The Vinland Sagas

1. The Vinland Sagas • Two short Icelandic sagas discuss the settlement of Greenland and the Norse voyages to the New World: • Saga of the Greenlanders (Grænlendinga saga) • Eirik the Red’s Saga (Eiríks saga rauða) • Both sagas refer to events from 970-1030, and both were composed much later, 1220-1280 CE. • The sagas were written independently and record oral history – unlike Njal’s saga, there was little if any literary reworking, reshaping or editing.

2. The Vinland Sagas • Both sagas contain many of the same details, though the elements are recast into a different sequence or placed into a different context. • Fanciful and legendary elements in the sagas caused them to be rejected by historians until Helge Ingstad and Anne Stine located the remains of Viking settlements at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland in 1960. • Artifacts from excavations there proved that Norsemen had reached Canada c. 1000 CE.

3. The Vinland Sagas • Both sagas deal with other events as well, especially with the settlement of Greenland and with the conflict between the Heathen and Christian religions. • The settlement on Vinland was short-lived, lasting only a few years. Conflicts with the natives (Skraelings) possibly hastened its demise. • The settlements on Greenland lasted from 985 to 1350 (Western Settlement) and to c. 1480 (Eastern Settlement). Cause of abandonment is unclear.

4. The Vinland Sagas • The Greenland settlement was not entirely self-sufficient. There was marginal land for raising cattle and sheep during the medieval warm climate. • The real attraction of Greenland was the hunting, especially for arctic specialties of furs, walrus (ivory), polar bear, and gyrfalcons, which were prized luxury items on the continent. • Some trade with the natives apparently existed, though the Greenlanders never established the same relationship they had with Sámi, for example.

5. Greenland Norse Prof. Patricia Sutherland excavated archaeological sites on Baffin Island, and she believes she has found evidence of Norse interactions with the people of the Dorset Culture or the Thule Inuit who inhabited the region at different times. In a National Geographic article from November 2012, Sutherland argues that special stone sharpeners and Norse-style wool cordage are evidence of trade contacts.

6. Norse Ruins in Greenland

7. Norse Greenland Brattahlid, Eastern Settlement, GreenlandWhen Eirik the Red explored Greenland, the verdant landscape inspired him to call it Greenland. He chose this farmstead for himself, and the fjord on which it lays is still called "Eirik's Fjord."

8. Norse Greenland Reconstruction of Brattahlid in Greenland

9. The Vinland Sagas Adventurer and writer Helge Ingstad (1899-2001) unearthed the ruins of an ancient Norse village near L’Anse aux Meadows on the north coast of Newfoundland, conclusively proving that the Vikings has established a settlement in North America 1000 years previously. Ingstad published several books about his exploration, including Landet under Leidarstjernen (1959; Land Under the Pole Star, 1965) and Vestervej til Vinland (1965, Westward to Vinland, 1969).

10. The Vinland Sagas

11. The Vinland Sagas

12. The Vinland Sagas Two views of contemporary reconstructions at L’anse aux Meadows

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19. Saga of the Greenlanders 1-2 • Saga of the Greenlanders begins with the voyage of Bjarni Herjolfson, who loses his way and finds a forested land to the west. He does not land. • Leif Eiriksson of Brattahlid in Greenland was eager to explore the new land; he purchased Bjarni’s boat and persuaded his father to lead the expedition. • Eirik’s horse slipped as he was leaving his farm and threw Eirik – he took this as an omen and stayed behind in Greenland.

20. Saga of the Greenlanders 2-3 • Leif sets sail, discovers a barren land of glaciers, which he names Helluland (Stone-slab land), probably Baffin Island. • Leif sails farther south, discovers a flat, forested land which he names Markland (Forest land), probably Labrador. • He sails south for two more days and finds a good island with much grass and fine salmon; they build shelters and spend the winter there (639). • Leif’s foster-father Tyrkir discovers grapes.

21. Saga of the Greenlanders 3-4 • They cut timber for treeless Greenland and collect wine berries – Leif names the land Vinland (Wine land), possibly Newfoundland or New England. • While returning to Greenland, Leif rescues men on a skerry – earns the name “Leif the Lucky.” • Leif’s brother Thorvald returns to Vinland with 30 men, spend two peaceful summers there. • A conflict ensues with men in hide-covered boats (642), they kill most but one man escapes – probably men of the Dorset culture in Canada.

22. Dorset Culture

23. Saga of the Greenlanders 4-5 • A second battle ensues, Thorvald takes an arrow under his armpit and dies; he is buried at his favorite site, called Krossaness (cross point). • Thorstein Eiriksson now wants to travel to Vinland to retrieve his brother’s body; he takes 25 men and his wife Gudrid. They are lost at sea before returning to Greenland for the winter. • Thorstein spends the winter with Thorstein the Black, whose wife Grimhild dies of sickness, then Thorstein Eiriksson dies as well.

