{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_17946/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_17946","id":"gutenberg_17946","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17946","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Ancient","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Old Norse literature -- Translations into English","Sagas"],"text":"Produced by National Library of Iceland and Cornell\nUniversity Library via www.sagnanet.is, J\u00f3hannes Birgir\nJensson, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team of Distributed Proofreaders Europe at\nhttp://dp.rastko.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                        EIRIK THE RED'S SAGA:\n\n                            A TRANSLATION\n\n\n\n                           READ BEFORE THE\n                  LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY\n                            OF LIVERPOOL,\n\n                         JANUARY 12TH, 1880,\n\n\n\n                                  BY\n                         THE REV. J. SEPHTON.\n\n\n\n\n                              LIVERPOOL:\n             D. MARPLES & CO., LIMITED, MELVILL CHAMBERS.\n\n                                1880.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n1. How Vifil, Gudrid's grandfather, came to Iceland.\n\n2. Of Eirik the Red, and his discovery of Greenland.\n\n3. Gudrid's parentage, and the emigration of her father, Thorbjorn,\nand his family to Greenland.\n\n4. Eirik's family, and his son Leif's discovery of Vinland.\n\n5. Gudrid marries Thorstein, son of Eirik the Red. [Sickness and\ndeath of Thorstein.]\n\n6. Gudrid marries Karlsefni.\n\n7. Karlsefni's expedition to Vinland. The first winter is passed at\nStraumsfjordr.\n\n8. Fate of Thorhall the Sportsman.\n\n9. The second winter is passed at Hop.\n\n10. Dealings with the Skroelingar.\n\n11. Fight with the Skroelingar.\n\n12. Return to Straumsfjordr.\n\n13. The slaying of Thorvald by a One-footer. The colonists return\nto Greenland after passing the third winter at Straumsfjordr.\n\n14. Heroic magnanimity and fate of Bjarni.\n\n15. Gudrid's descendants.\n\n\n\n\n[Olaf, who was called Olaf the White, was styled a warrior king. He\nwas the son of King Ingjald, the son of Helgi, the son of Olaf, the\nson of Gudred, the son of Halfdan Whiteleg, king of the Uplands (in\nNorway). He led a harrying expedition of sea-rovers into the west, and\nconquered Dublin, in Ireland, and Dublinshire, over which he made\nhimself king. He married Aud the Deep-minded, daughter of Ketil\nFlatnose, son of Bjorn the Ungartered, a noble man from Norway. Their\nson was named Thorstein the Red. Olaf fell in battle in Ireland, and\nthen Aud and Thorstein went into the Sudreyjar (the Hebrides). There\nThorstein married Thorid, daughter of Eyvind the Easterling, sister of\nHelgi the Lean; and they had many children. Thorstein became a warrior\nking, and formed an alliance with Earl Sigurd the Great, son of\nEystein the Rattler. They conquered Caithness, Sutherland, Ross, and\nMoray, and more than half Scotland. Over these Thorstein was king\nuntil the Scots plotted against him, and he fell there in battle. Aud\nwas in Caithness when she heard of Thorstein's death. Then she caused\na merchant-ship to be secretly built in the wood, and when she was\nready, directed her course out into the Orkneys. There she gave in\nmarriage Thorstein the Red's daughter, Gro, who became mother of\nGrelad, whom Earl Thorfinn, the Skullcleaver, married. Afterwards Aud\nset out to seek Iceland, having twenty free men in her ship. Aud came\nto Iceland, and passed the first winter in Bjarnarhofn (Bjornshaven)\nwith her brother Bjorn. Afterwards she occupied all the Dale country\nbetween the Dogurdara (day-meal river) and the Skraumuhlaupsa (river\nof the giantess's leap), and dwelt at Hvamm. She had prayer meetings\nat Krossholar (Crosshills), where she caused crosses to be erected,\nfor she was baptised and deeply devoted to the faith. There came with\nher to Iceland many men worthy of honour, who had been taken captive\nin sea-roving expeditions to the west, and who were called bondmen.\nOne of these was named Vifil; he was a man of high family, and had\nbeen taken captive beyond the western main, and was also called a\nbondman before Aud set him free. And when Aud granted dwellings to her\nship's company, Vifil asked why she gave no abode to him like unto the\nothers. Aud replied, \"That it was of no moment to him, for,\" she said,\n\"he would be esteemed in whatever place he was, as one worthy of\nhonour.\" She gave him Vifilsdalr (Vifilsdale), and he dwelt there and\nmarried. His sons were Thorbjorn and Thorgeir, promising men, and they\ngrew up in their father's house.\n\n2. There was a man named Thorvald, the son of Asvald, the son of Ulf,\nthe son of Yxna-Thoris. His son was named Eirik. Father and son\nremoved from Jadar (in Norway) to Iceland, because of manslaughters,\nand occupied land in Hornstrandir, and dwelt at Drangar. There\nThorvald died, and Eirik then married Thjodhild, daughter of Jorund,\nthe son of Atli, and of Thorbjorg the Ship-breasted, whom afterwards\nThorbjorn, of the Haukadalr (Hawkdale) family, married; he it was who\ndwelt at Eiriksstadr after Eirik removed from the north. It is near\nVatzhorn. Then did Eirik's thralls cause a landslip on the estate of\nValthjof, at Valthjofsstadr. Eyjolf the Foul, his kinsman, slew the\nthralls beside Skeidsbrekkur (slopes of the race-course), above\nVatzhorn. In return Eirik slew Eyjolf the Foul; he slew also Hrafn the\nDueller, at Leikskalar (playbooths). Gerstein, and Odd of Jorfi,\nkinsman of Eyjolf, were found willing to follow up his death by a\nlegal prosecution; and then was Eirik banished from Haukadalr. He\noccupied then Brokey and Eyxney, and dwelt at Tradir, in Sudrey, the\nfirst winter. At this time did he lend to Thorgest pillars for\nseat-stocks, Afterwards Eirik removed into Eyxney, and dwelt at\nEiriksstadr. He then claimed his pillars, and got them not. Then went\nEirik and fetched the pillars from Breidabolstadr, and Thorgest went\nafter him. They fought at a short distance from the hay-yard at\nDrangar, and there fell two sons of Thorgest, and some other men.\nAfter that they both kept a large body of men together. Styr gave\nassistance to Eirik, as also did Eyjolf, of Sviney, Thorbjorn\nVifilsson, and the sons of Thorbrand, of Alptafjordr (Swanfirth). But\nthe sons of Thord Gellir, as also Thorgeir, of Hitardalr (Hotdale),\nAslak, of Langadalr (Longdale), and Illugi, his son, gave assistance\nto Thorgest. Eirik and his people were outlawed at Thorsnes Thing. He\nprepared a ship in Eiriksvagr (creek), and Eyjolf concealed him in\nDimunarvagr while Thorgest and his people sought him among the\nislands. Eirik said to his people that he purposed to seek for the\nland which Gunnbjorn, the son of Ulf the Crow, saw when he was driven\nwestwards over the ocean, and discovered Gunnbjarnarsker (Gunnbjorn's\nrock or skerry). He promised that he would return to visit his friends\nif he found the land. Thorbjorn, and Eyjolf, and Styr accompanied\nEirik beyond the islands. They separated in the most friendly manner,\nEirik saying that he would be of the like assistance to them, if he\nshould be able so to be, and they should happen to need him. Then he\nsailed oceanwards under Snoefellsjokull (snow mountain glacier), and\narrived at the glacier called Blaserkr (Blue-shirt); thence he\njourneyed south to see if there were any inhabitants of the country.