Thoughts on Grœnlendinga Saga

You would think that since I have been granted a second lease on life that I would want to read things that were produced since after I had been buried and mourned, in quite a stately fashion I might add. However, the ease of which the people of today can purchase literature astounds me. You have more access to great works than at any other period in history! It is truly a blessing! If only I could be pulled away from Playstation 3 long enough I would be lost in so many books. But as it is, I can only be pulled away long enough to read that which I fancy the most at the moment, and at this moment I fancy Viking Sagas. So, for my first post on literature I have chosen the short saga entitled, "Grœnlendinga Saga".

The Grœnlendinga Saga was written down sometime in the 13th century but retells stories from the late 10th and early 11th centuries. It is a fascinating look at Viking culture and important for anyone that enjoys American history. Why? Because it retells the story of how America was discovered by Europeans nearly 500 years before Columbus. Considering that only within the last 20 years have we celebrated the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage that more than doubles the time of Europe's involvement in the Americas. Fascinating stuff.

The Grœnlendinga Saga tells about Eirik the Red and his descendants. The first bit deals with Eirik the Red and his discovery of Greenland. One of my favorite parts of the Grœnlendinga Saga is how it opens. "He and Eirik left their home in Jaerderen, in Norway, because of some killings". It is such a succinct opening and tells, so matter of fact the brutal world in which Eirik the Red operates. Eirik has to leave his home three times because of his violent nature and discovers Greenland. He then decides to play marketing guru and decides to call the place he discovered "Greenland, for he said that people would be more tempted to go there if it had an attractive name".

The saga continues with a guy named Bjarni who moves to be with his father in Greenland. Bjarni however is blown off course and spies some islands and land that is not Greenland. However, Bjarni has no interest in exploring the lands and finally is able to reunite with his pops in Greenland. Later Bjarni goes to Norway where he is ridiculed for his lack of curiosity. But, the Viking spirit for exploration is not diminished.

Leif Eiriksson, the son of Eirik the Red learns of Bjarni's voyage and decides he wants the glory and accolades that comes with exploration of new lands. Lief explores and names some areas of North America, probably Baffin Island, Labrador and somewhere in between the vast region of the gulf of St. Lawrence to the north and New Jersey to the south. After a winter or two in North America, Leif returns to Greenland to see Eirik the Red before he dies. When Eirik dies, Leif becomes the de facto ruler of Greenland and the mantle of exploration passes to his brother Thorvald.

Thorvald goes to North America, which Leif had named Vinland on account of the wild grapes that were discovered there and announces that this is a good land to live. Thorvald is the first European to have contact with Native Americans, likely the Micmac or some derivation of the Beothuk Red Indian Tribes. Thorvald gets into a little skirmish with the Indians and is fatally wounded. In a a noble way he dies and tells his men, "I seem to have hit on the truth when I said that I would settle there for awhile" and asks to be buried at the place he announced was good for settling.

The thirst for adventure does not die with Thorvald and the third son of Eirik the Red decides to take up the family business. Thorstein Eiriksson decides that he wants to retrieve Thorvald's remains and sets sail for Vinland but weather keeps him locked on to Greenland where he meets Thorskin the Black. The initial exchange between Thorstein and Thorskin is both comical and telling of the growing influence of Christianity on Viking culture. I love learning about how religions, especially Christianity appropriates former pagan culture and weaves it into its own fabric. Thorskin states that Thorstein and his wife are welcome to hospitality but, "you will find life dull, for there are only two of us there, my wife and myself and I am very unsociable". That's funny stuff. How many of us have felt this tension? We know we should be hospitable but don't really want to open our houses to guests. Thorskin is the uberman in the sense that he does what he should but tells his guests that he'd rather not. In early Christian propaganda the author relates that Thorskin tacks on to his unwelcoming welcome, "I am also a different faith from yours, although I consider yours to be better than mine".

Thorstein Eiriksson ends up dying of a disease that ravages the Western settlements of Greenland that winter. But the corpse of Thorstein ends up prophesying the future of his wife, which is basically the conclusion of the saga. His widow ends up marrying a rich guy from Norway named Karlsefni. Karlsefni tries to permanently settle Vinland. In that task he fails, but not before becoming wealthy through trading with the natives and then having the first war with them. After the war though the settlers with Karlsefni decide they want no part of Vinland and would rather return home to Greenland. Karlsefni is blessed and has some pretty famous and powerful progeny.

All three of Eirik the Red's sons had tried their hand to some extent in Vinland and it was time that his daugher, Freydis went to Vinland. Freydis goes with the biggest excursion yet to Vinland. Freydis' group though has a falling out with some brothers from Iceland at Vinland. It ends with Freydis nagging her husband into killing all of the brothers' group. Freydis' husband and his men however refuse to kill the women who traveled with the Icelanders. Freydis takes care of this herself. All the friction though made everyone want to go back home to Greenland. Back at Greenland Leif Eiriksson the ruler of Greenland learns how his sister had mistreated and slaughtered men in Vinland and is grieved. His familial ties prevent him from exacting justice on her, but he prophesies that her family won't do so well in the future. After that, everyone in Greenland hates her.

The Grœnlendinga Saga is a quick read. I recommend it to anyone that likes short reads, Viking stories or has an affinity for history. My recommendation is to pick up the Penguin Classics "The Vinland Sagas and the Norse Discovery of America". Stay tuned for the next chapter in our Literature section when we dissect "Eirik's Saga".