Alright, after two months, the great Vinlandic timeline of Makemakean is finally here! In case you are interested, the (extremely) long thread in which the details of the first couple of decades of the timeline was worked out can be found here, and this is most likely where I, Lysandros and Byzantine will continue discussing the developments of the timeline. Still, fell free to comment here. Having already mentioned their names, I would nonetheless like to thank both Lysandros and Byzantines, the co-creators of this timeline for the extensive help to which they and their nigh encyclopedic knowledge has been. I hope that both of them will in the future be interested in writing chapters to this timeline.
Point of Divergence: In our timeline, Norway's future king Olaf Tryggvasson spent four years plundering and pillaging the coasts of England in the 980s. In about 988, he came to the isles of Scilly, where according to legend he heard that there lived a seer. The seer told him that on his way back he would be betrayed by men close to him, be morally wounded in a battle at sea and after seven days at death's door, he would miraculously recover. He was then to be baptised and become a devout Christian. These events came to pass, and most certainly, Olaf went on to become a Crusader of the faith in the still predominantly pagan Norway. Whether or not this meeting between Olaf and the seer actually happened, I will not make a comment upon, but in this timeline, I have chosen to let Olaf perceive the events on his journey back to Norway be a divine sign. A divine sign from the Aesir that is, and have the king remain a staunch pagan. For the consequences of this, read the timeline.
Chapter I: A Kingly Marriage and a Kingly Mission
“While the baptism of Harald Bluetooth had given Christianity a stronghold in Denmark, it would still take almost half a century before the religion of the continent were to be triumphant further north. At the turn of the millennium the Norwegians had already been ruled by two Christian kings, Haakon the Good and Harald Greyhide, yet their efforts to convert their countrymen had proven futile, and when the latter monarch attempted to assert the supremacy of Christianity by destroying proto-Asaist hofs[1] he only succeeded in stirring up his subjects into open rebellion against their sovereign. The death of Harald Greyhide allowed the pagans to reclaim the throne under Haakon Sigurdsson, who begun to reconstruct several of the sites that his predecessors had brought down. King Haakon further proved his devotion to the old religion when the aforementioned Harald Bluetooth exerted pressure to make Norweg[2] embrace Christianity. The Norwegian monarch denounced his allegiance to Denmark and in 986 Haakon successfully waged war against his southern neighbour to defend the their traditions.
The last Norwegian monarch to openly have practised the ancient customs was Olaf Tryggvasson, whose reign provided the old traditions with a fittingly grand final showing. King Olaf initiated the construction of several new hofs in the Norwegian mainland, and also sent seidmen to Iceland and Greenland to help cement the proto-Asaist observances and practices there, and frustrate the efforts of incoming Christian missionaries, mainly from Denmark. King Olaf's adamant devotion to the gods of his fathers has traditionally been ascribed to an event that took place while at sea en route back home from a series of raids in England in about 988. Later Icelandic chronicles records that the king was the subject of a conspiracy by some of his closest men and had been fatally wounded in a sea battle caused by these traitors. After seven days at death's door, the Olaf miraculously recovered. Interpreting the events as a warning from the Gods that he hadn't displayed enough devotion, the king spent the rest of his reign seeking to re-establish the supremacy of the ancient customs in Norweg and to keep external Christian influences at bay.”
- Valdemar Lindgren, excerpt from The History and Heritage of Scandinavia.
A kingly marriage is the glorious edition of an ancient custom, and as such, it unites mankind. The truth of this statement could not have been demonstrated better than in Nidaros[3], the grand capital of the Norwegians, on the late evening of a certain summer day in 999. Men and women cheered and sang in the roads, and danced around bonfires with joy, many of them drunk of mead. Tonight they celebrated that the important alliance had finally been made with the Swedes and the Geats, when over a year of negotiations had come to fruition in the marriage of their king Olaf Trygvasson to the old Swedish queen dowager Sigrid Storråda. Sigrid, who had once come to the lands of the Norsemen as a Polish princess, was the mother of the current king of Sweorice[4], Olof Skötkonung, and the wedding thus made the Norwegian monarch father-in-law of the Swedish. Woe to be Danish tonight, thought Leif Eiriksson as he walked down the roads, observing the merry crowd.