\nHe passed the first winter at Eiriksey, near the middle, of the\nVestribygd (western settlement). The following spring he proceeded to\nEiriksfjordr, and fixed his abode there. During the summer he\nproceeded into the unpeopled districts in the west, and was there a\nlong time, giving names to the places far and wide. The second winter\nhe passed in Eiriksholmar (isles), off Hvarfsgnupr (peak of\ndisappearance, Cape Farewell); and the third summer he went altogether\nnorthwards, to Snoefell and into Hrafnsfjordr (Ravensfirth);\nconsidering then that he had come to the head of Eiriksfjordr, he\nturned back, and passed the third winter in Eiriksey, before the mouth\nof Eiriksfjordr. Now, afterwards, during the summer, he proceeded to\nIceland, and came to Breidafjordr (Broadfirth). This winter he was\nwith Ingolf, at Holmlatr (Island-litter). During the spring, Thorgest\nand he fought, and Eirik met with defeat. After that they were\nreconciled. In the summer Eirik went to live in the land which he had\ndiscovered, and which he called Greenland, \"Because,\" said he, \"men\nwill desire much the more to go there if the land has a good name.\"]\n\n3. Thorgeir Vifilsson married, and took to wife Arnora, daughter of\nEinar, from Laugarbrekka (the slope of the hot spring), the son of\nSigmund, the eon of Ketil-Thistil, who had occupied Thistilsfjordr.\nThe second daughter of Einar was named Hallveig. Thorbjorn Vifilsson\ntook her to wife, and received with her the land of Laugarbrekka, at\nHellisvollr (the cave-hill). To that spot Thorbjorn removed his abode,\nand became great and worshipful. He was the temple-priest, and had a\nmagnificent estate. Thorbjorn's daughter was Gudrid, the fairest of\nwomen, and of peerless nobility in all her conduct. There was a man\nnamed Orm, who dwelt at Arnarstapi (eagle-rock), and he had a wife who\nwas named Halldis. He was a well-to-do franklin, a great friend of\nThorbjorn, and Gudrid lived at his house as his foster-child for a\nlong time. There was a man named Thorgeir, who dwelt at Thorgeirsfjall\n(fell). He was mighty rich in cattle, and had been made a freedman. He\nhad a son, whose name was Einar, a handsome man, well mannered, and a\ngreat dandy. Einar, at this time, was a travelling merchant, sailing\nfrom land to land with great success; and he always passed his winter\neither in Iceland or in Norway. Now after this, I have to tell how\nthat one autumn, when Einar was in Iceland, he proceeded with his\nwares along Snoefellsnes, with the object of selling; he came to\nArnarstapi; Orm invited him to stay there, and Einar accepted his\ninvitation, because there was friendship between him and Orm's people,\nand his wares were earned into a certain outhouse. There he unpacked\nhis merchandise, showed it to Orm and the housemen, and bade Orm take\ntherefrom such things as he would. Orm accepted the offer, and\npronounced Einar to be a goodly gallant traveller, and a great\nfavourite of fortune. When now they were busy with the wares, a woman\npassed before the door of the outhouse; and Einar inquired of Orm who\nthat fair woman might be, passing before the door. \"I have not seen\nher here before,\" said he. \"That is Gudrid, my foster-child,\" said\nOrm, \"daughter of Thorbjorn the franklin, from Laugarbrekka.\" \"She\nmust be a good match,\" said Einar; \"surely she has not been without\nsuitors who have made proposals for her, has she?\" Orm answered,\n\"Proposals have certainly been made, friend, but this treasure is not\nto be had for the picking up; it is found that she will be particular\nin her choice, as well as also her father.\" \"Well, in spite of that,\"\nquoth Einar, \"she is the woman whom I have it in my mind to propose\nfor, and I wish that in this suit of mine you approach her father on\nmy part, and apply yourself to plead diligently[A] for me, for which\nI shall pay you in return a perfect friendship. The franklin,\nThorbjorn, may reflect that our families would be suitably joined in\nthe bonds of affinity; for he is a man in a position of great honour,\nand owns a fine abode, but his personal property, I am told, is\ngreatly on the decrease; neither I nor my father lack lands or\npersonal property; and if this alliance should be brought about, the\ngreatest assistance would accrue to Thorbjorn.\" Then answered Orm, \"Of\na surety I consider myself to be thy friend, and yet am I not willing\nto bring forward this suit, for Thorbjorn is of a proud mind, and\nwithal a very ambitious man.\" Einar replied that he desired no other\nthing than that his offer of marriage should be made known. Orm then\nconsented to undertake his suit, and Einar journeyed south again until\nhe came home. A while after, Thorbjorn had a harvest-feast, as he was\nbound to have because of his great rank. There were present Orm, from\nArnarstapi, and many other friends of Thorbjorn. Orm entered into\nconversation with Thorbjorn, and told him how that Einar had lately\nbeen to see him from Thorgeirsfjall, and was become a promising man.\nHe now began the wooing on behalf of Einar, and said that an alliance\nbetween the families would be very suitable on account of certain\ninterests. \"There may arise to thee, franklin,\" he said, \"great\nassistance in thy means from this alliance.\" But Thorbjorn answered,\n\"I did not expect the like proposal from thee, that I should give my\ndaughter in marriage to the son of a thrall. And so thou perceivest\nthat my substance is decreasing; well, then, my daughter shall not go\nhome with thee, since thou considerest her worthy of so poor a match.\"\nThen went Orm home again, and each of the other guests to his own\nhousehold, and Gudrid remained with her father, and stayed at home\nthat winter.\n\n[Footnote A: The word \"alendu\" is a difficulty. Perhaps we ought to\nread \"allidnu,\" or \"allidinu.\"]\n\nNow, in the spring, Thorbjorn made a feast to his friends, and a\ngoodly banquet was prepared. There came many guests, and the banquet\nwas of the best. Now, at the banquet, Thorbjorn called for a hearing,\nand thus spake:--\"Here have I dwelt a long time. I have experienced\nthe goodwill of men and their affection towards me, and I consider\nthat our dealings with one another have been mutually agreeable. But\nnow do my money matters begin to bring me uneasiness, although to this\ntime my condition has not been reckoned contemptible. I wish,\ntherefore, to break up my household before I lose my honour; to remove\nfrom the country before I disgrace my family. So now I purpose to look\nafter the promises of Eirik the Red, my friend, which he made when we\nseparated at Breidafjordr. I purpose to depart for Greenland in the\nsummer, if events proceed as I could wish.\" These tidings about this\ndesign appeared to the guests to be important, for Thorbjorn had long\nbeen beloved by his friends. They felt that he would only have made so\npublic a declaration that it might be held of no avail to attempt to\ndissuade him from his purpose. Thorbjorn distributed gifts among the\nguests, and then the feast was brought to an end, and they departed to\ntheir own homesteads. Thorbjorn sold his lands, and bought a ship\nwhich had been laid up on shore at the mouth of the Hraunhofn (harbour\nof the lava field). Thirty men ventured on the expedition with him.