Lögberg-Heimskringla - 07.05.1999, Blaðsíða 6

6 » Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 7 May 1999
The Saga of Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir
From Geislar yfir
kynkvislum (Auras
Over the Family
Line) by Hallgrímur
Jónasson
Translated by
David Gislason
Guðríður needed no encourage-
ment to make the journey. She
was ready to set out on her fifth
voyage over the sea, doubtless there was
no one with whom she would be safer,
as her husband would be in charge. Her
fortunes were now such that, as rumour
had it, “no ship would have left
Greenland with a more valuable cargo,
than that which he commanded.”
Their voyage to Norway went
smoothly that summer, and they spent
the winter there. Þorfinn sold his cargo,
“and he, and they both were held in high
esteem, one of the most noble couples in
Norway, but the next spring he made his
ship ready for Iceland.” In Norway they
would have heard news of what had
become of Bjarni Grímólfsson and
Þórhallur the hunter, and their company.
Now Guðríður prepares to make her
sixth ocean voyage. This time the desti-
nation is the land of her birth, noteably
not to Snæfellsnes, where she had been
raised, but rather to the Arctic sea,
where the sun does not set on the
longest summer day. On this trip, in
good company and fair sailing, a feeling
of unease may have come over Guðríður
Þorbjamardóttir, a sensation to which
she had never before succumbed; for her
future home was at hand. Though she
herself was well bred, her path now led
to the company of people of the highest
rank and birth in all of Iceland. How
would she be regarded, as wife of
Þorfinn, the wealthy, renowned trav-
eller, in whose veins ran the blood of
kings from both directions, even that of
Ragnar Loðbrók himself? Marrying into
such rank was not without its problems.
Against such rank and prestige, she
could only oífer her own strength of
character. Up to this point that had been
sufficient for all those with whom she
had dealings. Her bright, unsullied per-
sonality had perhaps never before
allowed such matters to bother her, up
until now there had been no cause.
It may also be that Þorfinn had sim-
ilar concems, more than half a decade
had passed since he had set sail from
home. News of his seafaring exploits
had doubtless reached home to his par-
ents in Skagafjörður, Þórður Horsehead
and his wife Þómnn, his reputation fill-
ing them with pride, his wealth and
prowess admired by all. He knew his
parents and his closest relatives well,
and wöuld not have wanted his wife to
suffer any indignity from their haughty
attitude. The Greenlanders’ Saga
relates that after the first winter the cou-
ple spent in Skagafjörður, Karlsefni
bought the land at Glaumbær, built his
farm there, and managed it while he
lived, and was considered the worthiest
of men.
In Eirík’s Saga, we are told that they
settled at Reynisnes, which would have
been owned by the family. Þorfinnur’s
father was dead by then, but the family
pride still burned in the breast of
Þómnn, his widow. In her opinion her
son “had taken something of little
worth,” meaning that he had married
beneath his rank. Because of her arro-
gance, Þómnn refused to live with them,
and moved away. But by the end of the
first winter that the new housewife lived
at Reynisnes, word of her virtues, strong
personality, and acumen became so
widely known and so indisputable, that
Þómnn decided to retum and live out
the rest of her life with her. They got on
well. These accounts could both be cor-
rect. After Þómnn left Reynisnes , her
son could have purchased the
Glaumbær land so that his wife and
mother did not have to endure each
other’s company, but rumours that
reached her ears of her daughter-in-
law’s reputation convinced her that
strength of character could balance out
with high birth.
Although we do not know the year
he died, Þorfinn Karlsefni did not live to
be an old man. We do not know either
whether at this time there were other
voyages made from Greenland, attempt-
ing to establish a foothold in Vineland,
but it is certain that sailings would have
been undertaken, and Norsemen
camped there for periods of time. There
are stories told of Bishop Eiríkur
Gnúpsson of Greenland making the trip
in the year 1121. It could certainly be
assumed that the bishop would have
been visiting his people, living there at
that time.
After the death of Þorfinn, Guðríður
lived with her son Snorri, the same
Snorri over whose cradle she kept watch
on the shores of Vineland. When he
reached maturity, married, and no
longer needed the supervision of his
mother, she tumed over the farm, and its
management to him.
