Thorvald Eiriksson (Þorvaldr Eiríksson)
Thorvald, another son of Eirik’s, (possibly illegitimate) led the second expedition to Vinland. He died in a skirmish with Aboriginal people somewhere north of the Vinland base. He was Christian and his grave was marked with two crosses. His body was in all likelihood brought back to Greenland for burial at Brattahlid by one of the subsequent expeditions. According to The Saga of the Greenlanders, the goal of Thorsten’s expedition was to retrieve Thorvald’s body. From other sources we know the importance to the early Christian Norse of being buried in consecrated ground in a proper cemetery. When people died in remote places or when winter conditions prevented immediate burial, the bodies were later brought to a cemetery.
Chapters in Books
- Keneva Kunz, trans., [Thorvald Eriksson in] The Saga of the Greenlanders, The Sagas of Icelanders: A Selection, preface by Jane Smiley, introduction by Robert Kellogg, 2000
- Keneva Kunz, trans., [Thorvald Eriksson in] Eirik the Red's Saga, The Sagas of Icelanders: A Selection, preface by Jane Smiley, introduction by Robert Kellogg, 2000