Lögberg-Heimskringla - 23.04.1999, Síða 7

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 23. apríl 1999 • 7
The Saga of Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir
From Geislar yfir
kynkvislum (Auras
Over the Family
Line) by Hallgrímur
Jónasson
Translated by
David Gislason
IT was not long before the prophe-
cy of improved weather was ful-
filled. The same held true for the
hunt, and for people’s health. The
storm-tossed travellers from Iceland
soon recuperated.
As things improved, Þorbjöm made
his ship ready once more, and, with the
surviving members of his group, sailed
up the west coast of Greenland and in to
EiríksQord to Brattahlíð. Eiríkur
received them well, and invited them all
to stay with him for the balance of the
winter.
When spring came, and the weather
warmed, Eiríkur gave his friend
Þorbjöm land at Stokkanes on the far
side of the fjord. There Þorbjöm made
his home, lived out his life, and was
considered to be a man of honour.
Our sources now go on to outline
events which will not be mentioned
here, events of worldly import to be
sure, but so well known to us that there
is no reason to elaborate on them,
except where they touch on the heroine
of our story.
Eirík’s Saga and the Greenlanders’
Saga do not always agree, as those who
have read them both will know. The lat-
ter though, with further study, appears
to be the more reliable source, though
that may be debated. Each will be
drawn on, as they throw light on the
affairs of Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir. A
few details in the stories that touch on
Guðríður are not clear enough as to be
fully understood, but that does not alter
the fact that the life of this woman is so
unusual as to be quite remarkable. Her
paths are woven in with events of such
global proportion as to understandably
overshadow her own. The weighty nar-
rative of the discovery of the new world
naturally focuses on other things, but
shows us glimpses of Guðríður here and
there. She is described as “a fine
woman, that is to say, lovely to behold,
of noble bearing ... a wise woman who
knew how to conduct herself in the
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presence of strangers,”
and the beauty of her
song was without equal.
(To be at home in the
presence of strangers
means among other
things, having a disposi-
tion that attracts others,
and draws them in along
life 's way.)
Of Eirík's sons,
Þorsteinn is said to have
been the most promising
man to be found in
Greenland at that time.
He asked for Guðríður’s
hand in marriage, and his
suit was successful.
Þorvaldur was the third
son of Eirík the Red.
Bjarni Herjólfsson
had been driven west
across the ocean, and
clearly was the first to sight the land that
Leifur Eiríksson would later explore,
and name “Vineland.” He brought the
news to Greenland, and generated much
debate and interest in sailing there. In
the Greenlanders’ Saga we read that
Þorvaldur, Leifur's brother, made
an exploratory trip to Vineland.
This account will only mention the
fact that on these unfamiliar shores
he was kilied by an aboriginal’s
arrow. His men buried his body on
a headland there, made their way
back to Greenland, and told their
story.
At this point in the story
Þorsteinn, Þorvaldur's brother, had
married Guðríður Þorbjamardóttir,
and settled at Lýsutjörður, to the
south in the westem settlement.
We read that he wanted to recover
the body of his brother and give it
a Christian burial in consecrated
ground, as the people of Greenland
had by now accepted this new
faith. We can assume that his
thinking was driven not only by a
desire to recover the body of his
brother from such a great distance,
but also by a desire to explore this
new land more thoroughly. He was
accompanied by a select crew,
including his wife.
On this trip they were tossed
about aimlessly at sea most of the
summer, but managed to return to
Greenland in the first week of win-
ter. This was now the second voy-
age, lost at sea, doubtless a great
ordeal for this young woman. In
fact many a hardy seaman died
from “an illness which beset them
once they reached land”—among
those was Guðríður's husband
Þorsteinn. She later returned to
Brattahlíð, to her brother-in-law
Leifur who, according to some
sources, had now succeeded his
father.
It is my impression from read-
ing the the Greenlanders’ Saga, that
Guðríður was not interested in spending
her life there, especially after the death
of her foster parents. It is said that she
encouraged her husband, Þorsteinn
Eiríksson to make the trip to Vineland.
The thirst for adventure certainly ran in
her veins, and she had not lost her
courage on her first difficult voyage. It is
not unlikely that her thoughts often took
her back to the place of her youth at
Laugarbrekka and Amarstapi, where
the view was both beautiful and mag-
nificent in all directions. She may well
have known the verse which Helga
Bárðardóttir Snæfellsás is said to have
recited when she left for Greenland:
Happy 1 would be ifl could see
Búrfell and Bali
Both the crags at Lón
Alþíngshólar
and Andvertnes.
Heiðarkolla
and Hreggnasa
Dritvík and Möl
From the doorway of my foster
home.
(These place names are from
Snæfellsnes, many near Laugarbrekka.)
But now, new events are near at
hand.
Late one summer, just after the year
1000, two Viking ships sailed into
Eiríksfjörður. At the helm of one of
these, was one of the highest-born
lcelanders who at that time sailed
between the known countries of the
northern world, Þorfinn Karlsefni from
Þórðarhöfði in Skagafjörður. This well-
known and wealthy traveller was
descended from kings in both family
lines, and one did not have to go far
back to find them. His best attributes,
though, were his accomplishments and
his courage, as well as his drive and
masculinity.
The Saga of Guðríður Þorbjarn-
ardóttir will continue in the next issue.