When God Came To Greenland

You know the Sagas. They’re about Icelanders, right? Well, there’s also the short and sweet Grænlendingaþáttur saga, which tells the tales of the Viking settlement of — you guessed it — Greenland. Let’s see what that’s all about.

Leifur Eriksson may have brought Christianity to Greenland in the year 1000, but the next big step was taken a century later. In the 1120s, a man named Sokki Þórisson became Chieftain of Brattahlíð — which you’ll recall is the settlement Erik the Red had established in Greenland, just across the bay from Narsarsuaq — and wanted the country to have its own bishop, rather than being subservient to the one in Skálholt, Iceland.

At the annual Þing, all the farmers agreed to chip in to establish a bishopric. But permission was needed from the King of Norway, so Sokki’s son, Einar, set off with a cargo of walrus tusks and fur in hopes of convincing him.

Einar was in luck, for the king of Norway at that time was Sigurður Jórsalafari (aka Sigurd the Crusader, aka Sigurd the Jerusalem-Farer), a devout Christian who once went with 60 longships to Jerusalem, raiding Moorish Lisbon on the way. Despite all of Greenland’s parishes combined being only a third of a regular bishopric by population, making it the smallest in all Christendom, the king agreed to lend his support.

Thus, a Norwegian priest named Arnaldur was consecrated as bishop in 1124. The year later, he set sail for Greenland, only to be caught in a storm and forced to winter in Iceland. Here, he stayed with Sæmundur fróði Sigfússon, or Sæmundur The Wise, at Oddi. The following summer, Arnaldur attended the Alþingi at Þingvellir along with the two local bishops, from Skálholt in the south and Hólar in the north — it was the first and only tri-bishop meeting ever held in Iceland.

Finally, Arnaldur managed to set sail to Greenland. A magnificent stone church was  constructed at the bishop’s residence in Garðar, the remains of which can still be seen.

Then the killing began

A few years later, in 1129, a stranded ship was found close to Garðar with the crew dead but the cargo intact. By law, if no relatives are around to claim a wrecked ship within three years, it would belong to whomever found it. But bishop Arnaldur wasted no time claiming the discovery, perhaps assuming no one else was likely to.

Nevertheless, a boatful of bereaved relatives from Norway, led by a man called Össur, soon arrived at Garðar, while three ships of Icelandic allies arrived in the Western Settlement of Greenland. Össur was invited to spend the winter in Garðar in apparent cordiality, but things took a turn for the worse when the bishop denounced his claim to the ship. Össur decided to leave Garðar and moved to another farm, but when he presented his case at the Þing he was again rejected. In a fit of anger, Össur struck at the disputed ship with his axe.

Bishop Arnaldur vowed revenge and wanted Einar to carry it out. But Einar was dragging his feet, not sure if the rule of bloodfeuds really applied to a damaged ship. Össur’s allies encouraged him to go with them to the Western Settlement where they would be safe, but Össur decided to stay and stand his ground.

As the bishop performed a sermon at the farm of Langanes, Össur stood outside with his axe, being encouraged to leave by passersby. He did not and Einar, after initially leaving the church with the bishop, grabbed an axe of his own and headed back. Össur was killed with a single blow.

When Einar returned, the bishop asked if he had killed Össur. Einar admitted he had, prompting the bishop to remind him that murder doesn’t usually sit well with the big guy in the sky, but in this case it can be excused.

A debate ensued over whether Össur should be buried in consecrated ground. The bishop opposed the idea, but finally relented. Einar worries that Össur will be avenged, but the bishop decides to offer restitution to his family to prevent this.

Much discussion took place during the next summer Þing at Garðar. Ketil Kálfsson, Össur’s first mate, and his friend Kolbeinn Þorljótsson made their case for claiming the disputed cargo, but their cause was weakened by the absence of their allies from the Western Settlement, who were no-shows due to bad weather. Einar disturbed the proceedings, but his father Sokki intervened and managed to get everyone to agree to meet again, on Midsummer’s Day.

Even more killing

As the year’s longest day began, Ketill and his men armed themselves and hid in a bay close to Garðar. When they see Einar arrive, the men could hear bells ringing for high mass, but they assume they were being sounded in Einar’s honour. Seeing the killer of their kin so honoured sent everyone into a fury, prompting Ketill to suggest the next time the church bells ring it will be for a funeral.

At the meeting, Einar gathered a pile of coins as compensation for Össur. Ketill seemed contented until a plate of old armour was thrown on the pile. Simon, a cousin of Össur, took that as an insult and walked up to Einar from one side while Kolbeinn approached from the other. Kolbeinn hit Einar between the shoulders with his axe while Einar’s axe landed in Simon’s head. Both blows are fatal. “This was to be expected,” Einar said as he expired.

Einar’s foster brother Þórður launched himself at Kolbeinn to chop him down, but Kolbeinn snagged him in the throat with the point of his axe. Þórður died instantly but the battle raged on. A man named Steingrímur tried to separate the parties, only to be impaled by a sword.

After many were wounded, Kolbeinn and his men made their way to the boats with three of their fallen. They sailed across Einarsfjörður to Skjálgsbúðir. Though Sokki was preparing to attack their camp, an esteemed man by the name of Hallur of Sólarfjöll got everyone to agree to another negotiation instead. He skimmed through the names of the fallen, counted an equal number of dead on each side and called it even. One final name remained: that of a dead Greenlander who left many children behind, which meant restitution must be paid. Perhaps surprisingly, the Norwegian and Icelandic groups pay up and leave for their respective homelands.

Just another day in the Christian church.

Keep up with Valur Gunnarsson’s Greenland Ho! series and tune in to the podcast series over on YouTube.