived, and afterward, he lived there himself.
3
Leif discovered Vinland the good.
Next, Bjarni Herjolfsson returned from Greenland and went to meet Earl Erik, who received him well. Bjarni told him about his voyages and the lands he had seen, and people thought he had been uncurious since he had nothing to report about those lands. For this, he received some criticism.
Bjarni became one of the earl’s courtier and went back to Greenland the following summer. There was now much discussion about exploring new lands.
Leif, the son of Erik the Red from Brattahlid, went to meet Bjarni Herjolfsson and bought a ship from him. He hired a crew of thirty-five men. Leif asked his father, Erik, to lead the expedition.
Erik was reluctant, saying he was now old and less able to endure hardships than before. Leif insisted that his leadership would still bring about the most fortune of all their kin.
Erik yielded to Leif and rode out from home when they were ready to depart. It was not far to the ship. The horse Erik was riding stumbled and he fell off, injuring his foot. Erik then said, “I am not destined to discover any more lands than this one we now live on. We will not all go together this time.” Erik returned home to Brattahlid, but Leif went to the ship with his companions, thirty-five men in all. There was a southerner who joined the expedition, his name was Tyrkir.
Now they prepared their ship and sailed out to sea when they were ready. They first found the land that Bjarni had seen last. They sailed to the land, anchored, and launched a boat to go ashore. They saw that there was no grass there. Great glaciers covered everything in the higher parts, and it was like a single slab of rock from the sea to the glaciers. They thought the land was worthless.
Then Leif said, “It has not turned out for us as it did for Bjarni with this land, that we have not gone ashore. Now I will give the land a name and call it Helluland.”
Afterward, they returned to their ship. Then they sailed out to sea and found another land. They sailed to the land again, anchored, launched a boat, and went ashore. This land was flat and forested, with white sandy beaches in many places where they went and gently sloping seashores.
Then Leif said, “Because of its resources, this land shall be named, and it will be called Markland,” and then they quickly returned to the ship.
From there, they then sailed out to sea with a northeasterly wind and were at sea for two days before they saw land. They sailed to the land and came to an island that lay to the north of the mainland. They went ashore and looked around in good weather, finding dew on the grass. It so happened that they touched the dew with their hands and brought it to their mouths, finding it the sweetest thing they had ever tasted.
Afterward, they returned to their ship and sailed through a narrow pass that lay between the island and a cape that extended north from the mainland, steering west past the cape. There was a great shallow area at low tide, so much so that their ship lay stranded. Then the sea looked far away from the ship.
Their curiosity to explore the land was so great that they could not wait for the tide to float their ship, so they ran to the land, there a river flowed from a lake. When the tide floated their ship, they took the boat and rowed to the ship, then brought it up the river and into the lake, where they anchored and unloaded their belongings, making shelters there. They then decided to settle there for the winter and built large houses. There was no lack of salmon in the river or the lake, and the salmon were larger than any they had ever seen.
The land was so fertile, as it seemed to them, that no livestock would need feed during the winter. There was no frost in the winters, and the grass scarcely withered. The length of day was more even than in Greenland or Iceland. The sun was at eyktarstad (mid-afternoon) and dagmalastad (mid-morning) during the shortest of days.
When they had finished building their houses, Leif said to his companions: “Now I want to divide our crew into two groups. One half will stay at home in the camp, and the other half will explore the land. They should not go further than they can return by evening, and they should not become separated.”
They did this for a time. Leif alternated between going with the explorers and staying at the camp.
Leif was a large and strong man, very imposing in appearance, wise, and moderate in all things.
4
Leif the Lucky found men out on a skerry
One evening, it happened that a man was missing from their crew, and that man was Tyrkir the Southerner. Leif was troubled by this, as Tyrkir had been with him and his father for a long time and had greatly loved Leif during his childhood. Leif reproached his companions and prepared to go search for Tyrkir with twelve men.
They had not gone far from the camp when Tyrkir came toward them, and he was warmly greeted.
Leif soon realized that his foster father was in good spirits. He had a ruddy complexion, wandering eyes, a small, sharp face, short stature, and a frail appearance, but he was skilled in various crafts.
Leif said to him: “Why were you so late, my foster father, and separated from the group?”
Tyrkir then spoke at length in German, rolling his eyes and grimacing. But they did not understand what he said.