\nThere was Orm, from Arnarstapi, and his wife, and those friends of\nThorbjorn who did not wish to be separated from him. Then they\nlaunched the ship, and set sail with a favourable wind. But when they\ncame out into the open sea the favourable wind ceased, and they\nexperienced great gales, and made but an ill-sped voyage throughout\nthe summer. In addition to that trouble, there came fever upon the\nexpedition, and Orm died, and Halldis, his wife, and half the\ncompany. Then the sea waxed rougher, and they endured much toil and\nmisery in many ways, and only reached Herjolfsnes, in Greenland, at\nthe very beginning of winter. There dwelt at Herjolfsnes the man who\nwas called Thorkell. He was a useful man and most worthy franklin. He\nreceived Thorbjorn and all his ship's company for the winter,\nassisting them in right noble fashion. This pleased Thorbjorn well and\nhis companions in the voyage.\n\nAt that time there was a great dearth in Greenland; those who had been\nout on fishing expeditions had caught little, and some had not\nreturned. There was in the settlement the woman whose name was\nThorbjorg. She was a prophetess (spae-queen), and was called\nLitilvolva (little sybil). She had had nine sisters, and they were all\nspae-queens, and she was the only one now living. It was a custom of\nThorbjorg, in the winter time, to make a circuit, and people invited\nher to their houses, especially those who had any curiosity about the\nseason, or desired to know their fate; and inasmuch as Thorkell was\nchief franklin thereabouts, he considered that it concerned him to\nknow when the scarcity which overhung the settlement should cease. He\ninvited, therefore, the spae-queen to his house, and prepared for her\na hearty welcome, as was the custom whereever a reception was accorded\na woman of this kind. A high seat was prepared for her, and a cushion\nlaid thereon in which were poultry-feathers. Now, when she came in the\nevening, accompanied by the man who had been sent to meet her, she was\ndressed in such wise that she had a blue mantle over her, with strings\nfor the neck, and it was inlaid with gems quite down to the skirt. On\nher neck she had glass beads. On her head she had a black hood of\nlambskin, lined with ermine. A staff she had in her hand, with a knob\nthereon; it was ornamented with brass, and inlaid with gems round\nabout the knob. Around her she wore a girdle of soft hair, and therein\nwas a large skin-bag, in which she kept the talismans needful to her\nin her wisdom. She wore hairy calf-skin shoes on her feet, with long\nand strong-looking thongs to them, and great knobs of latten at the\nends. On her hands she had gloves of ermine-skin, and they were white\nand hairy within. Now, when she entered, all men thought it their\nbounden duty to offer her becoming greetings, and these she received\naccording as the men were agreeable to her. The franklin Thorkell took\nthe wise-woman by the hand, and led her to the seat prepared for her.\nHe requested her to cast her eyes over his herd, his household, and\nhis homestead. She remained silent altogether. During the evening the\ntables were set; and now I must tell you what food was made ready for\nthe spae-queen. There was prepared for her porridge of kid's milk, and\nhearts of all kinds of living creatures there found were cooked for\nher. She had a brazen spoon, and a knife with a handle of walrus-tusk,\nwhich was mounted with two rings of brass, and the point of it was\nbroken off. When the tables were removed, the franklin Thorkell\nadvanced to Thorbjorg and asked her how she liked his homestead, or\nthe appearance of the men; or how soon she would ascertain that which\nhe had asked, and which the men desired to know. She replied that she\nwould not give answer before the morning, after she had slept there\nfor the night. And when the (next) day was far spent, the preparations\nwere made for her which she required for the exercise of her\nenchantments. She begged them to bring to her those women who were\nacquainted with the lore needed for the exercise of the enchantments,\nand which is known by the name of Weird-songs, but no such women came\nforward. Then was search made throughout the homestead if any woman\nwere so learned. Then answered Gudrid, \"I am not skilled in deep\nlearning, nor am I a wise-woman, although Halldis, my foster-mother,\ntaught me, in Iceland, the lore which she called Weird-songs.\" \"Then\nart thou wise in good season,\" answered Thorbjorg; but Gudrid replied,\n\"That lore and the ceremony are of such a kind, that I purpose to be\nof no assistance therein, because I am a Christian woman.\" Then\nanswered Thorbjorg, \"Thou mightest perchance afford thy help to the\nmen in this company, and yet be none the worse woman than thou wast\nbefore; but to Thorkell give I charge to provide here the things that\nare needful.\" Thorkell thereupon urged Gudrid to consent, and she\nyielded to his wishes. The women formed a ring round about, and\nThorbjorg ascended the scaffold and the seat prepared for her\nenchantments. Then sang Gudrid the weird-song in so beautiful and\nexcellent a manner, that to no one there did it seem that he had ever\nbefore heard the song in voice so beautiful as now. The spae-queen\nthanked her for the song. \"Many spirits,\" said she, \"have been present\nunder its charm, and were pleased to listen to the song, who before\nwould turn away from us, and grant us no such homage. And now are many\nthings clear to me which before were hidden both from me and others.\nAnd I am able this to say, that the dearth will last no longer--the\nseason improving as spring advances. The epidemic of fever which has\nlong oppressed us will disappear quicker than we could have hoped. And\nthee, Gudrid, will I recompense straightway, for that aid of thine\nwhich has stood us in good stead; because thy destiny is now clear to\nme, and foreseen. Thou shalt make a match here in Greenland, a most\nhonourable one, though it will not be a long-lived one for thee,\nbecause thy way lies out to Iceland; and there, shall arise from thee\na line of descendants both numerous and goodly, and over the branches\nof thy family shall shine a bright ray. And so fare thee now well and\nhappily, my daughter.\" Afterwards the men went to the wise-woman, and\neach enquired after what he was most curious to know. She was also\nliberal of her replies, and what she said proved true. After this came\none from another homestead after her, and she then went there.\nThorbjorn was invited, because he did not wish to remain at home while\nsuch heathen worship was performing. The weather soon improved when\nonce spring began, as Thorbjorg had said, Thorbjorn made ready his\nship, and went on until he came to Brattahlid (the steep slope). Eirik\nreceived him with the utmost cordiality, saying he had done well to\ncome there. Thorbjorn and his family were with him during the winter.\nAnd in the following spring Eirik gave to Thorbjorn land at Stokknes,\nand handsome farm buildings were there built for him, and he dwelt\nthere afterwards.