Though Leif Eiriksson had been in Norweg for merely a few winters, he was a well-known man among the jarls and chieftains. His father, Eirik the Red as he was called, was the man who had discovered the great land of Greenland and as the son of the most powerful man west of Reykjavik, Leif could comfortably move around among the leaders of the realm. A few years back he had departed from the land his father had established to return to the land of his ancestors, Norweg, and there he had already taken part in wars and campaigns against the lands of the Christians in the south. Like most other men who mattered in the kingdom, Leif had proudly come to Nidaros to celebrate this great event and to associate with the elders. However, he was greatly surprised when king Olaf, a man whom he had only met a few times during campaigns to the south, demanded his presence. Leif had immediately arisen from his seat and begun making his way towards the kingly halls, outside of which the court had put up tents in which the celebrations were being held.
The Greenlander entered the grand, colourful tent of the king. Looking around, he saw two long tables along which jarls and the great warriors of the realm were joyously drinking and telling tales to each other. The place was lifted up by music from wooden pipes and drum and light from countless beacons. Making his way through the aisle, Leif soon approached the kingly presence at the end of the room, where his lordship Olaf Tryggvasson was sitting in his throne, surrounded by his seidmen, discussing the affairs of the kingdom. Leif could recognize two or three of the men, one was the tall and muscular Raud the Strong, a powerful spiritual leader and the king's most trusted advisor. Next to the king was the woman who had just today been made queen of the realm, Sigrid Storråda. Leif noticed that the queen wasn't particularly feminine in her appearance, and whatever beauty she might once have possessed had long since faded. Nevertheless, as a political player she was one of the most important and skilled figures in the lands of the Norsemen something that should never be forgotten. Upon meeting the eyes of the queen, Leif immediately bowed down to make clear his respect for consort. At this point, the king noticed the presence of the Greenlander and made a sign with his hand that the seidmen stepped aside so that he could address his subject.
“Leif, son of Eirik!”
Leif immediately went down on his knees and bowed his head even further down.
“It pleases me that you received my messengers and came for this feast!” said the king with firmness and authority yet clearly satisfied by Leif's display.
“It's but my humble honour to attend the celebrations of my lord and king, sire.”
“Humble honour?” the king made yet another sign with his hand and the seidmen (save Raud the Strong) bowed and departed, “You're being too modest for a Norseman, Leif. This isn't one of the Christian courts in the South where the jarls put up a performance of absurd reverence before their sovereigns. You are the son of the discoverer of our lands in the West, are you not? I beg you, arise!”
Leif arose.
“My lord is most sincere in his dealings.”
“I consider that to be my greatest strength.” said the king to his own satisfaction, “It is a delight to see you again, Leif! It's been more than one winter since the campaign to the land of the Angles and Saxons. If you would accompany me, there are certain affairs I wish to discuss with you in private...”
The king turned to his queen and made a polite nod, which the queen returned. Having shown his consort his respect, king Olaf arose from his throne and made his way to the backside opening of the tent. He was swiftly followed by both Leif and Raud.
It didn't take long for the company of the three men to reach the doors of the kingly halls, deserted apart from some guards. The men bowed before the king and his two companions and opened for them to enter. The few servants inside had some beacons burning along with an open fire in the centre. Again the king made a sign for these subjects to depart, which loyally they immediately did. Now that he was undisturbed by the noise from the crowd, the king felt he could finally address his Greenlandic guest.
“Leif, my loyal subject, while you know that as an important man in these my lands it is of course only natural that you be invited to such a celebration as this, I would like to tell you that I wanted you to come for a greater purpose. ...a godly purpose.”
The king turned around and went to a nearby table, upon which stood a few ceramic cups and a beaker of mead. Pouring up the liquid in one cup, the king continued talking:
“You are of course aware of the sign that the Lords and Ladies of Valhalla have given me?”