After a while, he spoke in Norse: “I had not walked much further than you have. I have something new to tell you. I found grapevines and grapes.”
“Is that true, my foster father?” asked Leif.
“Indeed, it is true,” he replied, “for I was born in a place where there is no lack of grapevines and grapes.”
They slept through the night, and in the morning, Leif said to his crew: “Now we shall have two tasks to perform, and we will do one each day: gather grapes and cut timber and fell the forest so that it will be a cargo for my ship.” And this plan was adopted.
It is said that their small boat was filled with grapes. They also loaded timber onto the ship.
When spring arrived, they prepared to leave and sailed away. Leif named the land according to its resources and called it Vinland. They then sailed out to sea and had favorable winds until they saw Greenland and the mountains under the glaciers.
Then one man spoke to Leif: “Why do you steer the ship so close to the wind?”
Leif answered: “I am paying attention to my steering, but also to something else. What do you see?”
They said they saw nothing noteworthy.
“I don’t know,” said Leif, “whether I see a ship or a skerry.”
Now they looked again and said it was a skerry. He saw more keenly than they did and noticed men on the rocky island.
“Now I want us to sail close to the wind,” said Leif, “so that we may reach them if there are people in need of our help, and it is necessary to assist them. But if they are not peaceful, then we have every advantage, and they have none.”
Now they approached the skerry and lowered their sail, cast anchor, and launched a small boat they had with them.
Then Tyrkir asked who was in command of the group.
The man answered that his name was Thorir, and that he was of Norse descent. “And what is your name?” he asked.
Leif introduced himself.
“Are you the son of Erik the Red from Brattahlid?” he asked.
Leif confirmed this. “Now I want to invite all of you onto my ship, along with whatever goods the ship can carry.”
They accepted the offer and then sailed to Eriksfjord with the cargo until they arrived at Brattahlid, where they unloaded the cargo from the ship. Leif then invited Thorir and his wife Gudrid, and three other men to stay with him, and found lodging for the other crew members, both Thorir’s and his own men. Leif rescued fifteen men from the skerry. After this, he was called Leif the Lucky. Leif now prospered in both wealth and honor.
That winter, a great sickness struck Thorir’s crew, and Thorir and many of his men died. That same winter, Erik the Red also passed away.
There was much discussion about Leif’s voyage to Vinland, and his brother, Thorvald, thought that the land had not been widely explored. Then Leif said to Thorvald: “You shall take my ship, brother, if you wish, to Vinland, but I want the ship to first return with the timber that Thorir had on the skerry.” And so it was done.
5
Thorvald Erik’s son journeyed to Vinland
Now Thorvald prepared for that journey with thirty men, with the advice of his brother Leif. Then they prepared their ship and set out to sea, and there is no account of their voyage until they reached Vinland, to Leif’s camp. They settled their ship and stayed there that winter, fishing for their food.
In the spring, Thorvald said that they should ready their ship and that the ship’s small boat and some men should go west along the land and explore during the summer. They found the land beautiful and wooded, with a short distance between the forest and the sea and with white sands. There were many islands and much shallow water.
They found no signs of human habitation or animals. But on one island to the west, they found a wooden corn-helm. They found no more human artifacts and returned to Leif’s camp in the autumn.
In the second summer, Thorvald went east along the coast with the trading ship and then north along the land. Then a harsh wind hit them off a certain headland, and they were driven ashore, breaking the keel off their ship, and had a long stay there repairing their ship. Then Thorvald said to his companions: “Now I want us to raise the keel here on the headland and call it Kjalarnes.” And so they did.
Afterward, they sailed away from there and east along the coast and into the next fjord mouths that were nearest and towards a headland that jutted out there. It was all covered with forest. They then anchored their ship in a cove and put out planks to land, and Thorvald went ashore there with all his companions.
He then said: “It is beautiful here, and here I would like to build my home.” They then returned to the ship and saw three mounds on the sand inland from the headland and went there to investigate and saw three skin boats and three men under each. They divided their party and captured all of them, except one who escaped with his boat. They killed the other eight and then returned to the headland, looked around there, and saw some mounds in the fjord, and thought they were settlements.