\n\n4. Eirik had a wife who was named Thjodhild, and two sons; the one was\nnamed Thorstein, and the other Leif. These sons of Eirik were both\npromising men. Thorstein was then at home with his father; and there\nwas at that time no man in Greenland who was thought so highly of as\nhe. Leif had sailed to Norway, and was there with King Olaf\nTryggvason. Now, when Leif sailed from Greenland during the summer, he\nand his men were driven out of their course to the Sudreyjar. They\nwere slow in getting a favourable wind from this place, and they\nstayed there a long time during the summer ... reaching Norway about\nharvest-tide. He joined the body-guard of King Olaf Tryggvason, and\nthe king formed an excellent opinion of him, and it appeared to him\nthat Leif was a well-bred man. Once upon a time the king entered into\nconversation with Leif, and asked him, \"Dost thou purpose sailing to\nGreenland in summer?\" Leif answered, \"I should wish so to do, if it\nis your will.\" The king replied, \"I think it may well be so; thou\nshalt go my errand, and preach Christianity in Greenland.\" Leif said\nthat he was willing to undertake it, but that, for himself, he\nconsidered that message a difficult one to proclaim in Greenland. But\nthe king said that he knew no man who was better fitted for the work\nthan he. \"And thou shalt carry,\" said he, \"good luck with thee in it.\"\n\"That can only be,\" said Leif, \"if I carry yours with me.\" Leif set\nsail as soon as he was ready. He was tossed about a long time out at\nsea, and lighted upon lands of which before he had no expectation.\nThere were fields of wild wheat, and the vine-tree in full growth.\nThere were also the trees which were called maples; and they gathered\nof all this certain tokens; some trunks so large that they were used\nin house-building. Leif came upon men who had been shipwrecked, and\ntook them home with him, and gave them sustenance during the winter.\nThus did he show his great munificence and his graciousness when he\nbrought Christianity to the land, and saved the shipwrecked crew. He\nwas called Leif the Lucky. Leif reached land in Eiriksfjordr, and\nproceeded home to Brattahlid. The people received him gladly. He soon\nafter preached Christianity and catholic truth throughout the land,\nmaking known to the people the message of King Olaf Tryggvason; and\ndeclaring how many renowned deeds and what great glory accompanied\nthis faith. Eirik took coldly to the proposal to forsake his religion,\nbut his wife, Thjodhild, promptly yielded, and caused a church to be\nbuilt not very near the houses. The building was called Thjodhild's\nChurch; in that spot she offered her prayers, and so did those men who\nreceived Christ, and they were many. After she accepted the faith,\nThjodhild would have no intercourse with Eirik, and this was a great\ntrial to his temper.\n\nAfter this there was much talk about making ready to go to the land\nwhich Leif had discovered. Thorstein, Eirik's son, was chief mover in\nthis, a worthy man, wise and much liked. Eirik was also asked to go,\nand they believed that his luck and foresight would be of the highest\nuse. He was [for a long time against it, but did not say nay], when\nhis friends exhorted him to go. They made ready the ship which\nThorbjorn had brought there, and there were twenty men who undertook\nto start in her. They had little property, but chiefly weapons and\nfood. On the morning when Eirik left home he took a little box, which\nhad in it gold and silver; he hid the money, and then went forth on\nhis journey. He had proceeded, however, but a little way, when he fell\nfrom his horse, and broke his ribs and injured his shoulder, and cried\nout, \"Aiai!\" At this accident he sent word to his wife that she should\ntake away the money that he had hidden, declaring his misfortune to be\na penalty paid on account of having hid the money. Afterwards they\nsailed away out of Eiriksfjordr with gladness, as their plan seemed to\npromise success. They were driven about for a long time on the open\nsea, and came not into the track which they desired. They came in\nsight of Iceland, and also met with birds from the coast of Ireland.\nThen was their ship tossed to and fro on the sea. They returned about\nharvest-tide, worn out by toil and much exhausted, and reached\nEiriksfjordr at the beginning of winter. Then spake Eirik, \"You were\nin better spirits in the summer, when you went forth out of the firth,\nthan you are in now, and yet for all that there is much to be thankful\nfor.\" Thorstein replied, \"It is a chieftain's duty now to look after\nsome arrangement for these men who are without shelter, and to find\nthem food.\" Eirik answered, \"That is an ever-true saying, 'You know\nnot until you have got your answer.' I will now take thy counsel about\nthis.\" All those who had no other abodes were to go with the father\nand the son. Then came they to land, and went forth home.\n\n5. Now, after this, I have to tell you how Thorstein, Eirik's son,\nbegan wooing Gudrid, Thorbjorn's daughter. To his proposals a\nfavourable answer was given, both by the maid herself, and also by her\nfather. The marriage was also arranged, so that Thorstein went to take\npossession of his bride, and the bridal feast was held at Brattahlid\nin the autumn. The banquet went off well, and was numerously attended.\nThorstein owned a homestead in the Vestribygd on the estate known as\nLysufjordr (shining firth). The man who was called Thorstein owned the\nother half of the homestead. His wife was called Sigrid. Thorstein\nwent, during the autumn, to Lysufjordr, to his namesake, both he and\nGudrid. Their reception was a welcome one. They were there during the\nwinter. When little of the winter was past, the event happened there\nthat fever broke out on their estate. The overseer of the work was\nnamed Garth. He was an unpopular man. He took the fever first and\ndied. Afterwards, and with but little intermission, one took the fever\nafter another and died. Then Thorstein, Eirik's son, fell ill, and\nalso Sigrid, the wife of his namesake Thorstein. [And one evening\nSigrid left the house, and rested awhile opposite the outer door; and\nGudrid accompanied her; and they looked back towards the outer door,\nand Sigrid screamed out aloud. Gudrid said, \"We have come forth\nunwarily, and thou canst in no wise withstand the cold; let us even go\nhome as quickly as possible.\" \"It is not safe as matters are,\"\nanswered Sigrid. \"There is all that crowd of dead people before the\ndoor; Thorstein, thy husband, also, and myself, I recognise among\nthem, and it is a grief thus to behold.\" And when this passed away,\nshe said, \"Let us now go, Gudrid; I see the crowd no longer.\"\nThorstein, Eirik's son, had also disappeared from her sight; he had\nseemed to have a whip in his hand, and to wish to smite the ghostly\ntroop. Afterwards they went in, and before morning came she was dead,\nand a coffin was prepared for the body. Now, the same day, the men\npurposed to go out fishing, and Thorstein led them to the landing\nplaces, and in the early morning he went to see what they had caught.\nThen Thorstein, Eirik's son, sent word to his namesake to come to him,\nsaying that matters at home were hardly quiet; that the housewife was\nendeavouring to rise to her feet and to get under the clothes beside\nhim. And when he was come in she had risen upon the edge of the bed.\nThen took he her by the hands and laid a pole-axe upon her breast.\nThorstein, Eirik's son, died near nightfall. Thorstein, the franklin,\nbegged Gudrid to lie down and sleep, saying that he would watch over\nthe body during the night. So she did, and when a little of the night\nwas past, Thorstein, Eirik's son, sat up and spake, saying he wished\nGudrid to be called to him, and that he wished to speak with her. \"God\nwills,\" he said, \"that this hour be given to me for my own, and the\nfurther completion of my plan.