Part 8 (1/2)

”It may be-”

”Or perhaps you hear a kind of screaming above the wind, as of souls in torment, as if, perhaps, the mouth of h.e.l.l were yawning open and men were given to hear the crying of the d.a.m.ned?”

”This has not-”

Now Sira Jon's voice fell to a whisper, ”Or it could be that the Devil himself speaks into your ear as you are thinking of other things and tempts you, toward what you could not say, for his words can hardly be distinguished, and yet they fill you with longing? Is this not something that happens to you?”

”Nay. My father's brother sometimes walks among the birches, back in the mountains where I take the sheep, but it seems to me that he was so foolishly fond of these wild places that he cannot forsake them even in death.”

Sira Jon looked up the slope as if seeking traces of Hauk Gunnarsson, then looked into Margret's face so sharply that she was forced to drop her eyes. She declared in a low voice, ”Ingrid our nurse used to tell many tales of folk who stalked their own steadings out of inordinate love for them, and my father's brother was as fond of these wild places as other men are of their steadings-”

”What does he look like? What do you see?”

”I know not what to say. Shadows among the birches, a bit of color afar, white or the purplish color of Gunnars Stead wadmal. These are not things I have pondered much.”

Sira Jon leaned so close to Margret that his face was nearly touching hers and spoke in a whisper. ”It is said that those who cannot lie in their graves are horrible of aspect, covered with blood, perhaps, or mutilated.”

”This is not for me to say-”

”It is said that you are mad. I would help you if you would let me.” Great drops of perspiration burst out upon the priest's forehead and a bright red spot appeared in each of his cheeks.

”Perhaps folk do say that. It is true that I was once greatly tried, but-” Here Margret stopped speaking, for Sira Jon had slumped forward in a faint.

Now Margret ran to the servant, and brought him to Sira Jon, hoping that he would give her some explanation for this, but he only looked down at the priest where he lay upon the turf, and said nothing. After a bit Sira Jon revived, and sat up, and looked about, and it seemed to Margret that he was much surprised to find himself where he was. But indeed, he was an odd man, for he only thanked her for her hospitality and gave her his ring to kiss, and went off without a word about his fit. Margret was much perplexed, and through the winter she sometimes considered the meaning of the priest's visit, but she mentioned it to no one at Brattahlid.

And it so happened that in the summer of 1381 a certain s.h.i.+p carrying Norwegian traders did arrive, a s.h.i.+p blown off course from Iceland, and the folk from this s.h.i.+p stayed at Herjolfsnes in the south. Still another s.h.i.+p appeared in the following summer, although much damaged, while the folk of the first s.h.i.+p were still at Herjolfsnes, and the folk on the new s.h.i.+p stayed for the winter at Brattahlid, and the captains of both these s.h.i.+ps agreed to take the news of the bishop's death to the chapter at Nidaros, and as payment for this favor, Sira Jon gave each captain something of worth. To the master of the first s.h.i.+p, which was called Olafssuden Olafssuden, he gave a pair of walrus tusks, and to the captain of the damaged s.h.i.+p, which was called Thorlakssuden Thorlakssuden, he gave a pair of white falcons, and these were the items of greatest value among the Gardar stores, for the wealth of Gardar was not as it had been, but even so, these s.h.i.+pmasters seemed little impressed with their gifts and the Greenlanders said that these Norwegians thought very well of themselves.

When it came time for the Olafssuden Olafssuden to return to Norway (the to return to Norway (the Thorlakssuden Thorlakssuden could not be repaired with such materials as were at hand), the two s.h.i.+pmasters went about getting provisions for their journey. In every instance when they were offered other goods for trade, they refused them, and denigrated their value, and maintained that they wished to keep their own goods for trade in Iceland. For the provisions they needed, they offered very little in the way of seed or pitch or iron goods or wood, much less than the Greenlanders considered their cheeses and dried reindeer flesh and dried sealmeat to be worth, and these two men were said to be stiff-necked and hard. Other s.h.i.+pmasters, especially Thorleif, were warmly recalled, and Thorleif's s.h.i.+p as well, for it had been long and wide and deep and had carried such an abundance of goods and treasures that every Greenlander had been satisfied. could not be repaired with such materials as were at hand), the two s.h.i.+pmasters went about getting provisions for their journey. In every instance when they were offered other goods for trade, they refused them, and denigrated their value, and maintained that they wished to keep their own goods for trade in Iceland. For the provisions they needed, they offered very little in the way of seed or pitch or iron goods or wood, much less than the Greenlanders considered their cheeses and dried reindeer flesh and dried sealmeat to be worth, and these two men were said to be stiff-necked and hard. Other s.h.i.+pmasters, especially Thorleif, were warmly recalled, and Thorleif's s.h.i.+p as well, for it had been long and wide and deep and had carried such an abundance of goods and treasures that every Greenlander had been satisfied.