Taken aback and somewhat uncomfortable with the king discussing such a personal matter with him, Leif uneasily replied:
“Yes... Well, yes, I have heard the stories.”
The king turned around with a smile.
“Then tell me what you've heard?”
“Very little... your lordship were at sea. Men in the court conspired against their king, attacked your longboat... Almost killing you.”
The king turned back to the table where he poured mead into another cup.
“Then you haven't heard the full story, Leif. We are a people of storytellers, and seeing how you soon will aid me in my quest, it becomes expedient that you are told the story. The Gods require obedience, Leif. Obedience, devotion and sacrifice. They will not stand idly by if we desert them and the ways of our fathers.”
The king turned around holding the two cups.
“Yet that was what I had done. Years I had spent raiding and pillaging the villages of the Angles and the Saxons while the Christians entered and spread through my realm. I cared only for my own glory, neglecting the ever greater one of the Gods. And for that, they decided to punish me.”
The king handed Leif one of the cups, which the Greenlander humbly accepted. The king once again took a few steps away from his subject and stared into the open fire.
“They turned the hearts of some of my closest men away from me, and drove them to conspire to kill me on our journey back. I cannot recall the exact events of that gruesome night and that gruesome struggle, but, I was overpowered, defeated, stabbed. The scars still aches at times... But there were of course those that remained loyal of my men and killed the traitors. While we were victorious, it seemed like I would die there. Killed not on the battlefield but by traitors in my own house, a most cruel and pathetic ending for a king...”
Leif took a sip of the mead and nervously turned to Raud, who stood with his arms crossed at the door with a firm and austere look on his face. Finding this sight even more uncomfortable, Leif returned his attention to the king, still staring into the fire.
“Seven days I lingered, dreading the fate the Norns had put in place for me, but on the eight day, oh on the eight day my delirium disappeared, I felt strength return to my breast and my loins and I arose again. And that very moment I realized that this was a sign from the Gods.”
The king looked up at Leif who immediately lowered the cup from his face.
“The Gods had shown me how easily, despite all my might, despite all my power, they could take away life. Compared to their glory, mine was naught. Yet they wanted me to live, Leif, they wanted me to continue walking the lands of Midgård. Why? The reason was clear. To get rid of the menace of the followers of White Christ and bring devotion back to the ancient customs. And that is why I have spent the last ten winters toiling with the burden of rebuilding all the hofs that my wicked predecessors destroyed, the hofs once erected in celebration of the might of the Aesir and the Vanir.”
“Forgive me sire,” Leif uneasily spoke up, “But how does this relate to me and whatever service I can be to my king?”
“I have heard stories from my loyal jarls in Iceland.” the king said, “Followers of White Christ entering the lands of my subjects overseas and persuading them to forget the ways of their fathers... And it troubles me.”
The king put down his cup.
“I take it you have yet to construct a proper hof in Greenland?”
“My lord, I can assure you that we have forgotten neither the Aesir nor the Vanir. We still observe the feasts and perform the blót[5], and-...”
“Leif, I consider you my friend, but I will not tolerate the disrespect you show me by avoiding my questions.” the king said in a sudden move of anger, “Answer me!”
“The timber in Greenland is scarce, my lord!” the Greenlander confessed, “By the Gods, I assure you that we all desire to see a hof erected on our distant shores, but we barely have enough to build homes for ourselves. What use will a house of the Gods be if there are no men there to offer blót?”
The king returned to his prior calm.
“I will accept your apology, Leif, but the Lords and Ladies of Valhalla may not be as forgiving as I am. They almost took me from Midgård once, and I doubt they will be as merciful a second time.”
The king turned to Raud who, after nodding respectfully to the king went over to the two men, still not talking.
