The Sagas of the Icelanders

by Smilely, Jane

  All of them said they would follow his counsel.

  Bjarni then spoke: ‘Our journey will be thought an ill-considered one, since none of us has sailed the Greenland Sea.’

  Despite this they set sail once they had made ready and sailed for three days, until the land had disappeared below the horizon. Then the wind dropped and they were beset by winds from the north and fog; for many days they did not know where they were sailing.

  After that they saw the sun and could take their bearings. Hoisting the sail, they sailed for the rest of the day before sighting land. They speculated among themselves as to what land this would be, for Bjarni said he suspected this was not Greenland.

  They asked whether he wished to sail up close into the shore of this country or not. ‘My advice is that we sail in close to the land.’

  They did so, and soon saw that the land was not mountainous but did have small hills, and was covered with forests. Keeping it on their port side, they turned their sail-end landwards and angled away from the shore.

  They sailed for another two days before sighting land once again.

  They asked Bjarni whether he now thought this to be Greenland.

  He said he thought this no more likely to be Greenland than the previous land – ‘since there are said to be very large glaciers in Greenland’.

  They soon approached the land and saw that it was flat and wooded. The wind died and the crew members said they thought it advisable to put ashore, but Bjarni was against it. They claimed they needed both timber and water.

  ‘You’ve no shortage of those provisions,’ Bjarni said, but he was criticized somewhat by his crew for this.

  He told them to hoist the sail and they did so, turning the stern towards shore and sailing seawards. For three days they sailed with the wind from the south-west until they saw a third land. This land had high mountains, capped by a glacier.

  They asked whether Bjarni wished to make land here, but he said he did not wish to do so – ‘as this land seems to me to offer nothing of use’.

  This time they did not lower the sail, but followed the shoreline until they saw that the land was an island. Once more they turned their stern landwards and sailed out to sea with the same breeze. But the wind soon grew and Bjarni told them to lower the sail and not to proceed faster than both their ship and rigging could safely withstand. They sailed for four days.

  Upon seeing a fourth land they asked Bjarni whether he thought this was Greenland or not.

  Bjarni answered, ‘This land is most like what I have been told of Greenland, and we’ll head for shore here.’

  This they did and made land along a headland in the evening of the day, finding a boat there. On this point Herjolf, Bjarni’s father, lived, and it was named for him and has since been called Herjolfsnes (Herjolf’s point). Bjarni now joined his father and ceased his merchant voyages. He remained on his father’s farm as long as Herjolf lived and took over the farm after his death.

  2 Following this, Bjarni Herjolfsson sailed from Greenland to Earl Eirik, who received him well. Bjarni told of his voyage, during which he had sighted various lands, and many people thought him short on curiosity, since he had nothing to tell of these lands, and he was criticized somewhat for this.

  Bjarni became one of the earl’s followers and sailed to Greenland the following summer. There was now much talk of looking for new lands.

  Leif, the son of Eirik the Red of Brattahlid, sought out Bjarni and purchased his ship. He hired himself a crew numbering thirty-five men altogether. Leif asked his father Eirik to head the expedition.

  Eirik was reluctant to agree, saying he was getting on in years and not as good at bearing the cold and wet as before. Leif said he still commanded the greatest good fortune of all his kinsmen. Eirik gave in to Leif’s urgings and, when they were almost ready, set out from his farm on horseback. When he had but a short distance left to the ship, the horse he was riding stumbled and threw Eirik, injuring his foot. Eirik then spoke: ‘I am not intended to find any other land than this one where we now live. This will be the end of our travelling together.’

  Eirik returned home to Brattahlid, and Leif boarded his ship, along with his companions, thirty-five men altogether. One of the crew was a man named Tyrkir, from a more southerly country.

  Once they had made the ship ready, they put to sea and found first the land which Bjarni and his companions had seen last. They sailed up to the shore and cast anchor, put out a boat and rowed ashore. There they found no grass, but large glaciers covered the highlands, and the land was like a single flat slab of rock from the glaciers to the sea. This land seemed to them of little use.

  Leif then spoke: ‘As far as this land is concerned it can’t be said of us as of Bjarni, that we did not set foot on shore. I am now going to name this land and call it Helluland (Stone-slab land).’

  They then returned to their ship, put out to sea and found a second land. Once more they sailed close to the shore and cast anchor, put out a boat and went ashore. This land was flat and forested, sloping gently seaward, and they came across many beaches of white sand.

  Leif then spoke: ‘This land will be named for what it has to offer and called Markland (Forest Land).’ They then returned to the ship without delay.

  After this they sailed out to sea and spent two days at sea with a north-easterly wind before they saw land. They sailed towards it and came to an island, which lay to the north of the land, where they went ashore. In the fine weather they found dew on the grass, that they collected in their hands and drank, and thought they had never tasted anything as sweet.

  Afterwards they returned to their ship and sailed into the sound which lay between the island and the headland that stretched out northwards from the land. They rounded the headland and steered westward. Here there were extensive shallows at low tide and their ship was soon stranded, and the sea looked far away to those aboard ship.