In the last days before the departure of these two in the summer of 1383, the master of the Thorlakssuden Thorlakssuden, a man by the name of Markus Arason, went about gathering payments for the wooden beams and laps of his broken s.h.i.+p, and those who refused to pay were told that they would have none of the driftage. This was contrary to the law of Greenland, which at this time said that driftwood was the property of that man whose strand it caught upon, but the Olafssuden's Olafssuden's master declared that he cared nothing for the law of Greenland, and that the s.h.i.+p would be burned to the water line if not paid for. And indeed, on the evening before the departure of the master declared that he cared nothing for the law of Greenland, and that the s.h.i.+p would be burned to the water line if not paid for. And indeed, on the evening before the departure of the Olafssuden Olafssuden, the Thorlakssuden Thorlakssuden was broken apart with axes, and folk who had paid the Norwegian were given their beams and laps, and the rest of the wood was burned in a great bonfire, and his sailors stood about the fire with their axes to prevent anyone from throwing water upon it. And the Greenlanders considered this a great crime, but they were unable to prevent the departure of the was broken apart with axes, and folk who had paid the Norwegian were given their beams and laps, and the rest of the wood was burned in a great bonfire, and his sailors stood about the fire with their axes to prevent anyone from throwing water upon it. And the Greenlanders considered this a great crime, but they were unable to prevent the departure of the Olafssuden Olafssuden, and this event was spoken of for some years.

Another topic of discussion among the Greenlanders was this, that following the killings of the Erlendssons by Gunnar Asgeirsson there occurred seven more killings in the course of five winters, and this was a greater number of killings than folk expected, and in addition to this, there were robberies and some rapes, and the desecration of the churchyard at the church in Herjolfsnes. Not all of these killings were properly announced, and in four of the cases, the killers went undiscovered, or at least, unpunished, for it is truly said that folk know more than they speak about. It was also true that those who desecrated the churchyard were thought to be sailors from the Thorlakssuden Thorlakssuden, and after the departure of the Norwegian's men, it was a pleasure to the Greenlanders to blame these folk for all sorts of things.

But another thing was also true, and this was that the Greenlanders felt the absence of the bishop and, as far as that went, of the king's...o...b..dsman Kollbein Sigurdsson, and disputes were too often decided between men on the spot, without the counsel of the prosperous farmers of a district. Since the coming of Bishop Alf, fewer and fewer men had bothered to make the long journeys that they had once made, either to Gardar at Yule and Easter for the celebration in the cathedral, or to Brattahlid just after the ma.s.s of St. Jon the Baptist in the summer, and Osmund Thordarson, the lawspeaker himself, declared that there was little he could do to persuade men to leave their farms in the middle of summer when there was much work to be done. Others said, perhaps truly, that there was little that Osmund tried to do, in fact. But the result was that some years Osmund was left to recite the laws to not more than two dozen men, and few cases were brought and only half of the thirteen district judges were present at any rate.

Sometimes folk declared that this was a great scandal, and other times they said that after all no murders had occurred in their district, or near their steadings, or only one, and the killer was known and would not kill again, for this is also true, that no matter how evil times become, they are not so evil as they might be, and even Erlend and Vigdis lived from day to day, and did their work, and carried on much as before, and if this was possible for them, then how much more possible would it be for others, who had not suffered as they had? Even so, there came to be some little dissatisfaction with Osmund Thordarson. He was too genial, or too careless, or too old-each complaint was different, but every man had one.

