Eirik the Reds Saga

Eirik the Red's Saga

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Title: Eirik the Red's Saga
Author: Anonymous
Translator: John Sephton
Release Date: March 8, 2006 [EBook #17946]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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EIRIK THE RED'S SAGA:
A TRANSLATION

READ BEFORE THE LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF LIVERPOOL,
JANUARY 12TH, 1880,

BY THE REV. J. SEPHTON.

LIVERPOOL: D. MARPLES & CO., LIMITED, MELVILL CHAMBERS.
1880.

CONTENTS.
1. How Vifil, Gudrid's grandfather, came to Iceland.
2. Of Eirik the Red, and his discovery of Greenland.
3. Gudrid's parentage, and the emigration of her father, Thorbjorn, and his family to Greenland.
4. Eirik's family, and his son Leif's discovery of Vinland.
5. Gudrid marries Thorstein, son of Eirik the Red. [Sickness and death of Thorstein.]
6. Gudrid marries Karlsefni.
7. Karlsefni's expedition to Vinland. The first winter is passed at Straumsfjordr.
8. Fate of Thorhall the Sportsman.
9. The second winter is passed at Hop.
10. Dealings with the Skroelingar.
11. Fight with the Skroelingar.
12. Return to Straumsfjordr.
13. The slaying of Thorvald by a One-footer. The colonists return to Greenland after passing the third winter at Straumsfjordr.
14. Heroic magnanimity and fate of Bjarni.
15. Gudrid's descendants.

[Olaf, who was called Olaf the White, was styled a warrior king. He was the son of King Ingjald, the son of Helgi, the son of Olaf, the son of Gudred, the son of Halfdan Whiteleg, king of the Uplands (in Norway). He led a harrying expedition of sea-rovers into the west, and conquered Dublin, in Ireland, and Dublinshire, over which he made himself king. He married Aud the Deep-minded, daughter of Ketil Flatnose, son of Bjorn the Ungartered, a noble man from Norway. Their son was named Thorstein the Red. Olaf fell in battle in Ireland, and then Aud and Thorstein went into the Sudreyjar (the Hebrides). There Thorstein married Thorid, daughter of Eyvind the Easterling, sister of Helgi the Lean; and they had many children. Thorstein became a warrior king, and formed an alliance with Earl Sigurd the Great, son of Eystein the Rattler. They conquered Caithness, Sutherland, Ross, and Moray, and more than half Scotland. Over these Thorstein was king until the Scots plotted against him, and he fell there in battle. Aud was in Caithness when she heard of Thorstein's death. Then she caused a merchant-ship to be secretly built in the wood, and when she was ready, directed her course out into the Orkneys. There she gave in marriage Thorstein the Red's daughter, Gro, who became mother of Grelad, whom Earl Thorfinn, the Skullcleaver, married. Afterwards Aud set out to seek Iceland, having twenty free men in her ship. Aud came to Iceland, and passed the first winter in Bjarnarhofn (Bjornshaven) with her brother Bjorn. Afterwards she occupied all the Dale country between the Dogurdara (day-meal river) and the Skraumuhlaupsa (river of the giantess's leap), and dwelt at Hvamm. She had prayer meetings at Krossholar (Crosshills), where she caused crosses to be erected, for she was baptised and deeply devoted to the faith. There came with her to Iceland many men worthy of honour, who had been taken captive in sea-roving expeditions to the west, and who were called bondmen. One of these was named Vifil; he was a man of high family, and had been taken captive beyond the western main, and was also called a bondman before Aud set him free. And when Aud granted dwellings to her ship's company, Vifil asked why she gave no abode to him like unto the others. Aud replied, "That it was of no moment to him, for," she said, "he would be esteemed in whatever place he was, as one worthy of honour." She gave him Vifilsdalr (Vifilsdale), and he dwelt there and married. His sons were Thorbjorn and Thorgeir, promising men, and they grew up in their father's house.
2. There was a man named Thorvald, the son of Asvald, the son of Ulf, the son of Yxna-Thoris. His son was named Eirik. Father and son removed from Jadar (in Norway) to Iceland, because of manslaughters, and occupied land in Hornstrandir, and dwelt at Drangar. There Thorvald died, and Eirik then married Thjodhild, daughter of Jorund, the son of Atli, and of Thorbjorg the Ship-breasted, whom afterwards Thorbjorn, of the Haukadalr (Hawkdale) family, married; he it was who dwelt at Eiriksstadr after Eirik removed from the north. It is near Vatzhorn. Then did Eirik's thralls cause a landslip on the estate of