Vinland Saga's
VINLAND SAGAS: THE QUEST TO NORTH AMERICA
BY: KAMALJOT BRAR 5206404
HISTORY 1F90 PREPARED FOR: AARON RODENBURG 3, THURSDAY, 1000-1100 DUE: OCTOBER 11th 2012, SUBMIT: OCTOBER 11th 2012
A saga is described to be a short story with historical significance that summarizes in detail events that took place during a certain period of time. In terms of Ancient Scandinavia and the Viking Age, sagas are stories of voyages of Vikings that include subjects like migration, battles, and family and inter-societal interactions. These sagas were written by unknown authors well after the actual events occurred. The Vinland Sagas translated by Keneva Kunz and edited by Gisli Sigurdsson includes two accounts of the Norse voyage to North America; The Saga of the Greenlanders and Eirik the Red’s Saga. Both sagas help to describe the journey to discover North America. However, each tell the prose in a different perspective. The differences between the two sagas include the initial accidental discovery of lands west of Greenland, the discovery of Keel Point, and the voyage by Thorvald. On the other hand there were also similar aspects of the sagas that include the way the western lands were discovered and named, the story behind Leif and the shipwrecked crew, and the length of the voyages. While both sagas are detailing the events of the Icelandic migration to North America, they are not completely identical in the way the events are summarized. One difference between the two sagas is the initial discovery of the lands to the west of Greenland. In The Saga of the Greenlanders, after Bjarni initially noticed the lands to the west, curiosity spread amongst the people of new lands. Leif was the first to venture to the West in hopes to find the lands; he soon purchased Bjarni’s ship and led on a voyage of his own with fellow companions.1 However, Eirik the Red’s Saga records the initial discovery of the new lands by the voyage by Karlsefni and Gudrid who were accompanied by Freydis,
BY: KAMALJOT BRAR 5206404
HISTORY 1F90 PREPARED FOR: AARON RODENBURG 3, THURSDAY, 1000-1100 DUE: OCTOBER 11th 2012, SUBMIT: OCTOBER 11th 2012
A saga is described to be a short story with historical significance that summarizes in detail events that took place during a certain period of time. In terms of Ancient Scandinavia and the Viking Age, sagas are stories of voyages of Vikings that include subjects like migration, battles, and family and inter-societal interactions. These sagas were written by unknown authors well after the actual events occurred. The Vinland Sagas translated by Keneva Kunz and edited by Gisli Sigurdsson includes two accounts of the Norse voyage to North America; The Saga of the Greenlanders and Eirik the Red’s Saga. Both sagas help to describe the journey to discover North America. However, each tell the prose in a different perspective. The differences between the two sagas include the initial accidental discovery of lands west of Greenland, the discovery of Keel Point, and the voyage by Thorvald. On the other hand there were also similar aspects of the sagas that include the way the western lands were discovered and named, the story behind Leif and the shipwrecked crew, and the length of the voyages. While both sagas are detailing the events of the Icelandic migration to North America, they are not completely identical in the way the events are summarized. One difference between the two sagas is the initial discovery of the lands to the west of Greenland. In The Saga of the Greenlanders, after Bjarni initially noticed the lands to the west, curiosity spread amongst the people of new lands. Leif was the first to venture to the West in hopes to find the lands; he soon purchased Bjarni’s ship and led on a voyage of his own with fellow companions.1 However, Eirik the Red’s Saga records the initial discovery of the new lands by the voyage by Karlsefni and Gudrid who were accompanied by Freydis,
Bibliography: Sigurdsson, Gísli. "Eirik the Red 's Saga." In The Vinland Sagas. Translated by Keneva Kunz London: Penguin, 2008. 23-51. Sigurdsson, Gísli. "The Saga of the Greenlanders ." In The Vinland Sagas. Translated by Keneva Kunz London: Penguin, 2008. 1-23. 6