It happened that about two summers after the departure of the Olafssuden Olafssuden, another s.h.i.+p appeared in Einars Fjord, a large, richly painted vessel with a beautiful red and gold sail. Its master, a prosperous Icelander by the name of Bjorn Einarsson, was called Jorsalfari, or ”Jerusalem traveler,” for he had taken a s.h.i.+p to Jerusalem and to many other places as well, including Rome and Spain as well as the more usual places. What was especially interesting to the Greenlanders was that his wife was with him, a woman who was very richly and fas.h.i.+onably dressed. A scribe traveled with him as well, his foster son Einar, who wrote down all of Bjorn's adventures and all of his discoveries.

In addition to Bjorn Einarsson's beautiful s.h.i.+p, there were three others in the party, and each of these three was a serviceable, seaworthy craft, and the Greenlanders were not a little impressed with the array they made. It was soon apparent that Bjorn was a man possessed of great luck. He was red-faced, portly, and high-spirited, and he himself said that he was much pleased at coming to Greenland, for though, he told Sira Jon, he had been heading for Iceland, Greenland was a place that few came to, a place lost to the considerations of men, especially since the coming of the Great Death and its subsequent visitations. And he went on in this vein. Sira Jon made him and his wife and foster son greatly welcome, and the sailors were sent with gifts out among the Greenlanders, and they had a lot to tell, much of it about Bjorn Einarsson, for he was a man whom talk cl.u.s.tered about wherever he went.

The first thing Bjorn did was ask who had the best horses in Greenland, and he was told about Thorkel Gellison of Hestur Stead and about Magnus Arnason of Nes and about Ragnleif Isleifsson of Brattahlid, who had the best horses in the northern part of the settlement, and he took four rowers and his wife and foster son in the big Gardar boat and went first to Brattahlid and then to Vatna Hverfi district, and at each of these places he traded for a fine pair of horses for himself and his wife, to be kept for him whenever he desired to come from Gardar and ride about the district. At Brattahlid he traded a fine pair of silver candlesticks, and with these a pair of iron wheel hubs to pay for the horses' keep. To Thorkel Gellison he gave a carved ivory crucifix, and with this a bag of rye seed to pay for the keeping of the animals. And folk were surprised at Thorkel Gellison, for he allowed himself to be traded out of his favorite gray mare and a roan stallion that some said was better even than the famous gray. But Thorkel said to his steward that this Icelander would neither be staying in Greenland nor taking horses with him on a sea journey, and it would do the beasts good to be sat on by a man of luck.

Bjorn's wife, whose name was Solveig Ogmundsdottir, was not very pretty. Nevertheless, she wore such clothing and headdresses as Greenland women had never seen before, embroidered in gold and silver, with gold threads woven through the silk. Her shoes were especially delightful, as colorful as the dresses, and soft and dainty. She had a special pair of shoes for going about in muddy weather, and these were made of violet leather and wood, with designs of birds and flowers painted on them. She was glad to display these things to folk who were interested, and although she spoke in an odd, and perhaps affected, manner, there was little gossip about her except as praised her wealth and her apparel and her courtesy. In the winter after their arrival, Solveig gave birth to a boy, and he was cared for by two children who were skraeling children. These had been rescued from an islet at the mouth of Eriks Fjord, and they were very fond of Solveig and Bjorn. They went about with them everywhere, and lived with them at Gardar, and of this peculiar arrangement, Sira Jon said nothing.

