Thorfinn begins by telling the monk the story of the fierce-tempered Erik the Red and his expeditions in Greenland.

click here to listen to a Real Audio reading of Part I "Erik the Red"

MONK
Thank you for inviting me into your home, Thorfinn.

THORFINN
I have let you in and you are welcome, Brother Stephen. But what does a monk want with an old traveler like me?

MONK
People say you know more of the old tales than anyone alive, and my Bishop wants me to listen to your stories, and then to write them down.

THORFINN
Ah, your Bishop. You want me to tell you all the sagas? That would take all winter.

MONK
Well, we especially want to know about your ancestors who visited those lands to the south and west. About "Leif Eriksson and "Gudrid" and...

THORFINN
Yes, yes, I see. You want to know about "Vinland," and the voyages there. Well, the tales are many, but the truth is hard to know. First you should hear of the fierce-tempered Erik the Red.

Erik and his father left Norway for Iceland after several bloody disputes with their neighbors. In Iceland, Erik married Thjodhild and settled in Erikstadir. After some years, another feud erupted with a neighbor, and Erik the Red killed the man over a point of honor.

So, Erik was banned from Iceland for three years. He set out to find the lands he'd heard of to the west. He soon discovered a large land, explored it, and found many good places in which to settle. He saw no humans, but he did see remains of houses built by some people long before. After three winters there, he returned to Iceland to ask his many supporters and friends to join him in the new land, which he called "Greenland" in the hope that people would go there if it had an attractive name.

Herjolf was one of the men who had moved to Greenland with Erik, and later Herjolf's son Bjarni sailed from Iceland to visit his father. But once at sea, storms descended, and Bjarni was blown off course. His ship wandered for days, until the storm lifted.

After that, they turned north and found three unknown lands. The first was flat and wooded with no glacier, the next had small hills capped with snow, the third had a glacier and high mountains. But Bjarni refused to go ashore at any of these places, despite the curiosity of his crew, "Because," he said every time, "This is not Greenland." When at last he reached Greenland and told his story there, all were amazed that he had found new lands and not bothered to set foot upon them. In the end, all he left us with was a wondrous tale.

(continue to Part II "Leif Eriksson"...)

Part I "Erik the Red" | Part II "Leif Eriksson" | Part III "Karlsefni and Gudrid"