Who Was Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir?
There’s hardly an Icelander who doesn’t know her name: Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, the Viking woman who allegedly sailed with her husband to Viland, or Canada as it’s known now. According to the stories, she explored Newfoundland and the surrounding lands for three years, gave birth to a son, and returned to her home in Iceland. She apparently made eight crossings of the North Atlantic, outpacing all other Vikings in terms of distance traveled. She appears throughout popular culture worldwide, even making an appearance in the manga Vinland Saga.
But did she truly exist?
The problem endemic to the Icelandic sagas, the texts that originally told her tale, is that the lines between myth and history are blurred. Where are the kernels of truth, and what ‘facts’ should be served with hefty helpings of salt? If Gudrid actually existed, then it means she lived in the Americas 500 years before Columbus ‘discovered’ them.
Before you get further into this article, let me spoil the end of it: we don’t know conclusively whether Gurdrid Thorbjarnardóttir actually lived or not. Aside from the sagas, the only evidence we have is archaeological, and it’s inconclusive. Still, the probability exists, and it’s always fun to ponder, isn’t it?
Gudrid According to Legend
Gudrid features in two Viking sagas: The Saga of the Greenlanders and The Saga of Eirik the Red. These are called the Viland sagas, though her story varies between the two different accounts. This is because the sagas were oral traditions before they were written down, which means that some details will change. The point of oral history or story is to preserve the meaning, not necessarily all the nitty-gritty details. Also, the stories may be old, but they weren’t recorded until after most Nordic countries had been Christianized. This means that, intentionally or not, this new worldview colored the traditional stories. This is no different than, say, watching a historical film about Alexander the Great that attempts to twist his megalomania into something more noble and palatable for a modern audience.
However, there are some details that both sagas agree on:
Gudrid was born in Iceland
Her birth was sometime in the late 10th century
She marries Leif Erikson’s younger brother, Thorstein after meeting him in Greenland
Other details tend to get lost and conflict, but these remain the same.
Anyway, Gudrid and Thorstein decide they want to go to Vinland, following in the footsteps of Leif Erikson, which is a great plan, but they fail. Luckily, the hapless couple manages to make it back to Greenland before winter comes. Despite this seeming stroke of good fortune, the winter manages to be severe and illness strikes the group. Everyone starts dying, and Thorstein himself passes away.
However, as often happens in the sagas and should probably be served with salt, Thorstein’s spirit manages to visit his 17-year-old widow and tells her that ”her destiny will be a great one.” Sounds like a good deal, so she decides to head to the main Greenland settlement.
Gidrid was widowed young, so she could've picked anywhere to live. She could also choose a new husband, and all accounts say that she married the merchant Thorfiin Karlsefni. They decide that they can make it to Vinland as well and set sail. Lucky for them, they do arrive! They have a son named Snorri there and decide to go home three years later. Gudrid ultimately winds up on a farm called Glaumbaer.
However, her story continues on in the Greenlanders saga. When she hits middle age, she makes a pilgrimage to Rome on foot and returns to live the rest of her life as a recluse and a nun. No, hardly anyone knows anything about Viking nuns, so don’t ask me to tell you what this means.
It seems, however, that the author of the Greenlanders saga is bent on pushing a more Christian image. One story that exists only in this saga has Gudrid visited by a sorceress while staying in her father’s house. She refuses to partake in the sorcery, declaring herself a good Christian. Regardless, Gudrid is always presented as being dignified and intelligent.
What Does Archaeology Say?
While many elements presented in the sagas are fantastical, that doesn’t mean no truth exists. Archaeologists use them to find new settlements, and the sagas are often trustworthy in this regard. The trouble with historical accounts is that it can be difficult to discern truth from fiction.
Think of George Washington, for example. How many of you readers have heard the story of how he chopped down a cherry tree he wasn’t supposed to and, upon being confronted by his father, he exclaimed, “I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree.”?
This story is false. It was made up to bolster Washington’s reputation as an honest man. This wasn’t even ancient history, yet the legends took hold, interweaving themselves with historical facts. However, this story doesn’t mean that George Washington was a myth any more than the legends of Davy Crockett mean that he was a fictional character.
As far as Gudrid is concerned, archaeologists have uncovered what the sagas describe as being Gudrid’s final home in Iceland. It resembles a structure built in a Viking settlement in North America but not an Icelandic one, lending credence to her historical existence and travels. The settlement in North America where this other, similar structure lies is in the one that Gudrid and her husband allegedly built atop a Newfoundland peninsula. This settlement is called L’Anse aux Meadows. It’s been carbon-dated to around 1,000 AD, right at the time the story takes place.
Further evidence lies in the finding of a Viking spindle whorl, the kind used by Viking women. It seems that at least one woman lived in this settlement. Of course, a man could’ve learned to spin as well, bucking gender norms as easily as many Viking women were said to have done. However, most archaeologists believed that husbands brought their wives along, intending to settle there.
What do You Think?
Did Gudrid exist?