\" Thorstein, the franklin, went to find\nGudrid, and waked her; begged her to cross herself, and to ask God for\nhelp, and told her what Thorstein, Eirik's son, had spoken with him;\n\"and he wishes,\" said he, \"to meet with thee. Thou art obliged to\nconsider what plan thou wilt adopt, because I can in this issue advise\nthee in nowise.\" She answered, \"It may be that this, this wonderful\nthing, has regard to certain matters, which are afterwards to be had\nin memory; and I hope that God's keeping will test upon me, and I\nwill, with God's grace, undertake the risk and go to him, and know\nwhat he will say, for I shall not be able to escape if harm must\nhappen to me. I am far from wishing that he should go elsewhere; I\nsuspect, moreover, that the matter will be a pressing one.\" Then went\nGudrid and saw Thorstein. He appeared to her as if shedding tears. He\nspake in her ear, in a low voice, certain words which she alone might\nknow; but this he said so that all heard, \"That those men would be\nblessed who held the true faith, and that all salvation and mercy\naccompanied it; and that many, nevertheless, held it lightly.\" \"It\nis,\" said he, \"no good custom which has prevailed here in Greenland\nsince Christianity came, to bury men in unconsecrated ground with few\nreligious rites over them. I wish for myself, and for those other men\nwho have died, to be taken to the church; but for Garth, I wish him to\nbe burned on a funeral pile as soon as may be, for he is the cause of\nall those ghosts which have been among us this winter.\" He spake to\nGudrid also about her own state, saying that her destiny would be a\ngreat one, and begged her to beware of marrying Greenland men. He\nbegged her also to pay over their property to the Church and some to\nthe poor; and then he sank down for the second time.] It had been a\ncustom in Greenland, after Christianity was brought there, to bury men\nin unconsecrated ground on the farms where they died. An upright stake\nwas placed over a body, and when the priests came afterwards to the\nplace, then was the stake pulled out, consecrated water poured\ntherein, and a funeral service held, though it might be long after the\nburial. The bodies were removed to the church in Eiriksfjordr, and\nfuneral services held by the priests. After that died Thorbjorn. The\nwhole property then went to Gudrid. Eirik received her into his\nhousehold, and looked well after her stores.\n\n6. There was a man named Thorfinn Karlsefni, son of Thord Horsehead,\nwho dwelt in the north (of Iceland), at Reynines in Skagafjordr, as it\nis now called. Karlsefni was a man of good family, and very rich. His\nmother's name was Thorun. He engaged in trading journeys, and seemed a\ngoodly, bold, and gallant traveller. One summer Karlsefni prepared his\nship, intending to go to Greenland. Snorri, Thorbrand's son, from\nAlptafjordr, resolved to travel with him, and there were thirty men in\nthe company. There was a man named Bjarni, Grimolf's son, a man of\nBreidafjordr (Broadfirth); another called Thorhall, son of Gamli, a\nman from the east of Iceland. They prepared their ship the very same\nsummer as Karlsefni, with intent also to go to Greenland. They had in\nthe ship forty men. The two ships launched out into the open sea as\nsoon as they were ready. It is not recorded how long a voyage they\nhad. But, after this, I have to tell you that both these ships came to\nEiriksfjordr about autumn. Eirik rode down to the ships with other men\nof the land, and a market-fair was promptly instituted. The captains\ninvited Gudrid to take such of the merchandise as she wished, and\nEirik displayed on his part much magnificence in return, inasmuch as\nhe invited both these ships' companies home with him to pass the\nwinter in Brattahlid. The merchants accepted the invitation, and went\nhome with Eirik. Afterwards their merchandise was removed to\nBrattahlid, where a good and large outhouse was not lacking in which\nto store the goods. The merchants were well pleased to stay with Eirik\nduring the winter. When now Yule was drawing nigh, Eirik began to look\nmore gloomy than he was wont to be. Presently Karlsefni entered into\nconversation with him, and said, \"Art thou in trouble, Eirik? it\nappears to me that thou art somewhat more taciturn than thou hast\nbeen; still thou helpest us with much liberality, and we are bound to\nreward thee according as we have means thereto. Say now what causes\nthy cheerlessness.\" Eirik answered, \"You receive hospitality well, and\nlike worthy men. Now, I have no mind that our intercourse together\nshould be expensive to you; but so it is, that it will seem to me an\nill thing if it is heard that you never spent a worse Yule than this,\njust now beginning, when Eirik the Red entertained you at Brattahlid,\nin Greenland.\" Karlsefni answered, \"It must not come to such a pass;\nwe have in our ships malt, meal, and corn, and you have right and\ntitle to take therefrom whatever you wish, and to make your\nentertainment such as consorts with your munificence.\" And Eirik\naccepted the offer. Then was preparation made for the Yule-feast, and\nso magnificent was it that the men thought they had scarcely ever seen\nso grand a feast. And after Yule, Karlsefni broached to Eirik the\nsubject of a marriage with Gudrid, which he thought might be under\nEirik's control, and the woman appeared to him to be both beautiful\nand of excellent understanding. Eirik answered and said, that for his\npart he would willingly undertake his suit, and said, moreover, that\nshe was worthy of a good match. It is also likely, he thought, that\nshe will be following out her destiny, should she be given to him;\nand, moreover, the report which comes to me of him is good. The\nproposals were now laid before her, and she allowed the marriage with\nher to be arranged which Eirik wished to promote. However, I will not\nnow speak at length how this marriage took place; the Yule festival\nwas prolonged and made into a marriage-feast. Great joy was there in\nBrattahlid during the winter. Much playing at backgammon and telling\nof stories went on, and many things were done that ministered to the\ncomfort of the household.\n\n7. During this time much talk took place in Brattahlid about making\nready to go to Vinland the Good, and it was asserted that they would\nthere find good choice lands. The discourse came to such conclusion\nthat Karlsefni and Snorri prepared their ship, with the intention of\nseeking Vinland during the summer. Bjarni and Thorhall ventured on the\nsame expedition, with their ship and the retinue which had accompanied\nthem. [There was a man named Thorvard; he married Freydis, natural\ndaughter of Eirik the Red; he set out with them likewise, as also\nThorvald, a son of Eirik.] There was a man named Thorvald; he was a\nson-in-law[B] of Eirik the Red. Thorhall was called the Sportsman; he\nhad for a long time been Eirik's companion in hunting and fishing\nexpeditions during the summers, and many things had been committed to\nhis keeping. Thorhall was a big man, dark, and of gaunt appearance;\nrather advanced in years, overbearing in temper, of melancholy mood,\nsilent at all times, underhand in his dealings, and withal given to\nabuse, and always inclined towards the worst. He had kept himself\naloof from the true faith when it came to Greenland. He was but little\nencompassed with the love of friends, but yet Eirik had long held\nconversation with him. He went in the ship with Thorvald and his man,\nbecause he was widely acquainted with the unpeopled districts. They\nhad the ship which Thorbjorn had brought to Greenland, and they\nventured on the expedition with Karlsefni and the others; and most of\nthem in this ship were Greenlanders. There were one hundred and sixty\nmen in their ships. They sailed away from land; then to the Vestribygd\nand to Bjarneyjar (the Bear Islands). Thence they sailed away from\nBjarneyjar with northerly winds. They were out at sea two half-days.