Of news, this was the greatest piece, that now there were two popes, one in Rome, whom some folk considered to be a madman, and another in Avignon, among the French, whom some considered to be the tool of the king of France, and far from the sight of G.o.d, and this schism was some seven years old. Sira Jon asked if Pope Urban was no longer the pope, then, for the crew of the Thorlakssuden Thorlakssuden had spoken of that election, and of the return of Gregory to Rome some years before, and Bjorn replied that indeed, Urban was still in Rome, and considered to be pope by Norwegians and Englishmen and the Holy Roman Emperor, but that there was a Pope Clement in Avignon who had gained the support of the French and the Scots and the king of Castile, and this Clement had all the old cardinals with him, and Urban's cardinals were all new ones, created by himself, and what was worse, each pope was busy excommunicating everyone loyal to the other one: whole towns and regions had been excommunicated, and among the people of the countryside there was no a.s.surance that rites performed were in any way effective. Bjorn himself had little to say of this matter, for he had been to Rome and seen it for what it was, a crowded, miserable rubble, where decent folk might be set upon and beaten even unto death for no reason, for a few coins or a trinket. And this was also true, that every cardinal kept fighting men about him, and more than one had used various pretexts for ordering the slaughter of innocent folk; indeed, this other pope, Clement, had ordered the slaughter of the citizens of a certain town, called by the Italians Cesena. The case was as follows, that the cardinal accepted hostages, and freed them as a sign of goodwill, and then called out his English mercenaries, and had the gates of the city barred and then for the s.p.a.ce of three days and nights, these Englishmen had become as berserks, frenzied with killing and laying waste, for when all is said and done, Englishmen are well known to be unG.o.dly folk. It was said that upwards of ten thousand or more of the folk were put to the sword, as many or more as died in the Great Death, Bjorn did not know how many. And more fled. And many fine things were broken apart and burned and stolen. had spoken of that election, and of the return of Gregory to Rome some years before, and Bjorn replied that indeed, Urban was still in Rome, and considered to be pope by Norwegians and Englishmen and the Holy Roman Emperor, but that there was a Pope Clement in Avignon who had gained the support of the French and the Scots and the king of Castile, and this Clement had all the old cardinals with him, and Urban's cardinals were all new ones, created by himself, and what was worse, each pope was busy excommunicating everyone loyal to the other one: whole towns and regions had been excommunicated, and among the people of the countryside there was no a.s.surance that rites performed were in any way effective. Bjorn himself had little to say of this matter, for he had been to Rome and seen it for what it was, a crowded, miserable rubble, where decent folk might be set upon and beaten even unto death for no reason, for a few coins or a trinket. And this was also true, that every cardinal kept fighting men about him, and more than one had used various pretexts for ordering the slaughter of innocent folk; indeed, this other pope, Clement, had ordered the slaughter of the citizens of a certain town, called by the Italians Cesena. The case was as follows, that the cardinal accepted hostages, and freed them as a sign of goodwill, and then called out his English mercenaries, and had the gates of the city barred and then for the s.p.a.ce of three days and nights, these Englishmen had become as berserks, frenzied with killing and laying waste, for when all is said and done, Englishmen are well known to be unG.o.dly folk. It was said that upwards of ten thousand or more of the folk were put to the sword, as many or more as died in the Great Death, Bjorn did not know how many. And more fled. And many fine things were broken apart and burned and stolen.

This news cast Sira Jon sorely down, and he said to Bjorn that among the hopes of men, that small one of the Greenlanders, the hope for a new bishop, must now be blasted. After this, to give him some cheer, Bjorn spoke of his journey to Jerusalem. There, he said, the sun shone so bright and hot that folk had to remain within their houses during the day so as not to be burned up or faint at their tasks, and in addition to this, the countryside around the town was much parched with the excess of heat. Nevertheless, the place shone with the beauty of holiness, and a man could wander there among the holy places for many years, and never see his fill of them, for nearly every step that a man took was in the footsteps of Abraham, or David, or Joshua, who caused the destruction of Jericho, so that what had been a great city was now a little village, as Bjorn had seen for himself, or Jon the Baptist, or Our Lady, or Jesus Christ and Peter and the other disciples. At times when Bjorn himself could not remember this or that, his foster son Einar supplied the information, for Einar had gone on all these travels and written everything down, and Bjorn had fostered him with this in mind.

Einar told folk the tale of the Saracens, who were called Mohammedans, and who own Jerusalem through the sins and failings of Christian men, for it is well known that G.o.d took Jerusalem from the Christians because they do not follow his laws, so that such wealth as King Baldwin showed to King Sigurd when he came to Jerusalem, when his brother Eystein was king of Norway, no longer belongs to Christians, but to the Saracen sultan. Everyone knows the tale of how Baldwin had rich cloths laid upon the road to Jerusalem, to test the pride of Sigurd, and Sigurd rode his horse over them as if they were dirt and told all his men to do the same, so that Baldwin was much impressed. But now these Mohammedans have all this wealth for themselves, through the justice of G.o.d.

