Freydis
Eiriksdottir came from a family of adventurers and explorers. Her father was
Eirik the Red, the man who spearheaded the Nordic settlement of Greenland
around 985 or 986. Besides Freydis, Eirik the Red had three other known
children, all sons—Leif, Thorvald and Thorstein. Each of Eirik’s children
shared their father’s wanderlust and longing for adventure. Leif Eiriksson was
the first known European to step foot on North American soil, doing so around
the year 999 or 1000, and he named the land where he disembarked Vinland. Over
the next decade, several more expeditions for Vinland would be launched from
Greenland, and Eirik the Red’s children were said to have been involved in all
of them. Leif’s brothers, Thorvald and Thorstein would attempt to repeat their
sibling’s feat in separate expeditions. Thorvald Eiriksson was said to have succeeded
in reaching North America, but reportedly died in a clash with natives. Thorstein
Eiriksson, when it was his turn, apparently got lost during the journey and
never reached North America. He had to turn back to Greenland, where he died of
disease before he could try again. Freydis, like her brothers, would also
attempt to reach North America. She would prove to be much more successful than
her brother Thorstein, reportedly reaching North America in one or two
expeditions.
The
little that we know about Freydis Eiriksdottir comes from oral history
preserved in two 13th-century sagas: the Saga of the Greenlanders and Eirik
the Red’s Saga. Freydis made an appearance in both of the sagas and comes
across as a tough and fearsome woman that no one would want to cross. The
independent sagas, which can be conflicting in some places and complimentary in
others, focus on different voyages in which Freydis was said to have
participated, and feature different feats that she was said to have
accomplished.
As
told by the Saga of Eirik the Red, Freydis Eirikssdottir and her
husband, Thorvald, joined a voyage led by Thorfinn Karlsefni. It was a three-year
experience, dated to 1003-1006 or 1007-1009, in which the Norsemen settled and
traded with the natives. The peaceful relationship between the locals and the
Nordic explorers, however, was said to have eventually deteriorated into
hostility, ultimately leading to a battle. In the version presented by the Saga
of the Greenlanders, Thorfinn Karlsefni won the battle with psychological
warfare and masterful strategy, making no mention of Freydis. According to Eirik
the Red’s Saga, however, Thorfinn’s strategies failed and Freydis
Eiriksdottir (described as being pregnant at the time) had to step up and rally
the troops to save the day. She reportedly turned the tide of battle in a most
unorthodox way—heavily pregnant, she supposedly scooped up a sword, waddled to
the front line, stared down the natives and, “Freeing one of her breasts from
her shift, she smacked the sword with it” (Eirik the Red’s Saga, chapter
11). This act of rattling her sword against her breasts as if they were a
shield apparently scared off the native warriors and won the day for Thorfinn
Karlsefni’s army. After the battle, the Norsemen decided that North America was
too hostile for their liking and they returned to Greenland.
According
to the Saga of the Greenlanders, Freydis would venture one last time across
the ocean. As the story goes, she partnered with a pair of brothers named Helgi
and Finnbogi to lead an expedition of about 65 or more people to North America.
The voyage, dated to around 1010-1011, was said to have been a disaster. When
the Norsemen arrived in North America, the leaders argued over the choicest
spots on the campground. As they were said to have conveniently anchored at
Leif Eiriksson’s former landing site, everyone wanted to stay in the
preexisting dwelling built by Leif. The brothers Helgi and Finnbogi apparently
tried to claim that structure for themselves, but Freydis kicked them out and
occupied the building herself, stating that it was her brother’s property and
that they would need to build their own house. Helgi and Finnbogi did
reportedly build their own shelter, and the members of the expedition divided
themselves between Freydis’ followers and those of the brothers. Although the separate
households got along for a while, relations between the two factions of
Norsemen ultimately became quite heated. In the end, Freydis Eiriksdottir was said to
have tired of both Vinland and her rival expedition leaders. As the story goes,
she rallied her own followers around herself, carried out a massacre of Helgi
and Finnbogi’s camp, and then set sail back to Greenland after stockpiling her
ship (and that of the late brothers) with goods from Vinland. Upon Freydis’
return to Greenland, news of the massacre earned her universal condemnation,
but, other than that, she was said to have lived happily ever after.
Written
by C. Keith Hansley
Picture
Attribution: (Depiction of Lagertha by Morris Meredith Williams (1881-1973),
[Public Domain] via Creative Commons).
Sources:
- The Vinland Sagas (Saga of the Greenlanders and Eirik the Red’s Saga) translated by Keneva Kunz. New York: Penguin Classics, 2008.
- https://www.britannica.com/place/Vinland#ref226396
- http://www.historynaked.com/792-2/
- https://www.historyextra.com/period/viking/8-vikings-you-should-know-about/
