|
 Snorri Thorfinnsson, son of Gudridur Thorbjarnardóttir and Thorfinnur Karlsefni, was a farmer at Glaumbaer in 11th century.
In the Sagas Gudridur Thorbjarnardóttir was without doubt one of the most widely-traveled women of her time. She crossed Europe twice on foot, and made eight ocean journeys. She was a participant in Nordic exploration of new lands, lived through the change from heathenism to Christianity, and handled her role well.
The symbolic depiction of Gudridur on the right is a photograph of a sculpture by Ásmundur Sveinsson, dating from 1938, which can be seen in front of the church at Glaumbær.
Glaumbær´s chief fame lies in the renown and influence its inhabitants exerted both upon Iceland and the world at large. They were among the first settlers in North America and Greenland and Gudridur gave birth to the first European child born on North American soil. They were heroic and influential people and were featured prominently in the ancient Icelandic sagas.
According to the Sagas, the first known inhabitants of Glaumbær lived here in the 11th century. They are mentioned in the Saga of the Greenlanders, which tells of the explorers Leifur Eiriksson and his brother Thorsteinn, sons of Eirik the Red, of Thorsteinn’s wife Gudridur Thorbjarnardóttir, her second husband Thorfinnur Karlsefni and their son, Snorri. Gudridur Thorbjarnardóttir is mentioned both in the Saga of the Greenlanders and in the Saga of Eirik the Red. Gudridur, a granddaughter of an Irish freedman, was born in the 10th century in Snæfellsnes in western Iceland. She emigrated to the Icelandic settlement in Greenland founded by Eirik the Red, and married his son Thorsteinn, who soon died. The young widow then married Thorfinnur Karlsefni, a merchant and a farmer from Stadur in Reynines (now Reynistadur), Skagafjördur.
Gudridur and Thorfinnur explored Vínland (now called Newfoundland), which had been discovered by Leifur Eiriksson, Gudridur’s former brother-in-law. They stayed there at least one winter, and planned to settle permanently. Their son, Snorri, was born in the New World. Due to conflict with the aboriginal inhabitants, they did not remain there long and returned to Iceland. Initially they lived at Thorfinnur’s old home at Reynines. They may have then purchased the estate of Glaumbær, in 1010 or so, and settled there. This is not certain. But after Thorfinnur’s day, Snorri farmed at Glaumbaer. Gudridur decided to make a pilgrimage to the Pope in Rome. Snorri had a church built in his mother’s absence, the first known to have stood at Glaumbær (Iceland adopted the Christian religion in AD 1000). According to the Saga of the Greenlanders ,on her return Gudridur became an anchoress, living in solitary worship.
|