These Mohammedans, Einar said, look forward eagerly to Paradise, and say that in Paradise every man shall have eighty wives, all maidens, and shall lie with them every day and always find them maidens again. And other than that, they have their laws in a book called Alkoran Alkoran, and one of these laws is that they shall fast and keep from their wives a whole month every year, and another of these is that Jesus was never crucified, but was changed by the Lord into Judas, who was crucified for him, and that Jesus came to heaven without dying, for it would be injustice for G.o.d to bring Jesus to be crucified with no guilt upon Him, so it could not be. Another of these laws says that Jesus was not the Son of G.o.d, but a great prophet, like Moses and Abraham, and that another prophet was Mohammed, who was the messenger of G.o.d. Because they know much of the Virgin and of Jesus and of the gospels, they are easily converted to proper faith, when they are shown how to understand it properly. And it is not only in Paradise that they have many wives, but on earth too, for Mohammed said that this was just. But now these men take many more than is proper, and concubines as well. Such practices were much spoken of by the Greenlanders, being so strange. And Einar said this, that when men in this country saw the wealth of Bjorn Einarsson Jorsalfari, they offered him beautiful women for his wives and concubines, but Bjorn always said to them that Solveig was as six wives to him already. And these Mohammedans were much surprised by Solveig, for she went with her face uncovered, whereas women in these parts went covered from head to foot.

One tale that Sira Jon was eager to hear was that of Bjorn's travels to Bethlehem, and Bjorn did remember a great deal about this little city, which, he said, was long and narrow and surrounded by a st.u.r.dy wall. And Bethlehem was set in a pleasant district of plains and woodland and a lovely church which was set on the place where Jesus was born. Inside this church, exactly at the spot, could be found a rich chapel, painted with silver, gold, azure, crimson, and all the colors a man could think of. Three paces from this is the crib, and beside that the spot where the star fell from the heavens that led the three kings to wors.h.i.+p the new babe. Here Einar interrupted and declared that although these kings are known to Christians as Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar, they are known to other peoples by other names, to wit, the Greeks call them Galgalathe, Malgalathe, and Saraphie, but the Jews call them otherwise in Hebrew: Appelius, Amerrius, and Damasus. These kings, Bjorn said, had a miraculous journey, for everyone in the holy places will tell you that they met each other in a city called Ca.s.sak, which is further east from Jerusalem by fifty-three days' journey, and yet they arrived in Bethlehem after twelve days.

But there are other things in Bethlehem, also, namely the charnel house of the Innocents, where the bones of all the babes who were slaughtered by Herod are kept, and near that the tomb of St. Jerome, and outside this tomb sits the chair St. Jerome sat upon while he was translating the Bible and the Psalter from Hebrew into Latin. And near to this church is the church of St. Nicholas, where the Virgin rested after giving birth, and in these red marble stones can be seen the white traces of her milk, for when she came here, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were full and painful, and she milked them and the milk fell on the red stones. Bjorn had seen this for himself. Bjorn had considered Bethlehem a very fine city, and much admired the vineyards round about, for Bethlehem is inhabited solely by Christians, who make good wine. Here Einar broke in again and explained that the Mohammedans drink no wine because their prophet, Mohammed, is said to have killed a holy man in drink. They also, Einar said, eat no pork, for they consider swine to be men's brothers, and though the Greenlanders quizzed him about this, Einar declared it to be true. Such were some of the marvels related by Bjorn Einarsson Jorsalfari and his foster son when they came to Greenland. The Greenlanders could not get enough of their tales.

