Perspective

The authors of the Vinland Saga are unknown; but they appear to have clear major influences, particularly that of a culture of chivalry on the European continent. In this period, romantic tales of great heroes were in the air, as was the power of medieval Christianity.

The reader can understand the Vinland Sags, then, not merely as histories of their periods but as romances of the sagas' major characters, particularly Eirik the Red, Leif Eiriksson, and Karlsefni and Gudrud. These figures are seen by the Icelanders to this day as among the great founders of their country, and their role was even more significant during the writing of the sagas because the heroic achievements of these individuals were still within live historical memory.

The Vinland Sagas also appear to see the days of the Vinland Saga as halcyon. The early days were great ones. Furthermore, the authors appear...