\nThen they came to land, and rowed along it in boats, and explored it,\nand found there flat stones, many and so great that two men might well\nlie on them stretched on their backs with heel to heel. Polar-foxes\nwere there in abundance. This land they gave name to, and called it\nHelluland (stone-land). Then they sailed with northerly winds two\nhalf-days, and there was then land before them, and on it a great\nforest and many wild beasts. An island lay in the south-east off the\nland, and they found bears thereon, and called the island Bjarney\n(Bear Island); but the mainland, where the forest was, they called\nMarkland (forest-land). Then, when two half-days were passed, they saw\nland, and sailed under it. There was a cape to which they came. They\ncruised along the land, leaving it on the starboard side. There was a\nharbourless coast-land, and long sandy strands. They went to the land\nin boats, and found the keel of a ship, and called the place\nKjalar-nes (Keelness). They gave also name to the strands, calling\nthem Furdustrandir (wonder-shore), because it was tedious to sail by\nthem. Then the coast became indented with creeks, and they directed\ntheir ships along the creeks. Now, before this, when Leif was with\nKing Olaf Tryggvason, and the king had requested him to preach\nChristianity in Greenland, he gave him two Scotch people, the man\ncalled Haki, and the woman called H\u00e6kja. The king requested Leif to\nhave recourse to these people if ever he should want fleetness,\nbecause they were swifter than wild beasts. Eirik and Leif had got\nthese people to go with Karlsefni. Now, when they had sailed by\nFurdustrandir, they put the Scotch people on land, and requested them\nto run into the southern regions, seek for choice land, and come back\nafter three half-days[C] were passed. They were dressed in such wise\nthat they had on the garment which they called _biafal_. It was made\nwith a hood at the top, open at the sides, without sleeves, and was\nfastened between the legs. A button and a loop held it together there;\nand elsewhere they were without clothing. Then did they cast anchors\nfrom the ships, and lay there to wait for them. And when three days\nwere expired the Scotch people leapt down from the land, and one of\nthem had in his hand a bunch of grapes, and the other an ear of wild\nwheat.\n\n[Footnote B: Later on in the Saga he is called a son of Eirik. The\ntext would appear to be somewhat corrupt here, as the passage in\nsquare brackets from Hauks-bok seems to show.]\n\n[Footnote C: The word \"doegr,\" both here and above, is translated\n\"half-day,\" though it may possibly mean a period of twenty-four\nhours. It is to be noticed, however, that these Scotch people return\nafter three \"dagar,\" which can only mean periods of twenty-four\nhours.]\n\nThey said to Karlsefni that they considered they had found good and\nchoice land. Then they received them into their ship, and proceeded on\ntheir journey to where the shore was cut into by a firth. They\ndirected the ships within the firth. There was an island lying out in\nfront of the firth, and there were great currents around the island,\nwhich they called Straums-ey (Stream-island). There were so many birds\non it that scarcely was it possible to put one's feet down for the\neggs. They continued their course up the firth, which they called\nStraumsfjordr, and carried their cargo ashore from the ships, and\nthere they prepared to stay. They had with them cattle of all kinds,\nand for themselves they sought out the produce of the land thereabout.\nThere were mountains, and the place was fair to look upon. They gave\nno heed to anything except to explore the land, and they found large\npastures. They remained there during the winter, which happened to be\na hard one, with no work doing; and they were badly off for food, and\nthe fishing failed. Then they went out to the island, hoping that\nsomething might be got there from fishing or from what was drifted\nashore. In that spot there was little, however, to be got for food,\nbut their cattle found good sustenance. After that they called upon\nGod, praying that He would send them some little store of meat, but\ntheir prayer was not so soon granted as they were eager that it should\nbe. Thorhall disappeared from sight, and they went to seek him, and\nsought for three half-days continuously. On the fourth half-day\nKarlsefni and Bjarni found him on the peak of a crag. He lay with his\nface to the sky, with both eyes and mouth and nostrils wide open,\nclawing and pinching himself, and reciting something. They asked why\nhe had come there. He replied that it was of no importance; begged\nthem not to wonder thereat; as for himself, he had lived so long, they\nneeded not to take any account of him. They begged him to go home with\nthem, and he did so. A little while after a whale was driven ashore,\nand the men crowded round it, and cut it up, and still they knew not\nwhat kind of whale it was. Even Karlsefni recognised it not, though he\nhad great knowledge of whales. It was cooked by the cook-boys, and\nthey ate thereof; though bad effects came upon all from it afterwards.\nThen began Thorhall, and said, \"Has it not been that the Redbeard has\nproved a better friend than your Christ? this was my gift for the\npoetry which I composed about Thor, my patron; seldom has he failed\nme.\" Now, when the men knew that, none of them would eat of it, and\nthey threw it down from the rocks, and turned with their supplications\nto God's mercy. Then was granted to them opportunity of fishing, and\nafter that there was no lack of food that spring. They went back again\nfrom the island, within Straumsfjordr, and obtained food from both\nsides; from hunting on the mainland, and from gathering eggs and from\nfishing on the side of the sea.\n\n8. When summer was at hand they discussed about their journey, and\nmade an arrangement. Thorhall the Sportsman wished to proceed\nnorthwards along Furdustrandir, and off Kjalarnes, and so seek\nVinland; but Karlsefni desired to proceed southwards along the land\nand away from the east, because the land appeared to him the better\nthe further south he went, and he thought it also more advisable to\nexplore in both directions. Then did Thorhall make ready for his\njourney out by the islands, and there volunteered for the expedition\nwith him not more than nine men; but with Karlsefni there went the\nremainder of the company. And one day, when Thorhall was carrying\nwater to his ship, he drank, and recited this verse:--\n\n\"The clashers of weapons did say when I came here that I should have\nthe best of drink (though it becomes me not to complain before the\ncommon people). Eager God of the war-helmet! I am made to raise the\nbucket; wine has not moistened my beard, rather do I kneel at the\nfountain.