Now she tumed her attention to her-
self, and the life she had left to live. At
this time she would have been well into
middle age, with a wealth of experience
behind her. She was endowed with a
great deal of energy, and an even
stronger spiritual resolve. She was a
committed Christian with a prophecy
for a richer, more rewarding life than
any other Icelandic woman, before or
since. Was there anything that she
lacked, to be satisfied with herself and
her circumstances? Indeed she was not
fully satisfied with herself. She had one
voyage left to undertake, one that she
could not avoid. This trip she owed to
her God. She intended to make the pil-
grimage to Rome, and seek absolution
of her sins. This journey was to be the
culmination of all her travels.
It is a long way from Iceland south
to Rome. From Denmark or Norway, the
trip took over two months
each way. This pilgrim-
age was an extremely dif-
ficult undertaking; some
people collapsed and
gave up along the way.
Guðríður had under-
taken her first voyage
with her parents over the
Greenland sea, and it
nearly cost her her life. A
large part of the next
summer was spent with
her first husband, adrift
and lost at sea. Many of
the crew perished, even
though they did eventual-
ly reach land. This final
journey Guðríður would
make on her own, both
the sea crossing and the
long overland trek, and
she would now be past
middle age. It would have
taken a great deal of determination, both
physical and spiritual, to carry out such
an undertaking.
Sources do not go into much detail
over this matter. The Greenlanders’
Saga has only this to say: “and when
Snorri married, Guðríður went abroad
and walked south; she then returned to
her son Snorri's farm. Snorri had then
built a churh at Glaumbær. Guðríður
became a nun and recluse, living out the
remainder of her life there.”
On this occasion she is in service to
her God and her own spritual develop-
ment. This would have taken place late
in the third decade of the eleventh cen-
tury. She cómpletes the trip, and thus
has twice walked the breadth of Europe,
and eight times sailed the northern
oceans. She would have been consid-
ered the most widely travelled woman
of her time, and for several centuries to
come. Her story is intertwined—as has
been mentioned—with events of global
proportion which were unfolding at that
time. Her name, though, is not over-
shadowed by the heroic names and
events, told in condensed form, of the
discovery of a new and distant conti-
nent. Alongside those people of history
stands Guðríður Þorbjamardóttir, out-
standing as a stately person, wise and
courageous, one whose personality
attracted and influenced; qualities that
high birth, conceit and pride must sure-
ly have bowed before. Thus the epic
sagas are related in the everyday lan-
guage of today.
The Greenlanders’ Saga has this to
say of the descendants of Guðríður and
Þorfinnur Karlsefni: “Snorri had a son
named Þorgeir. His daughter was
Ingveldur, the mother of Bishop Brand.
Snorri Karlsefnisson’s daughter was
Hallfríður, she was the wife of Runólfur,
the father of Bishop Þorlákur. Another
son of Karlsefni and Guðríður was
named Björn, who was the father of
Þórunn, mother of Bishop Bjarni.” It is
likely that there are others who might
also be named, all remarkable people.
This was a large lineage, and a good
one. From Guðríður and over her
descendants shone a brighter light than
even the most prescient eyes and minds
could have fully defined or appreciated.
Should my fellow traveller of old
still be alive today, the one who got me
thinking about who had been the most
memorable, the best known historical
individual connected with the region
through which we travelled at the begin-
ning of this tale, the answer is to be
found in this chronicle.
The booklet, “Geislar Yfir
Kynkvíslum” was published by the
Historical Society of Skagajjörður in
1994, as an excerptfrom the book “Fólk
og Fróðleikur” (People and
Information). The author, Hallgrímur
Jónasson was a University professor
and part time travel guide in lceland.
His writings express his deep love for
his country and its people. lt has been
translated and reproduced here with the
pennission of the Historical Society of
Skagafjörður and the sons of the late
Hallgrímur, Ingvar, Jónas, and Þórir.
My thanks to them.
MESSUBOÐ
Fyrsta Lúterska
Kirkja
Pastor Ingthor I. Isfeld
10:30 a.m. The Service
First Lutheran Church
S80 Victor St., Winnipeg
R3G 1R2 Ph. 772-7444