“I expect that the next time that you return from the shores of Greenland, it will be with the news that a hof has been erected and that the ways of our fathers are adhered to even stronger in those my westernmost shores. For that purpose, I have conversed with the most trusted man in my court, the man whose skills with words has made this great wedding and alliance come to pass. Tomorrow, Raud will introduce you to a man named Asgeir, one of the wisest and most knowledgable seidmen in the city of Nidaros. He will accompany you back on your way to Greenland.”
“My lord, I-...” Leif tried nervously.
“Along with him, will be his sons, Aki and Askil, two mighty warriors, highly skilled in battle. Finer and swifter men with the sword and axe will be hard to find in the lands of Men. They will assist you in the building of the hof of Greenland, and ensure that the feasts and observances are performed properly in the western lands.”
The king now placed his hand upon the shoulder of Leif.
“Leif, I trust in you to bring the ways of our fathers across the seas. The ancient traditions must endure. I hope that my faith in you will not prove to be a mistake.”
Realizing how important this mission was to the king, Leif now knew that there would be no point protesting the king's commandment. Those men were to accompany him back to the houses of his father in Greenland. Leif responded with the only the only words he could respond:
“I assure you, my king, that your bidding will be done.”
“Now before this, Leif the son of Eirik had travelled to Norweg and there he had been with King Olaf Tryggvason. The king had told him about a battle at sea a few years back, and how this had been a sign from the Gods that his people had to become more steadfast in the True Faith, and resist the worship of White Christ. The king had therefore requested Leif to travel to Greenland and build a mighty temple there, so that the people could worship and offer offerings like they did in Norweg. And the king gave Leif the priest Asgeir of Trondheim and two of his finest warriors, the name of the one of them was Aki, and the name of the other was Askil. The king requested Leif to have recourse to these warriors if ever he should want fleetness, because they were swifter than wild beasts. And Eirik and Leif had got these people to go with Karlsefni, when they left for Vinland the Good to seek for choice land.”
- Excerpt from The Saga of Eric the Red, Snorri Sturluson, Aesirskagi, c:a 1200.
[1] A hof is a Norse pagan temple.
[2] This timeline retains the old spelling of Norway.
[3] This timeline retains the old name for Trondheim, Nidaros.
[4] This timeline furthermore retains an old spelling of Sweden, for the reason that it is closer to the original and more accurate term for the nation, namely the realm of the Swedes.
[5] Blót is the Norse pagan sacrifice.
Point of Divergence: In our timeline, Norway's future king Olaf Tryggvasson spent four years plundering and pillaging the coasts of England in the 980s. In about 988, he came to the isles of Scilly, where according to legend he heard that there lived a seer. The seer told him that on his way back he would be betrayed by men close to him, be morally wounded in a battle at sea and after seven days at death's door, he would miraculously recover. He was then to be baptised and become a devout Christian. These events came to pass, and most certainly, Olaf went on to become a Crusader of the faith in the still predominantly pagan Norway. Whether or not this meeting between Olaf and the seer actually happened, I will not make a comment upon, but in this timeline, I have chosen to let Olaf perceive the events on his journey back to Norway be a divine sign. A divine sign from the Aesir that is, and have the king remain a staunch pagan. For the consequences of this, read the timeline.
Chapter I: A Kingly Marriage and a Kingly Mission
“While the baptism of Harald Bluetooth had given Christianity a stronghold in Denmark, it would still take almost half a century before the religion of the continent were to be triumphant further north. At the turn of the millennium the Norwegians had already been ruled by two Christian kings, Haakon the Good and Harald Greyhide, yet their efforts to convert their countrymen had proven futile, and when the latter monarch attempted to assert the supremacy of Christianity by destroying proto-Asaist hofs[1] he only succeeded in stirring up his subjects into open rebellion against their sovereign. The death of Harald Greyhide allowed the pagans to reclaim the throne under Haakon Sigurdsson, who begun to reconstruct several of the sites that his predecessors had brought down. King Haakon further proved his devotion to the old religion when the aforementioned Harald Bluetooth exerted pressure to make Norweg[2] embrace Christianity. The Norwegian monarch denounced his allegiance to Denmark and in 986 Haakon successfully waged war against his southern neighbour to defend the their traditions.
