It was supposed to be an easy trip to Greenland, but a terrible storm threw them off course.
Now, thick fog prevented proper navigation, so they’ve been drifting for days in the North Atlantic in their great longship.
Would they ever see home again? or did Odin have other plans for them.
Then…as the fog slowly parted, they saw something looming in the distance.
Land.
But not one they recognized so they didn’t disembark.
Instead, they went home, but years later, others followed and they established themselves in this new mysterious land.
I’m Craig Baird and this is Canadian History Ehx.
This month, I am bringing you four stories of Newfoundland’s history and today we travel back over 1,000 years to delve into the Norse Sagas to learn about …. the Vikings
There are many legends about Europeans arriving in North America prior to the 15th century.
One of the most famous is the story of Brendan the Navigator.
Around 520 CE, Brendan, a British priest, and 14 other clerics set sail on a wicker-framed vessel covered in cow hides.
For seven years, they traveled the North Atlantic searching for The Promised Land.
At one point, Brendan even holds Mass on the back of a fish that he mistook for an island.
Then…One day, the intrepid travelers come across a large island, not a fish this time, covered with vegetation.
Later, scholars will theorize that the island was North America, and possibly Newfoundland.
Of course, there is no evidence to say that the journey even happened, or that Brendan even existed for that matter.
But…Tim Severin wanted to prove such a journey was possible.
In 1976, he built a replica of Brendan’s boat using traditional tools, Irish oak and ash, 49 tanned ox hides and three kilometres of leather thong to lash it together.
On May 17 Severin and three others set sail from Ireland and 13 months later they arrived in Newfoundland on June 26, 1977.
So, we don’t know if Brendan existed BUT…the journey was theoretically possible.
The next group claiming to have crossed the ocean blue came four hundred years after the mythical Brendan According to acclaimed Canadian author Farley Mowat, they were the Albans.
He believed they were descendants of the original Neolithic inhabitants of Britain before they were pushed out by the Celts.
Farley believed the Albans spent generations hopping from one island to another from Iceland to Greenland, until they finally reached Newfoundland in the early 900s CE and then set up a trading network with Europe.
I should note that this journey is speculative with little evidence to support it.
However, there is one group that we know for a fact reached North America centuries before John Cabot or Christopher Columbus were even born.
And they’re the reason for today’s episode.
The Norse.
The Viking Age, as it is known, began in 800 CE and continued for the next 250 years.
During this time the Norse ventured from their home in Scandinavia and conquered and settled new territories.
Their longships sparked terror for many, but the Vikings were much more than bloodthirsty berserkers bent on conquest.
First, they didn’t wear helmets with horns attached so get that image out of your head.
And while they did their share of attacking and pillaging, Vikings also set up trading networks that spanned oceans and continents.
They were skilled mariners with a thriving and deep culture that produced stunning artwork and sculptures.
Even though they eventually converted to Christianity, their gods continue to resonate to this day.
I mean, thanks to Marvel, who here hasn’t heard of Thor, Loki and Odin?
The first Vikings would give birth to the Normans of northern France who conquered England and laid the groundwork for what we know today.
But why did they venture out in the first place?
In the ninth century CE, inheritance law among the Norse meant that only the firstborn son could inherit land. Scandinavian land was at a premium, so the only way other sons could have property was to find it and claim it elsewhere.
Often, that property already belonged to someone else, so the Norse fought for it.
This led to advancements in shipbuilding as they ventured further from home in present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden to settle on the British Isles and Ireland.
But they didn’t stop there.
In the 870s, they reached Iceland.
Beginning with Ingólfr Arnarson who built a homestead where Reykjavik now sits.
By 900 CE, there were as many as 60,000 people living there and land became scarce once again, so the Norse ventured west.
This time, to the great island known as Kalaalit Nunaat to its original inhabitants and Greenland to the new arrivals.
Shout out to my friend Tupaarnaq for teaching me the Inuit name.