  Their curiosity to see the land was so great that they could not be bothered to wait for the tide to come in and float their stranded ship, and they ran aground where a river flowed into the sea from a lake. When the incoming tide floated the ship again, they took the boat and rowed to the ship and moved it up into the river and from there into the lake, where they cast anchor. They carried their sleeping-sacks ashore and built booths. Later they decided to spend the winter there and built large houses.

  There was no lack of salmon both in the lake and in the river, and this salmon was larger than they had ever seen before.

  It seemed to them the land was so good that livestock would need no fodder during the winter. The temperature never dropped below freezing, and the grass only withered very slightly. The days and nights were much more equal in length than in Greenland or Iceland. In the depth of winter the sun was aloft by mid-morning and still visible at mid-afternoon.*

  When they had finished building their houses, Leif spoke to his companions: ‘I want to divide our company into two groups, as I wish to explore the land. One half is to remain at home by the longhouses while the other half explores the land. They are never to go any farther than will enable them to return that same evening and no one is to separate from the group.’

  This they did for some time. Leif accompanied them sometimes, and at other times remained at home by the houses. Leif was a large, strong man, of very striking appearance and wise, as well as being a man of moderation in all things.

  3 One evening it happened that one man, the southerner Tyrkir, was missing from their company. Leif was very upset by this, as Tyrkir had spent many years with him and his father and had treated Leif as a child very affectionately. Leif criticized his companions harshly and prepared to search for Tyrkir, taking twelve men with him.

  When they had gone only a short way from the houses, however, Tyrkir came towards him and they welcomed him gladly.

  Leif soon realized that the companion of his childhood was pleased about something. Tyrkir had a protruding forehead and darting eyes, with dark wrinkl
es in his face; he was short in stature and frail-looking, but a master of all types of crafts.

  Leif then asked him, ‘Why were you so late returning, foster-father, and how did you become separated from the rest?’

  For a long time Tyrkir only spoke in German, with his eyes darting in all directions and his face contorted. The others understood nothing of what he was saying.

  After a while he spoke in Norse: ‘I had gone only a bit farther than the rest of you. But I have news to tell you: I found grapevines and grapes.’

  ‘Are you really sure of this, foster-father?’ Leif said.

  ‘I’m absolutely sure,’ he replied, ‘because where I was born there was no lack of grapevines and grapes.’

  They went to sleep after that, and the following morning Leif spoke to his crew: ‘We’ll divide our time between two tasks, taking one day for one task and one day for the other, picking grapes or cutting vines* and felling the trees to make a load for my ship.’ They agreed on this course.

  It is said that the boat which was drawn behind the ship was filled with grapes.

  Then they cut a load for the ship.

  When spring came they made the ship ready and set sail. Leif named the land for its natural features and called it Vinland (Wineland). They headed out to sea and had favourable winds, until they came in sight of Greenland and the mountains under its glaciers.

  Then one of the crew spoke up, asking, ‘Why do you steer a course so close to the wind?’

  Leif answered, ‘I’m watching my course, but there’s more to it than that: do you see anything of note?’

  The crew said they saw nothing worthy of note.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Leif said, ‘whether it’s a ship or a skerry that I see.’

  They then saw it and said it was a skerry. Leif saw so much better than they did, that he could make out men on the skerry.

  ‘I want to steer us close into the wind,’ Leif said, ‘so that we can reach them; if these men should be in need of our help, we have to try to give it to them. If they should prove to be hostile, we have all the advantages on our side and they have none.’

  They managed to sail close to the skerry and lowered their sail, cast anchor and put out one of the two extra boats they had taken with them.

  Leif then asked who was in charge of the company.

  The man who replied said his name was Thorir and that he was of Norwegian origin. ‘And what is your name?’

  Leif told him his name.

  ‘Are you the son of Eirik the Red of Brattahlid?’ he asked.

  Leif said he was. ‘Now I want to invite all of you,’ Leif said, ‘to come on board my ship, bringing as much of your valuables as the ship can carry.’

  After they had accepted his offer, the ship sailed to Eiriksfjord with all this cargo until they reached Brattahlid, where they unloaded the ship. Leif then invited Thorir to spend the winter with him there, along with Thorir’s wife Gudrid and three other men, and found places for the other members of both his own and Thorir’s crew. Leif rescued fifteen men from the skerry. After this he was called Leif the Lucky.

  Leif had now become very wealthy and was held in much respect.

  That winter Thorir’s crew were stricken by illness and he himself died, along with most of his company. Eirik the Red also died that winter.

  There was great discussion of Leif’s Vinland voyage and his brother Thorvald felt they had not explored enough of the land. Leif then said to Thorvald, ‘You go to Vinland, brother, and take my ship if you wish, but before you do so I want the ship to make a trip to the skerry to fetch the wood that Thorir had there.’

  And so this was done.

  4 In consultation with his brother Leif, Thorvald now prepared for this journey with thirty companions. They made their ship ready and put to sea, and nothing is told of their journey until they came to Vinland, to Leif’s camp, where they laid up their ship and settled in for the winter, fishing for their food.