\"\n\nAfterwards they put to sea, and Karlsefni accompanied them by the\nisland. Before they hoisted sail Thorhall recited a verse:--\n\n\"Go we back where our countrymen are. Let us make the skilled hawk of\nthe sand-heaven explore the broad ship-courses; while the dauntless\nrousers of the sword-storm, who praise the land, and cook whale, dwell\non Furdustrandir.\"\n\nThen they left, and sailed northwards along Furdustrandir and\nKjalarnes, and attempted there to sail against a wind from the west. A\ngale came upon them, however, and drove them onwards against Ireland,\nand there were they severely treated, enthralled, and beaten. Then\nThorhall lost his life.\n\n9. Karlsefni proceeded southwards along the land, with Snorri and\nBjarni and the rest of the company. They journeyed a long while, and\nuntil they arrived at a river, which came down from the land and fell\ninto a lake, and so on to the sea. There were large islands off the\nmouth of the river, and they could not come into the river except at\nhigh flood-tide. Karlsefni and his people sailed to the mouth of the\nriver, and called the land Hop. There they found fields of wild wheat\nwherever there were low grounds; and the vine in all places were there\nwas rough rising ground. Every rivulet there was full of fish. They\nmade holes where the land and water joined and where the tide went\nhighest; and when it ebbed they found halibut in the holes. There was\ngreat plenty of wild animals of every form in the wood. They were\nthere half a month, amusing themselves, and not becoming aware of\nanything. Their cattle they had with them. And early one morning, as\nthey looked around, they beheld nine canoes made of hides, and\nsnout-like staves were being brandished from the boats, and they made\na noise like flails, and twisted round in the direction of the sun's\nmotion. Then Karlsefni said, \"What will this betoken?\" Snorri answered\nhim, \"It may be that it is a token of peace; let us take a white\nshield and go to meet them.\" And so they did. Then did they in the\ncanoes row forwards, and showed surprise at them, and came to land.\nThey were short men, ill-looking, with their hair in disorderly\nfashion on their heads; they were large-eyed, and had broad cheeks.\nAnd they stayed there awhile in astonishment. Afterwards they rowed\naway to the south, off the headland.\n\n10. They had built their settlements up above the lake. And some of\nthe dwellings were well within the land, but some were near the lake.\nNow they remained there that winter. They had no snow whatever, and\nall their cattle went out to graze without keepers. Now when spring\nbegan, they beheld one morning early, that a fleet of hide-canoes was\nrowing from the south off the headland; so many were they as if the\nsea were strewn with pieces of charcoal, and there was also the\nbrandishing of staves as before from each boat. Then they held shields\nup, and a market was formed between them; and this people in their\npurchases preferred red cloth; in exchange they had furs to give, and\nskins quite grey. They wished also to buy swords and lances, but\nKarlsefni and Snorri forbad it. They offered for the cloth dark hides,\nand took in exchange a span long of cloth, and bound it round their\nheads; and so matters went on for a while. But when the stock of cloth\nbegan to grow small, then they split it asunder, so that it was not\nmore than a finger's breadth. The Skroelingar (Esquimaux) gave for it\nstill quite as much, or more than before.\n\n11. Now it came to pass that a bull, which belonged to Karlsefni's\npeople, rushed out of the wood and bellowed loudly at the same time.\nThe Skroelingar, frightened thereat, rushed away to their canoes, and\nrowed south along the coast. There was then nothing seen of them for\nthree weeks together. When that time was gone by, there was seen\napproaching from the south a great crowd of Skroelingar boats, coming\ndown upon them like a stream, the staves this time being all\nbrandished in the direction opposite to the sun's motion, and the\nSkroelingar were all howling loudly. Then took they and bare red\nshields to meet them. They encountered one another and fought, and\nthere was a great shower of missiles. The Skroelingar had also\nwar-slings, or catapults. Then Karlsefni and Snorri see that the\nSkroelingar are bringing up poles, with a very large ball attached to\neach, to be compared in size to a sheep's stomach, dark in colour; and\nthese flew over Karlsefni's company towards the land, and when they\ncame down they struck the ground with a hideous noise. This produced\ngreat terror in Karlsefni and his company, so that their only impulse\nwas to retreat up the country along the river, because it seemed as if\ncrowds of Skroelingar were driving at them from all sides. And they\nstopped not until they came to certain crags. There they offered them\nstern resistance. Freydis came out and saw how they were retreating.\nShe called out, \"Why run you away from such worthless creatures, stout\nmen that ye are, when, as seems to me likely, you might slaughter them\nlike so many cattle? Let me but have a weapon, I think I could fight\nbetter than any of you.\" They gave no heed to what she said. Freydis\nendeavoured to accompany them, still she soon lagged behind, because\nshe was not well; she went after them into the wood, and the\nSkroelingar directed their pursuit after her. She came upon a dead man;\nThorbrand, Snorri's son, with a flat stone fixed in his head; his\nsword lay beside him, so she took it up and prepared to defend herself\ntherewith. Then came the Skroelingar upon her. She let down her sark\nand struck her breast with the naked sword. At this they were\nfrightened, rushed off to their boats, and fled away. Karlsefni and\nthe rest came up to her and praised her zeal. Two of Karlsefni's men\nfell, and four of the Skroelingar, notwithstanding they had overpowered\nthem by superior numbers. After that, they proceeded to their booths,\nand began to reflect about the crowd of men which attacked them upon\nthe land; it appeared to them now that the one troop will have been\nthat which came in the boats, and the other troop will have been a\ndelusion of sight. The Skroelingar also found a dead man, and his axe\nlay beside him. One of them struck a stone with it, and broke the axe.\nIt seemed to them good for nothing, as it did not withstand the stone,\nand they threw it down.\n\n12. [Karlsefni and his company] were now of opinion that though the\nland might be choice and good, there would be always war and terror\noverhanging them, from those who dwelt there before them. They made\nready, therefore, to move away, with intent to go to their own land.\nThey sailed forth northwards, and found five Skroelingar in jackets of\nskin, sleeping [near the sea], and they had with them a chest, and in\nit was marrow of animals mixed with blood; and they considered that\nthese must have been outlawed. They slew them. Afterwards they came to\na headland and a multitude of wild animals; and this headland appeared\nas if it might be a cake of cow-dung, because the animals passed the\nwinter there. Now they came to Straumsfjordr, where also they had\nabundance of all kinds. It is said by some that Bjarni and Freydis\nremained there, and a hundred men with them, and went not further\naway. But Karlsefni and Snorri journeyed southwards, and forty men\nwith them, and after staying no longer than scarcely two months at\nHop, had come back the same summer. Karlsefni set out with a single\nship to seek Thorhall, but the (rest of the) company remained behind.