Now, much of what follows from this point on comes from the Norse Sagas, specifically The Greenlanders Saga and the Saga of Erik the Red which sometimes contain contradictory stories, but I have tried to make it as consistent as possible.
As with many historical stories, we must take them with a grain of salt as embellishments may have occurred…. But… according to them the first-known Viking to reach Greenland was Gunnbjörn Ulfsson in 900 CE.
He had been on a voyage from Norway to Iceland when he drifted off course.
After some time, they saw Greenland in the distance but believing it to be inhospitable, they chose not to land.
In 978 CE, Snæbjörn Galti became the first Norseman to intentionally navigate to Greenland.
Four years later, Erik the Red was sent into exile from Iceland for committing murder and rather than go to Norway, he sailed west.
He spent the next year in Greenland exploring and believed it was perfect for a settlement.
By 986 CE, he had convinced 700 people to join him by sharing stories of lush pastures and excellent conditions in this new land made of green.
Was he lying?
Well…not quite…but I’ll get to that later.
From Greenland the story of the Vikings in North America came from Bjarni Herjólfsson getting lost on his way to visit his parents.
He was a merchant captain based out of Norway, but each summer he made a trip to Iceland.
In 986 CE, he made that annual journey only to discover that his father had left with Erik the Red for Greenland.
Wanting to see this new land he had heard so much about, Bjarni set sail west.
But then a storm blew Bjarni and his crew completely off course.
After what seemed like days, the storm and subsequent fog finally passed.
When Bjarni scanned the horizon, he saw land.
But it was not Greenland.
This land was covered with trees and what appeared to be mountains.
His crew begged for him to stop but Bjarni refused.
As a merchant, he was interested only in trading with established settlements, not exploring new lands.
He eventually made it to Greenland to visit his parents where he settled.
Occasionally, he told people of what he had seen while lost at sea, but no one gave it much thought.
They were happy in Greenland and didn’t need to venture any farther west.
Years later, after Bjarni’s father died he returned to Norway where he continued to tell his story and what he saw until one man became very intrigued.
His name was Leif Eriksson, one of Erik the Red’s three sons.
Leif got as much information as he could.
He wanted to see it for himself, so he bought Bjarni’s ship and recruited 35 men for his crew.
Erik was supposed to join them but unfortunately, Erik fell from his horse on the way to the ship.
It was a bad omen, so he stayed home while Leif and his crew set sail.
This took place around 1000 CE.
They followed Bjarni’s route as best as they could, and one day saw something in the distance.
According to The Greenlanders Saga they quote,
“Sailed to the land there, cast anchor and put off a boat, then went ashore and could see no grass there. The background was all great glaciers, and right up to the glaciers from the sea the land was like a flat stone.” end quote.
They believed the land to be barren and Leif named it Helluland, meaning Flat-Rock Land.
Modern historians believe they had reached Baffin Island.
Then, Leif and his crew continued south, to a place he called Markland, or Forest Land.
It is theorized this was the southeast coast of Labrador.
They continued south for two more days until they made landfall somewhere on the coast of Newfoundland.
There, Leif and his crew found vines and grapes which earned the region the name Vinland, which translated to “the land of wine”.
I know what you’re thinking.
Grapes growing in Newfoundland?
It is quite possible thanks to a mysterious event happening at the same time with the planet’s climate.
The Medieval Warm Period.
For no known reason, the planet was warmer.
It was not universal but various regions saw an increase in temperatures.
In the North Atlantic Region, the average temperature rose by as much as 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Places like Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland were much warmer than usual so it is possible that grapes could have been growing in Newfoundland at that time.
But there are other theories.
Vinland could also mean “meadow land”, as vin was also a term used for fertile areas in Norse.
There is also the distinct possibility that Leif did what his father, Erik the Red, did.
Good marketing.
He could’ve chosen a name that would entice people to settle there.