After that, they were overcome by such a deep sleep that they could not stay awake, and they all fell asleep. Then a call came over them, waking them all up. The call said: “Wake up, Thorvald, and all your company if you want to save your life, and go to your ship with all your men, and leave the land as quickly as possible.”
Then an innumerable number of skin boats came up the fjord and attacked them.
Thorvald then said: “We shall put up our shields along the sides of the ship and defend ourselves as best we can, but fight back little.”
They did so, and the Skraelings shot at them for a while, but then retreated as quickly as they could, each one who was able.
Then Thorvald asked his men if any of them were wounded. They said they were not wounded. “I have received a wound under my arm,” he said, “and an arrow flew between the ship’s side and the shield, under my arm, and here is the arrow, and this will be my death. Now I advise you to prepare your journey back as quickly as possible, and you shall carry me to that headland which I found most suitable for settlement. It may be true what I said, that I will dwell there for a while. You shall bury me there and set crosses at my head and my feet, and always call it Krossanes from now on.”
Greenland was then Christianized, but Erik the Red had died before Christianity.
Now Thorvald died, and they did everything as he had ordered, and then they went and met their companions and told each other such news as they knew. They stayed there that winter and gathered grapes and grapevines for the ship.
Now they prepared to leave in the spring and sailed back to Greenland and brought their ship to Eriksfjord and had much news to tell Leif.
6
Thorstein Erik’s son dies in the Western settlement
In the meantime, in Greenland, it had happened that Thorstein in Eriksfjord had married and taken as his wife Gudrid, the daughter of Thorbjorn, who had previously been married to Thorer the Southerner, as previously has been told of.
Now Thorstein Erik’s son desired to go to Vinland to retrieve the body of his brother Thorvald, and he prepared the same ship and chose a crew of strong and large men, totaling thirty-five, and his wife Gudrid. They set out for sea as soon as they were ready and sailed until they no longer saw land. They were tossed about at sea all summer and did not know where they were.
When a week of winter had passed, they landed in Lysufjord in the western settlement of Greenland. Thorstein sought lodging for all his crew and found accommodations for everyone except himself and his wife. They were left on the ship for some nights. At that time, Christianity was still new in Greenland.
One day, some men came to their tent early. The one who was leading them asked who was in the tent.
Thorstein answered, “Two people,” he said, “and who is asking?”
“My name is Thorstein, and I am called Thorstein the Black. My purpose here is to invite both of you, husband and wife, to stay with me.”
Thorstein said he would need to consult his wife, and she told him to decide. Now he agreed to this.
“Then I will come for you tomorrow with a horse-drawn cart, as there is no shortage of supplies to provide for you, but it is very lonely with me, for there are only the two of us, husband and wife, as I am very solitary. I have a different faith from you, but I believe yours is better.”
The next morning, he came for them with the cart, and they went with Thorstein the Black to his home, where he treated them well.
Gudrid was a distinguished woman to look at and a wise woman who knew how to conduct herself among strangers.
Early that winter, sickness came upon Thorstein Eriksson’s crew, and many of his companions died.
Thorstein asked for coffins to be made for those who died and for them to be taken to the ship and prepared there, “for I want to have all the bodies transported to Eriksfjord in the summer.”
It was not long before a sickness came to Thorstein’s household, and his wife, Grimhild, was the first to fall ill. She was exceptionally large and as strong as men, but even she was overcome by the illness. Soon after, Thorstein Eriksson also fell ill, and they both lay sick at the same time. Grimhild, Thorstein the Black’s wife, died.
After she had died, Thorstein went out of the main room to fetch a board to lay the body on.
Gudrid then said, “Be away only a short time, my Thorstein,” she said. He replied that he would do so.
Thorstein Eriksson then said, “Our housewife is behaving in a strange manner, for now she is raising herself on her elbow and moving her feet from the bench and reaching for her shoes.”
At that moment, Thorstein the farmer came in, and Grimhild lay down again, and then every timber in the room creaked.
Thorstein made a coffin for Grimhild’s body, took it away, and arranged it. He was a big and strong man, and he needed all his strength to carry her out of the house.
The sickness worsened for Thorstein Eriksson, and he died. His wife, Gudrid, did not take this well. They were all in the main room. Gudrid had been sitting in a chair in front of the bench where her husband, Thorstein, had lain.