One day Bjorn and Einar and some servingmen went on a skiing trip to Vatna Hverfi and Hvalsey Fjord, where they visited St. Birgitta's church, for they had heard of its fair proportions and excellent stonework, and Bjorn wanted to make acquaintance with Sira Pall Hallvardsson. When Pall Hallvardsson brought them into the church, Birgitta Lavransdottir was there with her daughter Gunnhild, who was some eleven winters old. In addition to Gunnhild, Helga, and Kollgrim, Birgitta now had two more daughters, Astrid and Maria, and she was far gone with a sixth child. Although there had been some news of the travelers from other districts, this was the first time Birgitta had seen Bjorn, and she and Gunnhild curtsied politely. Gunnhild stared mightily at the man's clothing, for it was full of many colors, and his hat touched the top of the doorway as he came into St. Birgitta's church. Bjorn in turn stared mightily at Gunnhild, for she was growing into a handsome child, as tall and blond as Gunnar's lineage, but with the round softness of Birgitta. At the sight of her, Bjorn laughed and said, ”I had thought there were no trees in Greenland,” and Birgitta smiled and said, ”Such trees as there are grow in clefts and valleys far from the paths of men.” And so it came about that Pall Hallvardsson and Bjorn and Einar were invited to visit Lavrans Stead and have a sight of all the Gunnarsdottirs, who were all much like Gunnhild, although Birgitta considered Gunnhild the handsomest, and of Kollgrim, who was no different, except a boy and therefore more troublesome and more delightful.

Lavrans Stead was somewhat bigger now than it had been, with two new rooms, a small one for storage and a large one for bedding down all of the children. Lavrans himself was old and much bent with the joint ill, and suffering greatly in the winter from the cold, which always makes the joint ill more painful. It was the duty of Gunnhild and Helga to sit beside him and fetch things for him and prevent Kollgrim from teasing him, for Kollgrim was a great tease, and could be persuaded to leave no one alone. Olaf said he was possessed with an imp who could be seen winking out of the boy's eyes from time to time, but Birgitta said that Olaf had grown sour from the day they left Gunnars Stead, and Gunnar said nothing. Bjorn and Einar were full of praise for the children, for their height and for their fat cheeks, and Birgitta declared that through the efforts of Finn Thormodsson, Gunnar's family had not yet gone hungry through a single Lenten season, although other families in the district had not been so fortunate, and she said this in such a way that Gunnar laughed at her and declared that she was swollen, not with another child, but with pride.

It happened in the early spring, sometime around the feast of the Virgin, that a group of men who were all prosperous farmers, and from every district, went to Gardar where Bjorn Einarsson was staying and proposed to him that he should undertake the position and duties of district judge and revenue officer for the Norwegian king. And the men offered Bjorn the following compensation: the right to farm Foss and Thjodhilds Stead and in addition one hundred and thirty legs of mutton, as well as other valuable wares. Some folk said that the Greenlanders were too dazzled by the wealth and energy of the Icelander, and that such difficulties as Greenlanders found themselves in, they themselves could relieve without the expense of the mutton and other goods. But others said that Kollbein Sigurdsson had left the two farmsteads in poor condition, and Bjorn was an energetic man with many servants and sailors who could be easily put to work. These folk also looked at Bjorn's s.h.i.+ps and his goods and his character, and declared that such a man would be a valuable fellow to have about, but would hardly stay if there was no compensation through revenue gathering or other means. And so Bjorn Einarsson Jorsalfari, a famous and singular man, was induced to remain in Greenland when he had intended to depart. In this year, he traded a great deal for the goods of the Greenlanders, for his s.h.i.+ps were full of desirable cargo, and there were Greenlandic stuffs that he wanted to have for himself or to carry back to Bergen for trade. And, in addition to this, it was the Greenlanders' law, pa.s.sed at the Thing after the departure of the Olafssuden Olafssuden, that visiting s.h.i.+ps had to take trade goods with them and not only provisions. Another thing also happened, and this was that those Greenlanders who had been trading quietly with the skraelings since the death of Ragnvald began talking more about it, and bringing out their goods, and some of these goods-ivories, fine furs-pleased Bjorn immensely.