No matter what the land was known as Vinland and as the Norse arrived, they soon discovered that the island was already home to others.
Thousands of years earlier the first people reached Newfoundland.
It is estimated that about 7,500 years ago the Maritime Archaic People arrived and their culture existed on the island until 3,500 years ago.
They were replaced by the Dorset who migrated from Northern Labrador and brought with them new cultural practices including soapstone bowls, lamps, and sled skis made of bones.
The Dorse thrived in Newfoundland for centuries until about 1,000 years ago when, the Inuit pushed into the Arctic from the west, which drove the Thule east and into Dorset lands.
We don’t know what culture was dominant when Leif Erriksson arrived, but it could have been the last of the Dorset, the Innu or even the Thule.
There is also the possibility that the Beothuk, the same people who would meet Europeans centuries later, were there as they were starting to emerge at this time.
Whoever it was, they were about to get their first interactions with people from across the ocean…. And it wasn’t going to go swimmingly.
Leif spent a winter in Vinland and then returned to Greenland, never to venture west again.
Thorvald, Leif’s brother, replaced him and led a group to Vinland.
His goal was to conduct a more in-depth exploration, and Leif was happy to provide his ship for the voyage along with a crew of 30.
Thorvald v arrived where Leif had spent the winter and they survived by fishing the waters off the island.
By spring, they continued to explore.
They found a structure they believed was used for storage which meant there were likely other humans on the island The Norse didn’t come across anyone else that spring, summer or autumn, and once again settled in for another winter.
The following summer, Thorvald and a few of his men were exploring land north of their camp when they came across a forested area. In the Sagas, he said,
“This place is fair, here I should like to build my farm.”
Nearby, he noticed three canoes.
Sleeping under them were nine men who woke up as the Norsemen approached and immediately fled.
Eight were caught and killed but one managed to escape into the woods. Thinking nothing of what they had just done, Thorvald and his men left the area and continued to explore along the coast.
Later that day, they grew tired and went ashore to sleep on the beach.
Hours later, they were awakened by a great cry as a large group of men approached them in canoes.
The sagas called them skraelings.
There are a few theories behind this name.
One theory is that in Old Norse, skra meant dried skin, which referenced the animal pelts the Indigenous people wore.
Some, have speculated that the word comes from skrækja, meaning to yell or shout.
The primary theory is that the word was slang for weakling or runt.
If that is the case, Thorvald was about to learn how incorrect he was.
The island’s inhabitants were anything but weak.
As they got closer, Thorvald and his men retreated to their ship to defend themselves against the incoming attack.
Thorvald ordered a lattice of branches put up along the ship to prevent arrows from hitting them. He told his men to defend themselves, but they were not to attack the men in the canoes.
Maybe if he had told his men not to attack the sleeping men earlier, they wouldn’t be in this pickle.
But Thorvald had made his bed and now he had to sleep in it.
And soon this would be known as the first battle between Europeans and Indigenous People who fired arrows at the Vikings.
They hid behind the lattice and prepared to sail farther out to sea to escape.
Unfortunately, one of the arrows made it through and struck Thorvald.
He was mortally wounded and died on his ship after they had fled.
Once it was safe, they returned to the coast and buried Thorvald where he had hoped to build a farm.
Two crosses were erected at his grave, and the area became known as Krossanes, meaning Crossness.
Thorvald was the first European to die in North America outside of Greenland.
After another, thankfully quiet, winter in Vinland, Thorvald’s crew returned to Iceland.
Upon their arrival Thorstein Eriksson learned that his brother Thorvald, was resting in a far away land.
Hoping to recover him he set sail with his wife Gudrid.
Unfortunately, bad weather prevented them from making it to Vinland and that winter an epidemic swept through his settlement in Greenland.
Thorstein died and with him died the quest for Thorvald’s grave A few years later, Thorfinn Karlsefni arrived in Greenland from Norway.