The last Norwegian monarch to openly have practised the ancient customs was Olaf Tryggvasson, whose reign provided the old traditions with a fittingly grand final showing. King Olaf initiated the construction of several new hofs in the Norwegian mainland, and also sent seidmen to Iceland and Greenland to help cement the proto-Asaist observances and practices there, and frustrate the efforts of incoming Christian missionaries, mainly from Denmark. King Olaf's adamant devotion to the gods of his fathers has traditionally been ascribed to an event that took place while at sea en route back home from a series of raids in England in about 988. Later Icelandic chronicles records that the king was the subject of a conspiracy by some of his closest men and had been fatally wounded in a sea battle caused by these traitors. After seven days at death's door, the Olaf miraculously recovered. Interpreting the events as a warning from the Gods that he hadn't displayed enough devotion, the king spent the rest of his reign seeking to re-establish the supremacy of the ancient customs in Norweg and to keep external Christian influences at bay.”
- Valdemar Lindgren, excerpt from The History and Heritage of Scandinavia.
A kingly marriage is the glorious edition of an ancient custom, and as such, it unites mankind. The truth of this statement could not have been demonstrated better than in Nidaros[3], the grand capital of the Norwegians, on the late evening of a certain summer day in 999. Men and women cheered and sang in the roads, and danced around bonfires with joy, many of them drunk of mead. Tonight they celebrated that the important alliance had finally been made with the Swedes and the Geats, when over a year of negotiations had come to fruition in the marriage of their king Olaf Trygvasson to the old Swedish queen dowager Sigrid Storråda. Sigrid, who had once come to the lands of the Norsemen as a Polish princess, was the mother of the current king of Sweorice[4], Olof Skötkonung, and the wedding thus made the Norwegian monarch father-in-law of the Swedish. Woe to be Danish tonight, thought Leif Eiriksson as he walked down the roads, observing the merry crowd.
Though Leif Eiriksson had been in Norweg for merely a few winters, he was a well-known man among the jarls and chieftains. His father, Eirik the Red as he was called, was the man who had discovered the great land of Greenland and as the son of the most powerful man west of Reykjavik, Leif could comfortably move around among the leaders of the realm. A few years back he had departed from the land his father had established to return to the land of his ancestors, Norweg, and there he had already taken part in wars and campaigns against the lands of the Christians in the south. Like most other men who mattered in the kingdom, Leif had proudly come to Nidaros to celebrate this great event and to associate with the elders. However, he was greatly surprised when king Olaf, a man whom he had only met a few times during campaigns to the south, demanded his presence. Leif had immediately arisen from his seat and begun making his way towards the kingly halls, outside of which the court had put up tents in which the celebrations were being held.
The Greenlander entered the grand, colourful tent of the king. Looking around, he saw two long tables along which jarls and the great warriors of the realm were joyously drinking and telling tales to each other. The place was lifted up by music from wooden pipes and drum and light from countless beacons. Making his way through the aisle, Leif soon approached the kingly presence at the end of the room, where his lordship Olaf Tryggvasson was sitting in his throne, surrounded by his seidmen, discussing the affairs of the kingdom. Leif could recognize two or three of the men, one was the tall and muscular Raud the Strong, a powerful spiritual leader and the king's most trusted advisor. Next to the king was the woman who had just today been made queen of the realm, Sigrid Storråda. Leif noticed that the queen wasn't particularly feminine in her appearance, and whatever beauty she might once have possessed had long since faded. Nevertheless, as a political player she was one of the most important and skilled figures in the lands of the Norsemen something that should never be forgotten. Upon meeting the eyes of the queen, Leif immediately bowed down to make clear his respect for consort. At this point, the king noticed the presence of the Greenlander and made a sign with his hand that the seidmen stepped aside so that he could address his subject.
“Leif, son of Eirik!”
Leif immediately went down on his knees and bowed his head even further down.