\nHe and his people went northwards off Kjalarnes, and were then borne\nonwards towards the west, and the land lay on their larboard-side, and\nwas nothing but wilderness. And when they had proceeded for a long\ntime, there was a river which came down from the land, flowing from\nthe east towards the west. They directed their course within the\nriver's mouth, and lay opposite the southern bank.\n\n13. One morning Karlsefni's people beheld as it were a glittering\nspeak above the open space in front of them, and they shouted at it.\nIt stirred itself, and it was a being of the race of men that have\nonly one foot, and he came down quickly to where they lay. Thorvald,\nson of Eirik the Red, sat at the tiller, and the One-footer shot him\nwith an arrow in the lower abdomen. He drew out the arrow. Then said\nThorvald, \"Good land have we reached, and fat is it about the paunch.\"\nThen the One-footer leapt away again northwards. They chased after\nhim, and saw him occasionally, but it seemed as if he would escape\nthem. He disappeared at a certain creek. Then they turned back, and\none man spake this ditty:--\n\n\"Our men chased (all true it is) a One-footer down to the shore; but\nthe wonderful man strove hard in the race....[D] Hearken, Karlsefni.\"\n\nThen they journeyed away back again northwards, and saw, as they\nthought, the land of the One-footers. They wished, however, no longer\nto risk their company. They conjectured the mountains to be all one\nrange; those, that is, which were at Hop, and those which they now\ndiscovered; almost answering to one another; and it was the same\ndistance to them on both sides from Straumsfjordr. They journeyed\nback, and were in Straumsfjordr the third winter. Then fell the men\ngreatly into backsliding. They who were wifeless pressed their claims\nat the hands of those who were married. Snorri, Karlsefni's son, was\nborn the first autumn, and he was three winters old when they began\ntheir journey home. Now, when they sailed from Vinland, they had a\nsouthern wind, and reached Markland, and found five Skroelingar; one\nwas a bearded man, two were women, two children. Karlsefni's people\ncaught the children, but the others escaped and sunk down into the\nearth. And they took the children with them, and taught them their\nspeech, and they were baptized. The children called their mother\nVoetilldi, and their father Uvoegi. They said that kings ruled over the\nland of the Skroelingar, one of whom was called Avalldamon, and the\nother Valldidida. They said also that there were no houses, and the\npeople lived in caves or holes. They said, moreover, that there was a\nland on the other side over against their land, and the people there\nwere dressed in white garments, uttered loud cries, bare long poles,\nand wore fringes. This was supposed to be Hvitramannaland (whiteman's\nland). Then came they to Greenland, and remained with Eirik the Red\nduring the winter.\n\n[Footnote D: in this _lacuna_ occur the words \"af stopi,\" which Dr.\nVigfusson translates, in his notes, \"over the stubbles.\"]\n\n14. Bjarni, Grimolf's son, and his men were carried into the Irish\nOcean, and came into a part where the sea was infested by ship-worms.\nThey did not find it out before the ship was eaten through under them;\nthen they debated what plan they should follow. They had a ship's boat\nwhich was smeared with tar made of seal-fat. It is said that the\nship-worm will not bore into the wood which has been smeared with the\nseal-tar. The counsel and advice of most of the men was to ship into\nthe boat as many men as it would hold. Now, when that was tried, the\nboat held not more than half the men. Then Bjarni advised that it\nshould be decided by the casting of lots, and not by the rank of the\nmen, which of them should go into the boat; and inasmuch as every man\nthere wished to go into the boat, though it could not hold all of\nthem; therefore, they accepted the plan to cast lots who should leave\nthe ship for the boat. And the lot so fell that Bjarni, and nearly\nhalf the men with him, were chosen for the boat. So then those left\nthe ship and went into the boat who had been chosen by lot so to do.\nAnd when the men were come into the boat, a young man, an Icelander,\nwho had been a fellow-traveller of Bjarni, said, \"Dost thou intend,\nBjarni, to separate thyself here from me.\" \"It must needs be so now,\"\nBjarni answered. He replied, \"Because, in such case, thou didst not so\npromise me when I set out from Iceland with thee from the homestead of\nmy father.\" Bjarni answered, \"I do not, however, see here any other\nplan; but what plan dost thou suggest?\" He replied, \"I propose this\nplan, that we two make a change in our places, and thou come here and\nI will go there.\" Bjarni answered, \"So shall it be; and this I see,\nthat thou labourest willingly for life, and that it seems to thee a\ngrievous thing to face death.\" Then they changed places. The man went\ninto the boat, and Bjarni back into the ship; and it is said that\nBjarni perished there in the Worm-sea, and they who were with him in\nthe ship; but the boat and those who were in it went on their journey\nuntil they reached land, and told this story afterwards.\n\n15. The next summer Karlsefni set out for Iceland, and Snorri with\nhim, and went home to his house in Reynines. His mother considered\nthat he had made a shabby match, and she was not at home the first\nwinter. But when she found that Gudrid was a lady without peer, she\nwent home, and their intercourse was happy. The daughter of Snorri,\nKarlsefni's son, was Hallfrid, mother of Bishop Thorlak, the son of\nRunolf. (Hallfrid and Runolf) had a son, whose name was Thorbjorn; his\ndaughter was Thorun, mother of Bishop Bjarn. Thorgeir was the name of\na son of Snorri, Karlsefni's son; he was father of Yngvild, the mother\nof the first Bishop Brand. And here ends this story.\n\n(This translation is made from the version of the Saga printed in Dr.\nGudbrand Vigfusson's _Icelandic Prose Reader_. The passages in square\nbrackets are taken from the Hauks-bok version given in _Antiquitates\nAmerican\u00e6_. It may be mentioned here that Carl Christian Rafn and the\nother Danish scholars who edited this elaborate work have concluded\nthat Kjalarnes is the modern Cape Cod, Straumsfjordr is Buzzard's Bay,\nStraumsey is Martha's Vineyard, and Hop is on the shores of Mount Haup\nBay, into which the river Taunton flows.\n\nEnglish readers of Icelandic owe a large debt to Dr. Vigfusson for his\nlabours in the cause of Icelandic literature. The great _Dictionary_,\nthe _Sturlunga Saga_, and the _Prose Reader_, together make an undying\nclaim on our gratitude; and yet they only show how very much more is\nstill to be done. May we hope that Dr. Vigfusson will not cease from\nhis labours until he has put forth a large instalment of the series\nwhich he has sketched in the able introduction to the _Sturlunga_, p.\nccix.; and that the Delegates of the Clarendon Press will continue\ngenerously to appreciate his eager, scholarly, and laborious\nenthusiasm.)","title":"Eirik the Red's Saga","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":10269}