He spent a winter with Leif Eriksson and fell in love with a woman named Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir.
They married that winter and she encouraged her new husband to lead an expedition to Vinland.
Intrigued by the stories of this land, he decided to make the journey with 60 men and five women.
He was the first non-family member of Leif Eriksson to lead an expedition AND he would succeed where Thorvald failed.
Upon their arrival in Vinland, the crew made camp where Thorvald had spent three winters.
The following summer, Indigenous people arrived at their camp.
This time, they were not there to fight, but to trade.
After their battle with Thorvald, they had gone into the Viking camp to salvage what they could including steel weapons.
Now that the Norsemen had returned, the Indigenous wanted to trade for more of those weapons.
Thorfinn wanted their animal skins, but he refused to let his men trade their weapons, instead, he offered dairy products, which the Indigenous people accepted.
600 years before the Hudson’s Bay Company even existed, the first transaction for furs occurred on the Newfoundland coast.
Later that year, the child of Thorfinn and Gudrid was born in Vinland.
Named Snorri, he was the first child of European descent born in what is now Canada.
The Vikings spent another winter in Vinland and the following summer the Indigenous people returned.
Sadly, things were not as successful this time.
During trade negotiations, one of the Indigenous men reached down to look at a Norse sword and one of Thorfinn’s men immediately killed him.
It proved to be a major and unfortunate overreaction.
The Indigenous people fled and returned with a much larger group that attacked the Vikings.
According to the Saga of Erik the Red, the Norse fled.
Freydis Eiriksdottir, the daughter of Erik the Red and sister to Leif Eriksson, ran but fell because she was eight months pregnant, she yelled, quote.
“Why run you away from such worthless creatures, stout men that ye are, when, as seems to me likely, you might slaughter them like so many cattle? Let me but have a weapon, I know I could fight better than any of you.” end quote.
She then picked up a sword, tore off her shirt and beat the weapon against her chest as she faced the attackers.
According to the sagas, this display of courage and ferocity caused the Indigenous people to retreat which allowed the Vikings to remain in Vinland for one more winter.
They returned to Greenland the following spring.
While it could be said this was the most successful expedition so far, it was still a disaster in many ways amid worsening relations with Indigenous people.
Their desire for this land and the many resources it provided would be reason enough for their return.
Freydis, the pregnant woman who caused the attackers’ retreat would be the one to lead the latest Viking expedition along with her husband Thorvald.
She joined forces with two Icelandic brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi, and proposed they split the profits 50/50 on anything they brought back from Vinland.
They agreed to take no more than 30 men to keep everything equal between them.
Turns out, she had no intention of honouring that agreement and brought five extra men with her in secret.
Once they arrived in Vinland, Freydis and the brothers were constantly at odds with each other.
They argued about who would occupy the great longhouse Leif Eriksson had built.
They bickered over who would go on expeditions, and how the goods they collected and harvested would be divided.
It also didn’t help matters that the brothers soon found out about Freydis deception when her crew landed on the island.
After a tense winter, Freydis went to the brother’s longhouse and spoke with Finnbogi.
He was happy to see her because he too had wanted to clear the air.
Finnbogi told Freydis that they wanted to stay in Vinland while she was ready to return home to Greenland.
They agreed to trade ships, Freydis had a smaller one and would need a bigger one for the return journey with their harvested materials.
Finnbogi agreed to this and the two parted ways.
All seemed good.
But once again Freydis wasn’t to be trusted.
She returned to her longhouse and told her husband Thorvard that she had offered to buy the larger ship, and they had hit her.
Freydis said that if he did not avenge her, she would divorce him.
Thorvard gathered men and stormed the brothers.
They slaughtered all their men, most of whom were sleeping when they felt a sword plunge into their chests.
Thorvard drew the line at killing the women.
According to the sagas, Freydis grabbed an axe and did it for him.
To hide her treachery, she threatened to kill anyone who revealed what had happened on that day.
