Snorri Thorfinnsson
Snorri Thorfinnsson (Old Norse and Icelandic: Snorri Þorfinnsson, rarely Snorri Karlsefnisson,[1] probably born between 1004 and 1013, and died c. 1090) was the son of the explorer Þorfinnr Karlsefni and Guðríðr Eiríksdóttir. He is considered to be the first ethnic European born in the Americas, and one of the most important figures regarding the Christianization of Iceland.[2]
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[edit] Name
Snorri is an Old Norse name derived from the word snerra, meaning "a fight." Þorfinnsson is a patronymic, meaning "son of Þorfinnr", (see Icelandic naming conventions). Snorri was named for his great-grandfather, Snorri Þórðarson[3] (sometimes mentioned as Þorbrandsson).[4]
[edit] Family
There is speculation about the birthdate of Snorri Thorfinnsson. Birth years such as 1005, 1009, and 1012 have been postulated, but all agree that he was born between 1005 and 1013.[5] According to the Vinland sagas, when Snorri was 3 years old, his family left Vinland because of hostilities with Native Americans (called by the settlers Skrælings, which is the old Norse equivalent of the English term "wretches"). The family returned to the Glaumbær farm in Seyluhreppur.[6] [5][7]
Snorri Thorfinnsson had two children; a daughter named Hallfrid, and a son named Thorgeir. Hallfrid was the mother of Thorlak Runolfsson, bishop of Skalholt in the south of Iceland. One of the descendants of Snorri's brother Thorbjorn, Bjorn Gilsson, was also a bishop of Hólar. Thorgeir was the father of Yngvild who was the mother of Brand Sæmundarsson, bishop of Hólar.[8] The sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen claimed descent from Snorri Thorfinnsson in the 19th century.[5]
[edit] Christianization of Iceland
In the 13th century texts Snorri Thorfinnsson and Snorri Thorrgrimsson are considered the two main figures responsible for the early Christianisation of Iceland. Consequently they were portrayed by various writers of the 13th and 14th century as "Christian chieftain models".[2] According to Grœnlendinga saga, Snorri had built the first church of Glaumbaer, which would later increase Christian influence in the area. His descendants became the first bishops of Iceland, and published the first Christian Code of Iceland.[9]
[edit] Legacy
- Snorri Thorfinnsson was purported to be born in Vinland,(Newfoundland), making him the first European to be born in North America.[5][10] About 560 years would pass until the next birth of a child of European descent in America, Martín de Argüelles, who was born in the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine, Florida.[11]
- In 2002 American archaeologists discovered the remains of a thousand-year-old longhouse located on Iceland's northern coast. It is believed that it was Snorri Thorfinnsson's farmhouse.[12] The longhouse was found near the Glaumbaer Folk Museum, outside the coastal village of Saudarkrokur. The museum was once thought to have been built on the site of Snorri's farmhouse. According to archaeologists it was "a classic German fortress longhouse like the Great Hall of Beowulf".[13]
[edit] Genealogy
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Thord Thordbrandsson |
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Snorri Thordsson |
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Vifill of Vifilsdale |
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Hallveig | ||||||||||||||||||
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Thordar Snorrisson |
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Thorbjorn Vifilsson | ||||||||||||||||||
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Thorfinn Karlsefni |
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Gudrid Eiriksdottir |
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Snorri Thorfinnsson |
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Thorbjorn Thorfinnsson |
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| Hallfrid Snorrisdottir |
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Thorgeir Snorrisson |
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Thorunn Thorbjornsdottir | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Thorlak Runolfsson |
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Yngvild Thorgeirsdottir |
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Bjorn Gilsson | |||||||||||||||||||
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Brand Sæmundarsson | |||||||||||||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ Thrapp, Dan (1991), Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography: P-Z, University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0803294204
- ^ a b Vésteinsson, Orri (2000), The Christianization of Iceland: priests, power, and social change, 1000-1300, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198207999
- ^ Berry, Francis (1977), I tell of Greenland: an edited translation of the Sauđarkrokur manuscripts, University of Michigan, ISBN 0710085915
- ^ Mowat, Forley (1965), Westviking: the ancient Norse in Greenland and North America, University of Michigan
- ^ a b c d Mallet, Paul Henri, Northern antiquities, Harvard University Press
- ^ Glaumbær (Historical Places in Northwest Iceland)
- ^ Magnússon, Magnús (1973), Viking expansion westwards, Bodley Head
- ^ Pálsson, Hermann (1983), The Vinland sagas: the Norse discovery of America, Penguin Classics (published 1965), p. 71, ISBN 0140441549
- ^ Waters, Henry Fritz-Gilbert (1992), The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Heritage Books, ISBN 1556136870
- ^ Blum, Ralph (2004), Rune Cards, Connections Book Publishing, ISBN 1859061389
- ^ Figueredo, D. H. (2007), Latino chronology: chronologies of the American mosaic, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0313341540
- ^ Explorers and Exploration, Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2005, ISBN 0761475354
- ^ "Archaeology team unlocks the saga of Snorri Thorfinnsson", The Age (Melbourne), 17 September 2002, http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/16/1032054758836.html