Then Thorstein the farmer took Gudrid from the chair into his arms and sat on another bench with her, opposite Thorstein’s body, and talked to her in many ways, comforting her, and promised her that he would take her to Eriksfjord with Thorstein her husband’s body, and the bodies of his companions. “And I will also bring more people here,” he said, “for your comfort and entertainment.”
She thanked him.
Thorstein Eriksson then sat up and said, “Where is Gudrid?”
He said this three times, but she remained silent.
Then she said to Thorstein the farmer, “Should I answer him or not?”
He told her not to respond. Then Thorstein the farmer walked across the floor and sat on the chair, with Gudrid on his knees.
Thorstein the farmer then said, “What do you want, namesake?” he asked.
After a while, he answered, “I am here to tell Gudrid her fate, so that she can better accept my death, for I am going to a good resting place. And this is what I have to say to you, Gudrid: You will marry an Icelander, and your union will be long, and many men will descend from you, prosperous, bright, and noble, sweet and with a good fragrance. You will leave Greenland for Norway and then go to Iceland and settle there. You will live there for a long time, and you will outlive him. You will go abroad and travel south, and then return to Iceland to your home, where a church will have been built, and you will become a nun and die there.”
Then Thorstein sank back down, and his body was prepared and taken to the ship.
Thorstein the farmer fulfilled all his promises to Gudrid. He sold his land and livestock in the spring, went to the ship with Gudrid and all his belongings, prepared the ship, found men to join him, and then went to Eriksfjord. The bodies were buried at the church.
Gudrid went to Leif in Brattahlid, and Thorstein the Black made a home in Eriksfjord and lived there as long as he lived, and was considered a very valiant man.
7
Thorfinn Karlsefni's Journey to Vinland
That same summer, a ship came from Norway to Greenland. The man who captained that ship was named Thorfinn Karlsefni. He was the son of Thord Horsehead, the son of Snorri Thordarson from Hofdi.
Thorfinn Karlsefni was very wealthy, and he stayed that winter in Brattahlid with Leif Eriksson. He soon fell in love with Gudrid and asked for her hand in marriage, but she deferred to Leif for an answer on her behalf. She was then betrothed to him, and their wedding was held that winter.
At the same time, there was talk about a journey to Vinland as before, and both Gudrid and other people strongly encouraged Karlsefni to make the journey. The decision was made for the voyage, and he gathered sixty men and five women to accompany him.
Karlsefni and his crew made an agreement that they would share equally in everything they acquired of value. They brought all sorts of livestock with them because they intended to settle the land if possible.
Karlsefni asked Leif for the use of his houses in Vinland, and Leif said he would lend them but not give them.
Then they set sail and arrived safely at Leifsbudir, where they unloaded their belongings. They quickly came upon a great and good supply, for a large and good whale had been driven ashore. They went and cut the whale and had no lack of food. The livestock they brought with them was set out on land, but soon the male animals became unruly and caused them trouble. They had brought a bull with them.
Karlsefni had some wood cut and prepared for his ship, and he laid the wood on a rock to dry. They had access to all natural resources there, including grapes, all kinds of fish, and other provisions.
After the first winter, summer came. Then they became aware of the Skrælings, as a large group of people came out of the forest. They were near their cattle, and the bull began to bellow and roar very loudly. The Skrælings became frightened by this and fled with their bundles, which contained gray pelts, sable, and all kinds of furs, and they went towards Karlsefni’s settlement and tried to enter the houses, but Karlsefni had the doors guarded. Neither side could understand the other’s language.
The Skrælings then untied their bundles and offered them, wanting to trade for weapons, but Karlsefni forbade his men to trade weapons with them.
And now he sought advice in such a way that he asked the women to bring out dairy products to them, and as soon as they saw the dairy products, they wanted to buy those and nothing else. Now the Skrælings’ trade was such that they carried away their goods in their bellies, while Karlsefni and his companions kept their bundles and skins. With this, they went away.
Now it is to be told that Karlsefni had a strong fence built around his settlement, and they settled there. At that time, Gudrid, Karlsefni’s wife, gave birth to a boy, and that boy was named Snorri. At the beginning of the second winter, the Skrælings came to meet them again, and they were many more than before and had the same sort of goods as before.
Then Karlsefni said to the women, “Now you should bring out the same food that was most desirable before, and nothing else.”