In the later spring, after Bjorn and his folk were installed at their farm, Einar, Bjorn's foster son, came to Hvalsey Fjord with the intention of visiting Pall Hallvardsson and showing him some of the writing he had done on his journeys with Bjorn, for he was well trained and had a fine hand. Pall Hallvardsson kept six ma.n.u.scripts at St. Birgitta's church, four of which he had written out himself, including the little book he had taught Gunnar Asgeirsson to read out of, another which he had received as a gift upon his ordination, and still another, this one very small, which he had purchased as a young man in Ghent, and this one was his favorite, for it contained twelve small pictures, one for each month of the year, showing what folk did as the days of the year went by.

After this, Einar let Pall Hallvardsson look over his writings, and they were extensive, covering many rolls of parchment, and Einar said that he was much afraid to let these rolls out of his possession to have them copied, and yet he himself did not have the time to copy them. While Einar was beside him, Pall Hallvardsson read aloud what Einar had written down about Spain, France, and England, and Einar interrupted him and added bits and pieces that he remembered, for example, that the fellow called Wat the Tiler, who brought about the burning and smas.h.i.+ng of a great palace in London, had called for the breakup of church lands, so that poor folk would have them and priests and bishops and even archbishops would be sent upon the roads, begging, and furthermore, these words were not surprising to Englishmen, and were often in the mouths of others who were more respectable. But Einar and Bjorn and Solveig had had to stay indoors during these disruptions, for it was the practice of these wild peasant folk to hunt down men from foreign countries and club them to death. Pall Hallvardsson replied that there had recently been more killings in Greenland, as well, a sure sign of the sinfulness of man and the evil of the times, but Einar declared that such killings as these done in England were not like killings among men who had enmity for one another because of feuding; they were more like a plague or a curse of G.o.d, for the killers came in a group and were fired with a frenzy such as a Berserk might be, and their victim's every action, of meekness or challenge, inflamed them further, and the only thing that quelled them was fear for their lives, when they saw that armored knights on horseback were about to go among them with swords and spears. At this, they would begin to run away, and trample each other and in turn get trampled by the plunging horses, and all this time the knights would be laughing and cheering, for they, too, were inflamed with hatred as with a madness. Now Pall Hallvardsson and Einar fell silent, contemplating the English, who in all stories appear to glory in slaughter, as it is said by the poet, Thorkel Skallason: It is true that killing in England Will be a long time ending.

And so Einar Bjarnarfostri stayed for some days at Hvalsey Fjord as a guest of Sira Pall Hallvardsson, and each day he met Gunnhild Gunnarsdottir, and he greatly admired her looks and demeanor, and the result was that on the last day of his visit, he approached Gunnar Asgeirsson and asked to be betrothed to the child, though she was but twelve winters old.

”Everyone can see,” Einar declared, ”that my foster father Bjorn is a wealthy man, and possessed of great luck. I have land of my own in Iceland, close by Bjorn's farm in Reykholar, and I have servingmen to work it, and servingwomen to ease the labor of my wife. In addition to this, my wife would be a great friend and cherished relation of Solveig Ogmundsdottir, who would surely act as a mother to the girl.” And he smiled, for it was clear to him that such an offer as his for any Greenland girl, even a girl as handsome as Gunnhild, would not come again.

All of this time, Gunnar was sitting apart on a rock, repairing a fis.h.i.+ng net, and he continued to work at the project until it was finished, then he put it aside. Now he looked up at Einar and said, ”Because we are Greenlanders does not mean that we don't know the forms of such things. No man comes without friends to the household of the woman he desires, unless he thinks that the household is of little importance.” He got up and carried his net across the yard into the boathouse, and Einar saw that he was much offended. The next day, Einar returned to Gardar, and there was no more talk of this matter.

One day later in the spring, when the hillsides had begun to green up and only small icebergs floated in the fjord, Birgitta was pacing back and forth in front of the farmstead, spinning. Her time was near, and she was very great with child; it was intolerable for her to be within the steading. And as she was walking back and forth, she looked toward the water, where the five children were gathering seaweed, even Maria, the youngest, who was but two winters old. As she looked at them, and thought of the child within her, they seemed to vanish, so that their cries to one another were silenced and the strand was empty and the sea behind it cold and gray. Now Birgitta dropped her spindle and put her face in her hands, and when she looked up again, the water of the fjord was blue and the children had reappeared, as they were before, running about and dropping bits of seaweed into the yellow basket. Sometime later, Gunnar and Olaf came down from the sheepfold, and Birgitta took Gunnar's elbow and held it until Olaf washed himself and went inside, then she said to Gunnar, ”This man Einar is something above thirty winters old, and has had one wife already, but he is much accomplished and allied to a great man. Perhaps Bjorn will not go from Greenland at all. Perhaps these farms here are better than those he has in Iceland.”