Soon after, she returned to Greenland.
When people asked her about the brothers, she said that they had remained in Vinland.
Eventually, Leif discovered the truth but refused to kill his sister despite her treachery.
This is where the saga ends.
But the Vikings weren’t done with Newfoundland quite yet.
From 1000 CE to at least the 1020s, a thriving settlement with as many as 160 people was built in Newfoundland that grew wheat, processed wine and harvested berries and fish.
These goods were sent back to Greenland and Iceland.
We don’t know how often they interacted with the Indigenous inhabitants.
Centuries later, when Europeans returned, the Beothuk were hesitant to interact with them.
It is possible this is because their oral histories told of past bloodshed but over a few decades there may have been other Norse settlements established along the coast.
It is possible the Vikings explored along the east, maybe even reaching Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and even Prince Edward Island.
There have been claims of Norse artifacts found along the St. Lawrence River, and further south, including the Kensington Runestone in Minnesota, the Spirit Pond Runestones in Maine and the Shawnee Runestone in Oklahoma.
All of these are unverified, with many believing they are hoaxes.
By the late-1020s, a slow exodus of Vinland began.
It was simply too far from Greenland, and the return on investment too small to make settlements in Newfoundland worthwhile.
By the 1050s, the once thriving colony was empty, and it started to be reclaimed by the pass of time.
About twenty years later, German cleric Adam of Bremen wrote the oldest documented mention of Vinland in his history of archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen.
He wrote that the Danish King Sven Estridsson told him of another island in the ocean.
quote
“It is called Vinland because vines grow there on their own accord, producing the most excellent wine. Moreover, the unsown crops abound there, we have ascertained not from fabulous conjecture but for the reliable reports of the Danes.” end quote.
In 1121 CE, Icelandic bishop Eric Gnupsson decided that he wanted to find Vinland.
And then he disappeared from history.
Did he go to Vinland and spend the rest of his life in North America, exploring the continent and living his dream?
Who knows.
What we do know is that Gnupsson never returned to Greenland and he was replaced in 1124.
Over two hundred years later, a ship arrived in Iceland after it was blown off course on a journey from Markland.
The ship had a load of lumber, which shows that at least into the 1300s, Greenlanders were still using Labrador for lumber.
Eventually, the stories of Norse settlements in North America became a legend told in the Vinland Sagas written centuries after the fact.
By the 20th century, most believed that the Vikings had never reached North America.
But one husband and wife wanted to prove they had and what they discovered would make history.
On the northernmost tip of Newfoundland, is a place that has been occupied by at least five Indigenous cultures going back 6,000 years.
Around 1000 CE, the Norse arrived and built a settlement.
After they left the island for good, the site slowly returned to nature.
By the 20th century, most historians believed that Vinland, if it had existed, was located along the New England coast of the United States.
But the husband-wife team of Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad had a different theory.
They believed the name meant meadows.
In 1960, George Decker, a local man, led the couple to a group of mounds that many believed was an old First nations camp.
Helge and Anne believed they were the remains of houses.
From 1961 to 1968, they excavated the site and discovered eight buildings including a smithy and shipyard.
They believed this was a seasonal base camp for maintaining and repairing longships and between n 70 to 90 people would’ve lived there depending on the time of year.
The area is known today as L’Anse Aux Meadows.
In 1968, as soon as excavations were finished, the Government of Canada named the location a National Historic Site of Canada.
A decade later, it was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Under the direction of Parks Canada, two subsequent excavations were conducted from 1973 to 1976. After, the site was buried to protect it.
The remains of seven buildings are on display, and reconstructed buildings are located north of the site.
There are also the remains of a First Nations hunting site.
In 2021, analysis of scraps of wood at the site proved the trees were cut down by metal axes as late as 1021 CE.
It remains the only verified Norse settlement in North America and one of Canada’s most significant historical sites.