“It pleases me that you received my messengers and came for this feast!” said the king with firmness and authority yet clearly satisfied by Leif's display.
“It's but my humble honour to attend the celebrations of my lord and king, sire.”
“Humble honour?” the king made yet another sign with his hand and the seidmen (save Raud the Strong) bowed and departed, “You're being too modest for a Norseman, Leif. This isn't one of the Christian courts in the South where the jarls put up a performance of absurd reverence before their sovereigns. You are the son of the discoverer of our lands in the West, are you not? I beg you, arise!”
Leif arose.
“My lord is most sincere in his dealings.”
“I consider that to be my greatest strength.” said the king to his own satisfaction, “It is a delight to see you again, Leif! It's been more than one winter since the campaign to the land of the Angles and Saxons. If you would accompany me, there are certain affairs I wish to discuss with you in private...”
The king turned to his queen and made a polite nod, which the queen returned. Having shown his consort his respect, king Olaf arose from his throne and made his way to the backside opening of the tent. He was swiftly followed by both Leif and Raud.
It didn't take long for the company of the three men to reach the doors of the kingly halls, deserted apart from some guards. The men bowed before the king and his two companions and opened for them to enter. The few servants inside had some beacons burning along with an open fire in the centre. Again the king made a sign for these subjects to depart, which loyally they immediately did. Now that he was undisturbed by the noise from the crowd, the king felt he could finally address his Greenlandic guest.
“Leif, my loyal subject, while you know that as an important man in these my lands it is of course only natural that you be invited to such a celebration as this, I would like to tell you that I wanted you to come for a greater purpose. ...a godly purpose.”
The king turned around and went to a nearby table, upon which stood a few ceramic cups and a beaker of mead. Pouring up the liquid in one cup, the king continued talking:
“You are of course aware of the sign that the Lords and Ladies of Valhalla have given me?”
Taken aback and somewhat uncomfortable with the king discussing such a personal matter with him, Leif uneasily replied:
“Yes... Well, yes, I have heard the stories.”
The king turned around with a smile.
“Then tell me what you've heard?”
“Very little... your lordship were at sea. Men in the court conspired against their king, attacked your longboat... Almost killing you.”
The king turned back to the table where he poured mead into another cup.
“Then you haven't heard the full story, Leif. We are a people of storytellers, and seeing how you soon will aid me in my quest, it becomes expedient that you are told the story. The Gods require obedience, Leif. Obedience, devotion and sacrifice. They will not stand idly by if we desert them and the ways of our fathers.”
The king turned around holding the two cups.
“Yet that was what I had done. Years I had spent raiding and pillaging the villages of the Angles and the Saxons while the Christians entered and spread through my realm. I cared only for my own glory, neglecting the ever greater one of the Gods. And for that, they decided to punish me.”
The king handed Leif one of the cups, which the Greenlander humbly accepted. The king once again took a few steps away from his subject and stared into the open fire.
“They turned the hearts of some of my closest men away from me, and drove them to conspire to kill me on our journey back. I cannot recall the exact events of that gruesome night and that gruesome struggle, but, I was overpowered, defeated, stabbed. The scars still aches at times... But there were of course those that remained loyal of my men and killed the traitors. While we were victorious, it seemed like I would die there. Killed not on the battlefield but by traitors in my own house, a most cruel and pathetic ending for a king...”
Leif took a sip of the mead and nervously turned to Raud, who stood with his arms crossed at the door with a firm and austere look on his face. Finding this sight even more uncomfortable, Leif returned his attention to the king, still staring into the fire.
“Seven days I lingered, dreading the fate the Norns had put in place for me, but on the eight day, oh on the eight day my delirium disappeared, I felt strength return to my breast and my loins and I arose again. And that very moment I realized that this was a sign from the Gods.”
The king looked up at Leif who immediately lowered the cup from his face.
