Bjarni Grimolfsson and Thorhall Gamlason in “Eirik the Red’s Saga”

Chapter 7

-664-

[...] A man named Bjarni Grimolfsson, from Breidafjord, and another named Thorhall Gamlason, from the East Fjords, made their ship ready the same summer as Karlsefni and were also heading for Greenland. There were

-665-

forty men on their ship. The two ships set sail once they had made ready.

There is no mention of how long they were at sea. But it is said that both these ships sailed into Eiriksfjord that autumn.

Eirik rode to the ships, along with other Greenlanders, and busy trading commenced. The skippers of the vessels invited Eirik to take his pick of their wares, and Eirik repaid them generously, as he invited both crews home to stay the winter with him in Brattahlid. This the merchants accepted and went home with him. Their goods were later transported to Brattahlid, where there was no lack of good and ample outbuildings to store them in. The merchants were highly pleased with their winter stay with Eirik.

Source: Keneva Kunz, trans., "[Bjarni Grimolfsson and Thorhall Gamlason in] Eirik the Red's Saga" in The Sagas of Icelanders: A Selection, preface by Jane Smiley, introduction by Robert Kellogg, (: The Penguin Group, 2000), 653-674. Notes: Translations first published in "The Complete Sagas of Icelanders," volumes I-V (forty-nine tales), Leifur Eiriksson Publishing, Ltd., Iceland, 1997.

Return to parent page