24. Saga of the Greenlanders 5-6 • Thorstein Eiriksson returns from the dead to give his wife Gudrid a prophesy: a long and happy Christian life in Iceland and abroad (cite645). • Thorfinn Karlsefni arrives and marries Gudrid; he gathers 60 men and 5 women and travels to Vinland. They feast on a stranded whale. • Native Americans arrive, frightened by a bull, but trade with Greenlanders for food. • Gudrid gives birth to a boy, Snorri (647). • A battle with natives ends with bloodshed (648).

25. Saga of the Greenlanders 6-7 • Karlsefni and Gudrid return to Greenland with a valuable cargo – wealth and renown. • Freydis Eiriksdottir makes arrangements with Icelanders Helgi and Finnbogi to sail to Vinland. • Two boats travel with 30 men each – Freydis takes 5 extra men and ousts brothers from Leif’s house. • Freydis quarrels with the brothers, has her husband avenge a non-existent insult, and they kill half the party–Freydis axes the 5 women (650)! • Freydis threatens anyone who reports her sins.

26. Saga of the Greenlanders 8 • Freydis escapes punishment when she returns, but people expect nothing but evil from her after that. • Gudrid and Karlsefni travel to Norway, earn a great deal of wealth, travel to Iceland and settle down. • They have many descendents – Gudrid later makes a pilgrimage to Rome: she is called “the Well-Traveled” and probably had seen more of the world than any other woman (or man) of her age. • Gudrid paralleled by Freydis – two central figures.

27. Eirik the Red’s Saga 1-2 • This saga recounts many of the same tales as the saga of the Greenlanders, and dates from the same period, though there are slight differences. • Eirik’s father leaves Norway because of a slaying; they settle in Iceland, but Eirik becomes involved in a number of homicides (654) and Eirik is sentenced to (Lesser) Outlawry. • Eirik seeks the land sighted earlier by Gunnbjorn, Ulf Crowsson – he spends 3 years exploring Greenland (655) – probably from 981 to 984.

28. Eirik the Red’s Saga 3-5 • Eirik names the island “Greenland” because he believes people will be attracted by the good name. • People emigrate to Greenland (985 AD), but the first years are difficult. Thorbjorn and Gudrid go also. • The “Little Prophetess” tells the future of Gudrid (who sings ward songs despite being a Christian). • Description of seeress is best account in Norse literature (658f.)! Heathen shamanism in Greenland. • Leif goes to Norway and is made a missionary to Greenland by King Olaf Tryggvason (661).

29. Eirik the Red’s Saga 5-6 • Leif gets lost on his voyage, sees land “where he had not expected any to be found.” He also rescues men and earns nickname “the Lucky” (661). • Leif converts his mother Thjodhild but not his father – she builds a chapel and refuses to sleep with Eirik the Pagan (661f.)! • Thorstein & Eirik (who falls, but continues) sail that summer for Vinland, but do not find it (662). • Gudrid marries Thorstein – sickness that winter, Thorstein dies, then speaks to Gudrid (663f.).

30. Eirik the Red’s Saga 6-8 • Thorfinn Karlsefni arrives and marries widow Gudrid; they and a large party (140 men, Freydis too) plan a trip to Vinland the next summer. • They find and name Helluland and Markland. • Karlsefni sends out two foreigners (Scotsmen) to explore an island; they return with wild grapes. • Thorhall the Pagan prays for food: Thor sends him a beached whale–they eat and get sick (667f.). • The others put their trust in Christ; the fishing is suddenly good and they have plenty of supplies.

31. Eirik the Red’s Saga 9-12 • Thorhall takes one ship, explores to the north, becomes lost in a storm, shipwrecked on Ireland, enslaved – and Thorhall the Pagan dies (668f.). • Karlsefni heads south, explores the bountiful land, has contact with natives; they trade goods until a bull frightens the Skraelings away (670). • The natives attack; the men flee in panic until Freydis beats her bare breast with a sword—which causes the natives to flee in fright (?? – 671). • Thorvald Eiriksson is killed by an arrow (672).

32. Eirik the Red’s Saga 12-14 • Karlsefni’s son Snorri was three years old when they decided to leave Vinland. • They capture a few natives and take them back to Greenland. • One ship under Bjarni fails to return – only half the men survive in a small boat. • Karlsefni and Gudrid return to Greenland, travel on to Iceland, where their descendents become some of the first Bishops in Iceland.

33. Nancy Brown retraces the life of Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, from Iceland to Greenland, to North America, and on to Europe and back to her nunnery in Viking-age Iceland. It is a fascinating blend of saga, history, archaeology, and travel. Her story has also been told in historical novels by Margaret Elphinstone and Heather Day Gilbert.