“The Gods had shown me how easily, despite all my might, despite all my power, they could take away life. Compared to their glory, mine was naught. Yet they wanted me to live, Leif, they wanted me to continue walking the lands of Midgård. Why? The reason was clear. To get rid of the menace of the followers of White Christ and bring devotion back to the ancient customs. And that is why I have spent the last ten winters toiling with the burden of rebuilding all the hofs that my wicked predecessors destroyed, the hofs once erected in celebration of the might of the Aesir and the Vanir.”
“Forgive me sire,” Leif uneasily spoke up, “But how does this relate to me and whatever service I can be to my king?”
“I have heard stories from my loyal jarls in Iceland.” the king said, “Followers of White Christ entering the lands of my subjects overseas and persuading them to forget the ways of their fathers... And it troubles me.”
The king put down his cup.
“I take it you have yet to construct a proper hof in Greenland?”
“My lord, I can assure you that we have forgotten neither the Aesir nor the Vanir. We still observe the feasts and perform the blót[5], and-...”
“Leif, I consider you my friend, but I will not tolerate the disrespect you show me by avoiding my questions.” the king said in a sudden move of anger, “Answer me!”
“The timber in Greenland is scarce, my lord!” the Greenlander confessed, “By the Gods, I assure you that we all desire to see a hof erected on our distant shores, but we barely have enough to build homes for ourselves. What use will a house of the Gods be if there are no men there to offer blót?”
The king returned to his prior calm.
“I will accept your apology, Leif, but the Lords and Ladies of Valhalla may not be as forgiving as I am. They almost took me from Midgård once, and I doubt they will be as merciful a second time.”
The king turned to Raud who, after nodding respectfully to the king went over to the two men, still not talking.
“I expect that the next time that you return from the shores of Greenland, it will be with the news that a hof has been erected and that the ways of our fathers are adhered to even stronger in those my westernmost shores. For that purpose, I have conversed with the most trusted man in my court, the man whose skills with words has made this great wedding and alliance come to pass. Tomorrow, Raud will introduce you to a man named Asgeir, one of the wisest and most knowledgable seidmen in the city of Nidaros. He will accompany you back on your way to Greenland.”
“My lord, I-...” Leif tried nervously.
“Along with him, will be his sons, Aki and Askil, two mighty warriors, highly skilled in battle. Finer and swifter men with the sword and axe will be hard to find in the lands of Men. They will assist you in the building of the hof of Greenland, and ensure that the feasts and observances are performed properly in the western lands.”
The king now placed his hand upon the shoulder of Leif.
“Leif, I trust in you to bring the ways of our fathers across the seas. The ancient traditions must endure. I hope that my faith in you will not prove to be a mistake.”
Realizing how important this mission was to the king, Leif now knew that there would be no point protesting the king's commandment. Those men were to accompany him back to the houses of his father in Greenland. Leif responded with the only the only words he could respond:
“I assure you, my king, that your bidding will be done.”
“Now before this, Leif the son of Eirik had travelled to Norweg and there he had been with King Olaf Tryggvason. The king had told him about a battle at sea a few years back, and how this had been a sign from the Gods that his people had to become more steadfast in the True Faith, and resist the worship of White Christ. The king had therefore requested Leif to travel to Greenland and build a mighty temple there, so that the people could worship and offer offerings like they did in Norweg. And the king gave Leif the priest Asgeir of Trondheim and two of his finest warriors, the name of the one of them was Aki, and the name of the other was Askil. The king requested Leif to have recourse to these warriors if ever he should want fleetness, because they were swifter than wild beasts. And Eirik and Leif had got these people to go with Karlsefni, when they left for Vinland the Good to seek for choice land.”
- Excerpt from The Saga of Eric the Red, Snorri Sturluson, Aesirskagi, c:a 1200.
[1] A hof is a Norse pagan temple.
[2] This timeline retains the old spelling of Norway.
[3] This timeline retains the old name for Trondheim, Nidaros.
[4] This timeline furthermore retains an old spelling of Sweden, for the reason that it is closer to the original and more accurate term for the nation, namely the realm of the Swedes.
[5] Blót is the Norse pagan sacrifice.
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