Gunnar stood gazing upon the children, who had begun to drag the basket up the hillside. He said, ”A man with four s.h.i.+ps must leave.”

Now they were silent for a s.p.a.ce, and then Birgitta said, ”It seems to me that Gunnhild is fated to go with him, for just now I saw her vanish before me.” After this, they did not discuss the matter again.

Now the summer came on, and Birgitta gave birth to yet another daughter, and she was baptized with the name Johanna, and she was the largest of all the children, and born with a full head of hair and a tooth in her lower jaw, and people spoke of this, for such children, it is said, come into the world with ideas of their own. Birgitta found in herself an unaccountable dislike for this child, and left its care much to Gunnhild and Helga. Johanna was born while Olaf, Gunnar, and Finn were away for the seal hunt, and when Gunnar returned he looked for a long time at the baby and she lay awake without crying and looked back at him, and he declared himself pleased with her, and from this time Johanna stuck to her father as Kollgrim had always followed after his mother.

Of Kollgrim, there is this to say, that he was a great wanderer, and he was known at all the farmsteads round about and at Pall Hallvardsson's priesthouse across the water. It happened at this time, while Gunnar was away hunting for seals and Birgitta was occupied with Johanna, that Kollgrim was walking past a neighboring farmstead and two boys, Hrolf and Hakon, came out of the byre with their dog, who was a large deerhound by breed, but not fully grown. This dog, seeing Kollgrim, broke away from the two boys and ran at Kollgrim, baring its teeth and knocking him down. Now Kollgrim felt a stone beside his hand and picked it up and brought it down hard on the dog's head, so that the dog's skull was broken and the dog died. Then the boys came up, and Kollgrim jumped to his feet, declaring it was unneighborly to set such a beast upon a guiltless pa.s.serby, and he fell upon Hrolf, the older boy, although without the stone, and he beat him. This boy was not quite Kollgrim's age, and certainly not his size. Hakon ran to get a servingman, as the farmer, Harald, was also away on the seal hunt. This servingman was carrying a staff, and struck Kollgrim with it on the side of the head, and at this the boys ceased fighting.

When Gunnar and Harald returned from the seal hunt, Gunnar paid Harald two sealskins as compensation for the death of the dog and the beating of Hrolf. Birgitta was much annoyed to get nothing for the dog attack and the blow to Kollgrim's head, and Gunnar and Birgitta had words about this. In addition, Kollgrim was forbidden visiting Haralds Stead, but he went there often anyway, for it seemed that now he would not or could not forbear teasing this boy Hrolf, as he had teased his grandfather and his sisters and Olaf and everyone else.

One day shortly after this, Birgitta sat down beside Lavrans, who now stayed beside the fire, for he was some sixty-five winters old or more. This was the first time Birgitta had gotten up after her confinement, and she carried the new baby with her to show to her father. For a little while, Lavrans held the child in his arms and admired her size and her clothing, for Birgitta had woven a new white shawl for her, and decorated it with handsome woven bands. Then Birgitta leaned over his shoulder and put her finger in the infant's mouth and felt around gently until she found the tiny tooth, and she said, ”Don't folk say that such a tooth brings ill luck to the whole lineage?”

Lavrans replied, ”Such a thing was never spoken in my hearing, but it may be.”

”I am afraid for the others.”

Now Lavrans looked at her for a while, and then he said, ”Such pride as I had in you, which folk laughed at, and such doting as I fell into, which folk once marveled at, you show tenfold, and fivefold for the boy alone. The priests say it is a sin to love a child more than G.o.d Himself. The truth is that G.o.d is jealous and powerful and well pleased to take our cherished idols for His own.”

”I can't help it that they fill up my eyes with their beauty and winsome ways.”