Erik the Red

ᛉ 950CE - 1003CE ᛣ

In Eiríks Saga Rauða, we learn about a man named Erik, who was banished from Iceland after he caused a landslide onto a neighbor’s farm, which resulted in an ugly feud. Erik sailed west, towards a rumored land that he settled upon and named Greenland. He chose the name to encourage additional settlers to join him, however, the winter conditions were incredibly harsh and threatened the inhabitants with famine.

One winter, a volva named Thorbjorg was making her rounds to men’s halls to perform divinations, when she came to a farm in Greenland and was given a meal. Thorbjorg asked the farmer’s daughter to sing an old kind of heathen song, which the Christian girl was reluctant to do, but she sang so beautifully that the volva was moved and issued a prophecy that Greenland would be relieved of the harsh winters and soon would flourish.

Erik had a wife named Thjodhild, and two sons named Thorstein and Leif. Both of these sons gained renown for their strength and good nature. Leif would become especially well-known for discovering Vinland (North America) around 1000 CE. Leif also made a trip to Norway, where he was converted to Christianity and made part of the infamous Olaf Tryggvason’s court. The zealous king instructed Leif to return to Greenland and preach to its settlers about the new religion.

Erik, was unconvinced to forsake his ancestral gods and customs which had brought him good fortune in light of the sub-par circumstances he had faced. However, Leif’s mother, Thjodhild, readily converted and even ordered the construction of a church. The inhabitants of their settlement were steadily drawn away from heathendom, but Erik refused to give in. Finally, Thjodhild resorted to telling her husband that she would no longer share a bed with a heathen man, and still, Erik remained true to his faith.

Today, we remember Erik the Red for his legacy as an early pioneer of the New World, and his unyielding faithfulness to our gods and customs, even when his own family pressured him to relent. May we all find his patience and commitment to what we know is true, even when it is inconvenient.

Erik the Red’s Day of Remembrance is October 8th.

By Shade McCurdy