And when they saw that, they threw their bundles over the fence. Gudrid was sitting inside the doorway with Snorri, her son, in his cradle. Then a shadow fell in the doorway, and a woman entered, in a black dress, rather short, with a cloth over her head and light brown hair, pale and with very large eyes, such that no one had seen such large eyes in a human head.
She walked up to where Gudrid was sitting and said, “What is your name?” she said.
“I am called Gudrid, and what is your name?”
“I am called Gudrid,” she said.
Then Gudrid the housewife extended her hand to the woman so she could sit next to her, but at that moment, Gudrid heard a loud crash, and the woman had disappeared. At the same time, one of Karlsefni’s men killed a Skræling, because he had tried to take their weapons. Now they left in a hurry, leaving behind their clothes and goods. No one had seen this woman except Gudrid alone.
“Now we must take measures,” said Karlsefni, “for I think they will visit us a third time with hostility and a large force. Now we should take this advice: ten men will go out onto this headland and show themselves there, while the rest of our party will go into the forest and clear a space for our cattle when the group comes out of the forest. We will also take our bull and let him go ahead of us.”
And it was situated such that where their meeting was intended, there was water on one side and forest on the other. Now these plans that Karlsefni suggested were put into effect.
The Skrælings came to the place where Karlsefni had planned to fight. There was a battle, and many of the Skrælings’ men were killed.
There was one man among the Skrælings who was tall and handsome, and Karlsefni thought he might be their leader.
Now, one of the Skrælings had picked up an axe, looked at it for a while, then raised it against his comrade and struck him. The man fell dead immediately. Then the tall man took the axe, looked at it for a while, and then threw it into the sea as far as he could. After that, they all fled into the forest, and their encounter ended there.
Karlsefni and his men stayed there for the entire winter. But in the spring, Karlsefni announced that he did not want to stay there any longer and wanted to go back to Greenland. They prepared for their journey and took many goods with them from there, including vines, berries, and skins. They set sail and arrived at Eriksfjord with their ship intact and stayed there for the winter.
8
The Misdeeds of Freydis in Vinland
Now there is a renewed discussion about a voyage to Vinland, as it is considered both good for wealth and honor.
That same summer, a ship arrived from Norway to Greenland, just as Karlsefni was returning from Vinland. This ship was commanded by two brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi, who spent the winter in Greenland. These brothers were Icelanders by origin and from the East Fjords.
It is now to be told that Freydis, Erik’s daughter, made her journey from her home in Gardar and went to meet the brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi, and asked them to go to Vinland with their ship and to share equally in all the wealth that might be acquired there. They agreed to this.
Then she went to see her brother Leif and asked him to give her the houses that he had had built in Vinland. But he answered in the same manner, saying he would lend her the houses but not give them.
There was an agreement made between the brothers and Freydís that each would have thirty combat-able men on their ship and additional women. But Freydis immediately deviated from this and had five more men with her and kept this hidden, so the brothers only became aware of it when they arrived in Vinland.
They set out to sea, having previously agreed that they would sail together if possible, and there was little difference in their sailing speed. However, the brothers arrived slightly earlier and had already carried their belongings to Leif’s houses. When Freydis arrived, they cleared their ship and carried their belongings to the house.
Freydis then said, “Why did you bring your belongings here?”
“Because we thought,” they said, “that all agreements would be upheld between us.”
“Leif lent me the houses,” she said, “and not you.”
Helgi then said, “We brothers shall not contend with you in wickedness,” and they carried out their belongings and built themselves a shelter further from the shore on the water’s edge and set up their camp well. Meanwhile, Freydís had wood felled for her ship.
Now winter began to set in, and the brothers suggested that games should be organized for entertainment. This was done for a while until people started quarreling. A rift developed between them, and the games ceased, and there were no visits between the huts, and so it remained for much of the winter.
One early morning, Freydis got up from her bed, dressed, and did not put on her shoes, even though there was heavy dew. She took her husband’s cloak and put it on, then went to the brothers’ hut and to the door. A man had gone out a little earlier and had closed the door, leaving it half latched. She opened the door and stood in the doorway for a while, saying nothing. Finnbogi was lying inside the hut and was awake.
He asked, “What do you want here, Freydis?”
She answered, “I want you to get up and come outside with me. I wish to speak with you.”
