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Which character is these two Vinland Sagas stand out the most in your reading?
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This is for 9/28, Njal's Saga comment:
ReplyDeleteI found the conversation between Mord and his father Valgard (Ch. 107) interesting. Valgard returns to Iceland and sees that his sons' power has diminished upon recent procedural/legal changes in Iceland. He admonishes his son, "You've repaid me poorly, with your unmanly handling of the godord I turned over to you." This father's disappointment closely parallels the same contemporary issue of fathers having high expectations of their sons and working hard to provide their sons positions in their companies or industries. It is not mentioned how Mord felt in this situation: relieved that his father steps in with a solution (killing everyone) or frustrated because he was doing perfectly fine with slightly less power than before.
In Eirik's saga, I think Thorhall the huntsman stands out because he is really the only "bad guy" in the saga. In Njal's saga, there were a bunch of people who were spoken badly of because they did evil things, but in this one Thorhall was the only character like that, and even then it was only because he was a heathen and this caused bad luck. He helped the authors send a christian message, but besides that they only used good characters to promote morals which is unlike Njal's.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Hrapp stands out because he is what the typical layperson thinks of when the Vikings are mentioned. He is definitely a larger-than-life character. I like the quote about him: "he brings nothing but bad news." Usually when someone brings bad news, that means the person is a bearer of bad news, sort of like a middle man. I tend to read that Hrapp was the embodiment of bad news; that in his arrival, bad news came simply because of who Hrapp was and his reputation. Also, Hrapp's last, controversial words are intriguing. Although he was a murderer to the Nth degree, I think these last words show his wit, and maybe a bit of malicious humor.
ReplyDeleteOh, Shoot! Sorry, I just posted about Njal's saga. Oops. Now for my real post. So, the character that stood out to me the most in the Vinland sagas was Leif Eriksson because of his adventure. I really like adventures, and it would be amazing to venture out not knowing where you were going. One thing that I often think of in these Vinland sagas is how scary it must have been to travel to "Vinland." I can't imagine not knowing the topology and geography of the earth, let alone even knowing that it is round. Although I love adventure and discovery, I realized how dependent we are on the known - even when we're "roughing it" we "venture" out with our maps (with contour lines), compasses, trail guides, etc. Eriksson had none of that, and he didn't even have a basic knowledge of the globe. I know the Vikings had their idea of what the earth looked like, but they didn't know for sure. I wonder if he was worried about sailing off the end of the earth...
ReplyDeleteWithin the Vinland sagas I felt there was a special emphasis on Gudrid. Although she did not have a prominent role in discovering Vinland, there was a considerable amount of time dedicated to telling her story. What especially interested me was how both sagas had her dead husband, Thorstein Eiriksson, arise from death to tell her her destiny. While we have dealt with prophecy and foresight in previous saga's, this differs because Thorstein is already dead and is said to come alive to tell Gudrid how to better serve and fulfill their Christian faith and duties.
ReplyDeleteWhat bothered me most about the Vinland sagas was Freydis in Vinland. It seemed as though the Vikings had finally made it to a country where they no longer had to fight for every piece of land, as resources were abundant. Yet Freydis brought about trouble anyway, taunting her husband to “avenge” the other party otherwise she would divorce him (pg 69, Chap 8). On a side note, this is a good example showing that divorce could be instigated by women as well. It just struck me as odd that even though they had finally found a land of peace and prosperity, and with a common enemy of the skraelings, the Vikings still found a way to kill each other. I wonder if this was part of the reason why they did not permanently settle Vinland? Were the Vikings so stuck in their “i viking” ways that they simply could not settle a land peacefully?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ken in that Freydis stood out the most. I couldn't believe she'd make up something like she did, and I was even more amazed when everyone in the opposing party was killed, and she single-handedly took care of the women. What a crazy! Overall I am continuously impressed by anyone who sets out to look for new lands, as I am not overly fond of the cold seas myself, let alone being at their mercy. I was reading a bit in the intro about how "they had no reckoning of longitute," and often were at the mercy of the winds. Which makes me wonder how they could easily find their way back to any location...
ReplyDeleteI know that we are supposed to do just one character, but Freydis and Gudrid are such fascinating opposites in Greenland. They are the same gender and are given the same roles in society, but they approach life so much differently. Gudrid is known for her kindness and treats the natives well. In fact, she invites one old woman to come sit next to her. She seems content with her place in the world and does not scheme to rise above her circumstances. In fact, she allows Leif to decide whether she will marry Thorfinn Karlsefni. Freydis, on the other hand, marries her husband because of his money. She spends her entire life thinking about how she can get ahead. Her viciousness is absolutely astonishing. The way she takes an axe and murders five other defenseless females is horrendous to say the least. It shows that she will do whatever it takes to get ahead in life. In fact, she will spend so much time scheming that she will never be truly happy because the other man's grass will always be greener.
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ReplyDeleteAlong with the last two posts, I also agree that Freydis was the most outstanding character. Generally, when you read about expeditions such as these, you usually hear about the men doing all the organizing and planning. Not only does Freydis oversee one of the first voyages to North America, but she also is fearless in bargaining with men (even if it means in a deceitful manner).
ReplyDeleteAlong with Freydis, I was also impressed with the character "Thorbjorg." This prophetess was treated with the highest respect from both men and women, who valued her more for her wisdom and power than gender. On page 82, the author writes: "When she entered the room everyone felt obliged to proffer respectful greeting, to which she responded according to her opinion of each person."
Wow- what awesome kick-butt female characters. If only we had more of these in early US literature...
I think I have to agree with Leah in being most impressed by Leif Eriksson in the Vinland Sagas. Exploring the world during his time must have just been crazy- I feel like they would have no idea if they were sailing towards land or just more sea (providing they were even able to control where they were sailing and weren't simply being tossed around by the winds). Having the guts to repeatedly sail off into the unknown was very impressive, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteOn the same token of exploration, I was pretty surprised by the character Bjarni in the Graenlendinga Saga. While he was looking for Greenland, he sailed past several unknown lands and island, and didn't even bother to stop and check it out. I can understand that he was probably trying to get to Greenland as quickly as possible, but at a time when exploration was a big way to gain wealth and respect, it shocked me that he would simply sail past some potential lands that could be his claim to fame. He did get criticized for his lack of exploration of these lands when he spoke of them later, and I think it served him right!
I also liked Leif Eriksson, but his character had some complexities that I found interesting. He was described as large, strong, wise, and a man of moderation. Almost all of his actions show him to be this strong leader: seeking out Bjarni for his ship, venturing out into new territory, and rescuing Thorir and crew. Yet when he confirms the truth of his sister Freydis' actions, he says "I am not the one to deal my sister, Freydis, the punishment she deserves." This seems strikingly weak, considering her terrible and cruel actions. The only consequences she did receive are those of negative reputation: "after that no one expected anything but evil from [Freydis]."(Saga of the Greenlanders, ch. 8). This probably was a significant punishment, considering the importance of reputation in Viking culture, but it did not administer the justice that I expected from a strong leader like Leif.
ReplyDeleteExcellent variation of observations and comments! Such a variety of individuals and motivations, from composed thoughtfulness to lethal unpredictability. Re. the issue of exploring the unknown: indeed, it seems comforting that we now know what to expect should we sail in any direction. Yet, does having that 'rough knowledge' of the planet require more or less fearlessness of us?
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