  That spring Thorvald said they should make their ship ready and several men were to take the ship’s boat and go to the west of the land and explore there during the summer. They thought the land fine and well forested, with white beaches and only a short distance between the forest and the sea. There were many islands and wide stretches of shallow sea.

  Nowhere did they see signs of men or animals. On one of the westerly islands they did find a wooden grain cover, but discovered no other work by human hands and headed back, returning to Leif’s camp in the autumn.

  The second summer Thorvald explored the country to the east on the large ship, going north around the land. They ran into stormy weather around one headland, and they were driven ashore, smashing the keel of the ship. They stayed there a long time, repairing their ship. Thorvald then said to his companions, ‘I want us to raise the broken keel up on this point and call it Kjalarnes (Keel point).’ This they did.

  They then left to sail to the east of the country and entered the mouths of the next fjords until they reached a cape stretching out seawards. It was covered with forest. After they secured their ship in a sheltered cove and put out gangways to the land, Thorvald and all his companions went ashore.

  He then spoke: ‘This is an attractive spot, and here I would like to build my farm.’ As they headed back to the ship they saw three hillocks on the beach inland from the cape. Upon coming closer they saw they were three hide-covered boats, with three men under each of them. They divided their forces and managed to capture all of them except one, who escaped with his boat. They killed the other eight and went back to the cape. On surveying the area they saw a number of hillocks further up the fjord, and assumed them to be settlements.

  Following this they were stricken by sleep, so that they could no longer keep their eyes open, and all of them fell asleep. Then a voice was heard calling, and they all woke up. ‘Wake up, Thorvald, and all your companions,’ the voice warned, ‘if you wish to save your lives. Get to the ship with all your men and leave this land as quickly as you can.’

  A vast number of hide-covered boats came down the fjord, heading towards them.

  Thorvald then spoke: ‘We will set up breastworks along the sides of the ship and defend ourselves as well as possible, but fight back as little as we can.’

  They did as he said, and after the natives had shot at them for a while, they fled as rapidly as they could.

  Thorvald then asked his men if they had been wounded, and they replied that they were unhurt.

  ‘I have been wounded under my arm,’ he said. ‘An arrow flew between the edge of the ship and the shield into my armpit. Here is the arrow, and this wound will cause my death. I now advise you to prepare for your return journey as quickly as possible, but take me to that cape I thought was such a good farm site. Perhaps the words I spoke will prove true enough and I will dwell there awhile. You will bury me there and mark my grave with crosses at the head and foot, and call the spot Krossanes (Cross point) after that.’

  Greenland had been converted to Christianity by that time, although Eirik the Red had died before the conversion.

  Thorvald then died, and they did everything as he had advised, then left to meet up with their companions. Each group told its news to the other and they spent the winter there loading the ships with grapes and grapevines.

  In the spring they made ready for the voyage back to Greenland. They steered the ship into Eiriksfjord and had plenty of news to tell Leif.

  5 Among the events taking place meanwhile in Greenland was the marriage of Thorstein Eiriksson to Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir, who had previously been married to Thorir the Norwegian who was spoken of earlier.

  Thorstein Eiriksson now wished to sail to Vinland to retrieve his brother Thorvald’s body and made the same ship ready once more. He selected his companions for their strength and size, taking with him twenty-five men and his wife, Gudrid. Once they had made ready, they set sail and were out of sight of land. They were tossed about at sea all summer and did not know where they wer
e.

  The first week of winter had passed when they made land in Lysufjord, in the western settlement in Greenland. Thorstein managed to find places for all his crew members. But he and his wife had no accommodation and remained alone on the ship for several nights. In those days Christianity was still in its infancy in Greenland.

  One day some men came to their tent early in the day. The leader of the group asked what men were in the tent.

  Thorstein answered, ‘There are two of us,’ he said, ‘and who is asking?’

  ‘Thorstein is my name, and I am called Thorstein the Black. My reason for coming is to invite you and your wife to stay the winter with me.’

  Thorstein Eiriksson said he wished to seek his wife’s guidance, and when she told him to decide he agreed to the offer.

  ‘Then I’ll return with a team of oxen to fetch you tomorrow, as I do not lack the means to put you up. But it will be an unexciting stay, as there are only the two of us, my wife and myself, and I prefer my own company. Also I have another faith than you, although I expect yours is the better of the two.’

  He then came with a team of oxen to fetch them the next day, and so they went to stay with Thorstein the Black, and he provided for them generously.

  Gudrid was a woman of striking appearance and wise as well, who knew how to behave among strangers.

  It was early in the winter when the first of Thorstein Eiriksson’s companions were stricken by illness and many of them died there.

  Thorstein asked that coffins be made for the bodies of those who had died, and that they be taken to the ship and secured away there – ‘as when summer comes I intend to take all the bodies back to Eiriksfjord’.

  It was not long until the sickness came to Thorstein’s house, and his wife, Grimhild, was the first to fall ill. She was a very large woman, with the strength of a man, yet she bowed to the illness. Soon after that Thorstein Eiriksson was stricken, and both of them lay ill until Grimhild, the wife of Thorstein the Black, died.