He did so. They went to a tree that lay under the hut’s wall and sat down there.
“How do you like it here?” she asked.
He answered, “I find the land favorable, but I find the discord between us unpleasant, as I do not consider it justified.”
“You speak the truth,” she said, “and so it seems to me. But my reason for seeking you out is that I want to trade ships with you brothers, because you have a larger ship than I do, and I want to leave here.”
“That I will agree to,” he said, “if it pleases you.”
They parted on this note, and she went home, while Finnbogi returned to his bed. She climbed into bed with cold feet, and Thorvard awoke and asked why she was so cold and wet.
She answered angrily, “I went to the brothers to ask to buy their ship, and I wanted to buy the larger ship. But they took it so badly that they beat and hurt me, and you, miserable man, will neither avenge my disgrace nor your own. Now I realize that I am far from Greenland, and I will separate from you unless you avenge this.”
He could not withstand her scolding and ordered the men to get up as quickly as possible and take their weapons. They did so and immediately went to the brothers’ hut, entered while they were sleeping, seized them, and bound them. They led each one out bound, and Freydis had each one killed as they came out.
All the men were killed, but the women were left, and no one wanted to kill them.
Then Freydis said, “Lay an axe in my hand.”
This was done, and she killed the five women there, striking them down herself.
After this terrible deed, they returned to their hut, and Freydis felt she had managed everything very well. She said to her companions, “If we are fortunate enough to return to Greenland, I will kill anyone who talks about these events. We will say that they remained here when we left.”
They prepared the ship early in the spring, the one the brothers had owned, with all the goods they could manage to take and the ship could carry. They then set sail and had a good voyage, arriving at Eriksfjord early in the summer. Karlsefni was there, having prepared his ship for the sea and waiting for favorable winds. People said that no richer ship had ever left Greenland than the one he commanded.
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Thorfinn Karlsefni travels to Iceland
Freydis returned to her farm, which had remained intact. She gained great wealth for her entire party because she wanted to conceal her misdeeds. She now lived on her farm.
Not all were able to hold their words in and keep silent about their misdeeds or evil doings, so that the truth would not eventually come out. This matter eventually came to the attention of her brother, Leif, and he found the story utterly terrible.
Leif then took three men from Freydis’ party and tortured them to make them tell the whole story, and their accounts were all the same.
“I do not have the heart,” said Leif, “to do to Freydis, my sister, what she deserves, but I foresee that her descendants will not prosper.”
From then on, no one thought anything of them except ill.
Now to tell of Karlsefni, who made ready his ship and sailed to sea. He had a good voyage and arrived safely in Norway, where he stayed for the winter. He sold his goods and was well received, both he and his wife, by the noblest people in Norway. The following spring, he prepared his ship for Iceland.
And when he was all ready and his ship lay waiting for a favorable wind by the docks, a man from the South, from Bremen in Saxland, came to him. He asked Karlsefni for his carved wooden ornament.
‘I do not wish to sell it,’ said he.
‘I will give you half a mark of gold for it,’ said the Southlander.
Karlsefni thought it a good offer, and they made the trade. The Southlander went away with the carved ornament. Karlsefni did not know what kind of wood it was, but it was maple, a wood from Vinland.
Now Karlsefni set sail and came to shore in Skagafjord in the north of the country, and there his ship was laid up for the winter. In the spring, he bought land at Glaumbaer and established a farm there, where he lived for the rest of his life, becoming a very prominent man. Many people are descended from him and his wife Gudrid forming a good lineage.
When Karlsefni passed away, Gudrid took charge of the household with their son Snorri, who was born in Vinland.
When Snorri married, Gudrid traveled abroad, walked south, and returned later to Snorri’s farm. By then, he had built a church at Glaumbaer. Gudrid then became a nun and a hermit and stayed there for the rest of her life.
Snorri had a son named Thorgeir, who was the father of Yngvild, the mother of Bishop Brand. Snorri Karlsefni’s daughter was named Hallfrid, who was the wife of Runolf, father of Bishop Thorlak. Bjorn was the son of Karlsefni and Gudrid. He was the father of Thorunn, the mother of Bishop Bjorn.
Many people are descended from Karlsefni, and he has become a man of a fortunate lineage. Karlsefni has recounted all the events of these journeys, which now have become fairly known.
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