Gripla - 2023, Blaðsíða 152

150 GRIPLA
Helgasynir Nýjaland, Aðalbrandr ok Þorvaldr’ (‘The Helgasons discov-
ered New-land, Aðalbrandr ok Þorvaldr’).35 In the same year, Höyers-
annáll mentions that the two brothers sailed into Greenland’s wilder-
ness (‘Helgasynir sigldu í Grænlands óbyggðir’).36 Other annals for
the year 1285 note this discovery, yet without mentioning the brothers.
Gottskálksannáll,37 Flateyjarbókarannáll38 and Forni annáll39 state that a
land was found west of Iceland, whereas Skálholtsannáll refers to the
newly discovered place as ‘Duneyjar’ (probably Dúneyjar, i.e., Eiderdown
Islands).40
What land, if any, Þorvaldr and Aðalbrandr discovered is not central
to our purpose. The most likely scenario is that they landed on an island
off Greenland’s east coast, perhaps in another abortive attempt to reach
Norway. On their return, the brothers may have presented their find in
an exaggerated, even misleading, manner. It is noteworthy that in the year
of the purported discovery, Hrafn had complained to Bishop Árni about
Þorvaldr’s mismanagement of ecclesiastical assets and, it appears, about
his diversion of resources to his brother.41 The discovery of a ‘new land’
may have been opportunistic, a ruse concocted by the brothers to ingratiate
themselves with the king of Norway. If so, this plan did not bear fruit until
a few years later. Lárentíus saga (Laurentius saga) relates that in 1289 King
Eiríkr sent a certain Hrólfr to Iceland with the brief of finding Nýjaland
(which the Icelanders called ‘Landa-Hrólfr’).
The timing of this mission is interesting because Þorvaldr had switched
to Hrafn’s side only a year earlier. Having gained his ear, Þorvaldr may
have leveraged his knowledge of this new land for self-advancement.
With his prospects highly uncertain in Iceland, Þorvaldr planned to escape
35 Gustav Storm (ed.), Islandske annaler indtil 1578 (Christiania [Oslo]: Grændahl og søns
bogtrykkeri, 1888), 142. For further historical contextualisation of this episode, see Helgi
Þorláksson, ‘The Vínland Sagas in a Contemporary Light’, in Approaches to Vínland:
A Conference on the Written and Archaeological Sources for the Norse Settlements in the
North-Atlantic Region and Exploration of America, ed. by Andrew Wawn and Þórunn
Sigurðardóttir (Reykjavík: Sigurður Nordal Institute, 2001), 70–75.
36 Ibid., 70.
37 Ibid., 337.
38 Ibid., 383.
39 Ibid., 50.
40 Ibid., 196.
41 Guðrún Ása Grímsdóttir (ed.), 145.