It had happened in Greenland, meanwhile, that Thorstein of Ericsfjord had taken in marriage Thorbjörn’s daughter Gudrid, who, as has already been mentioned, had been the wife of Thori Eastman. Now Thorstein Ericson wished to go to Wineland for the body of Thorvald his brother, so he made ready the same ship, choosing his crew for their strength and size; and with twenty-five men and Gudrid his wife they put to sea when they were ready, and lost sight of land. All the summer they tossed about in the open, and did not know where they went, and in the first week of winter they made the land at Lysefjord in Greenland in the Western Settlement.

Thorstein looked for lodgings for the party, and got them for all his crew, but he and his wife were houseless. So they remained behind by the ship some two nights. Christianity was still new then in Greenland. One day some men came to their tent early in the morning. So these men who were there asked what persons were in the tent. Thorstein replied: ‘Two persons,’ he said, ‘but who are you who ask?’ ‘My name is Thorstein,’ (said one of the men), ‘and I am called Thorstein the Black, but my errand here is to invite both of you to lodge with me.’ Thorstein said that he wished to consult his wife, but she told him to decide, whereupon he accepted. ‘Then,’ (said the man), ‘I will come for you to-morrow with a carthorse, for I have plenty of room to take you in; but it is very dull to stay with me, for there are just the two of us, my wife and I, and I am of a very obstinate disposition. I hold a different faith from you, though I consider that which you hold is superior.’ So then he came for them in the morning with a horse, and they went to lodge with Thorstein the Black, and he treated them well. Gudrid was a woman of striking appearance, and a clever woman who could get on well with strangers. Early in the winter a plague attacked Thorstein Ericson’s party, and many of his companions died there. Thorstein ordered coffins to be made for the bodies of those who died, and directed that they should be taken to the ship and looked after, ‘for’, he said, ‘I wish to remove all the bodies to Ericsfjord in the summer.’ Now after a short interval plague attacked Thorstein’s house, and his wife, whose name was Grimhild, was the first to fall ill. She was very energetic, and as strong as a man, yet the plague got the better of her, and soon afterwards Thorstein Ericson caught the plague, and they were both laid up at the same time: and Grimhild, wife of Thorstein the Black, died. Now when she was dead Thorstein (the Black) went out of the room for a plank to lay the body on. Then Gudrid spoke: ‘Do not stay away long, my Thorstein,’ she said. He said it should be as she wished. Then said Thorstein Ericson, ‘Wonderful things are happening to our hostess now, for she is raising herself up with her elbows, and moving her feet from the bench, and groping for her shoes’: and with that Thorstein the owner of the place came in, whereupon Grimhild laid herself down, and every beam in the room creaked. Now Thorstein made a coffin for Grimhild’s body, and took it away and made preparations. He was a big man and strong, but he needed all this before he got her out of the house. Now the illness of Thorstein Ericson grew worse, and he died. Gudrid his wife hardly realized it. They were all in the room at the time. Gudrid had seated herself on a chair before the bench on which Thorstein her husband had been laid. Then Thorstein the owner of the house took Gudrid from the chair in his arms, and sat on another bench with her opposite Thorstein’s corpse, and spoke to her about it in many ways, and comforted her, promising her that he would go with her to Ericsfjord with the bodies of Thorstein her husband and his companions, and said, ‘I will also engage more servants here to console and entertain you.’ She thanked him. Then Thorstein Ericson sat up and cried, ‘Where is Gudrid?’ Three times he said this, but she remained silent. Then she said to Thorstein of the house, ‘Shall I answer his speech or not?’ He told her not to answer. Then Thorstein of the house crossed the floor, and sat on the chair with Gudrid on his knees, and then he spoke, saying, ‘What do you want, namesake?’ A moment passed, and the other answered: ‘I am anxious to tell Gudrid her fortune, so that she can the better bear my death, for I have come to a good resting-place. Now there is this to tell you, Gudrid, that you will be married to a man of Iceland, and your life together will be long, and a great line of men will spring from you, vigorous, bright and good, sweet and of a good savour. You will travel from Greenland to Norway, and thence to Iceland, where you will build a home. There the two of you will live long, and you will survive him. You will go abroad and make a pilgrimage to Rome (lit.: go south), and come back home to Iceland, and then a church will be built there where you will remain and take the vows of a nun, and there you will die.’ Upon this Thorstein sank back, and his body was prepared and carried to the ship. Thorstein of the house thoroughly performed all that he had promised Gudrid. He sold his land and livestock in the spring, and accompanied Gudrid to the ship with all that was his; he made the ship ready and engaged a crew, and then sailed away to Ericsfjord. The bodies were now buried by the church. Gudrid went to Leif at Brattahlid, while Thorstein the Black built a house on Ericsfjord, where he stayed during his life, being considered the most chivalrous of men.