That brings us to the adventurer Freydis, the subject of this story; who was the illegitimate daughter of Eric the Red and stepsister of Lief Ericsson. She was married to a man named Thorvaršur and they resided in Garšar. Freydis was part of the second expedition to Vinland, captaining her own ship, and led by Thordarson.
History has not been kind to her, calling her savage and brutal and indeed her actions were not always noble. However, she was first and foremost a Viking, and their entire livlihood for centuries was based on pillage and plunder. The fierce Norseman roamed the seas, leaving death and devastation in their path and once they assured their victims that they meant business, demanded tribute to stay away. They eventually earned themselves such a reputation, that they didn't even have to attack first; though they often did; since residents were more than willing to give them what they wanted as soon as they showed themselves.
Freydis was no different, and besides if we raise barbarians like Francis Drake, De Soto and others, to the rank of mere 'explorers', she would be considered an angel; next to the brutality of these pirates. However, the Sagas do portray a headstrong, often cruel and sometimes petty woman, though a keen navigator and brave warrior.
Her personality first revealed itself soon after the expedition arrived at Newfoundland. Seems that there were two groups, those belonging to the family of Eric the Red and another group of Icelanders, led by two brothers, Helgi and Finnbogiof. Seems that it was Freydis who actually convinced the latter group to join the others, believing the more ships available, the more bounty they could collect.
Being told of the homes vacated by Eric, the Icelanders natually believed that they would simply be able to move into them, but upon their arrival, Freydis informed them that the homes were only for her family and that they would have to build their own. This may not have been her decision, but she would certainly feel responsible.
Her leadership qualities were put to the test, in one of the many battles with the Natives. When the Vikings first landed at Vinland, the local people, whom the Vikings called Skraelings; came to their small settlement in the interest of trade, bringing animal hides which they exhanged for strips of red cloth. They so coveted this vibrant colour to decorate their clothing, that the Norse were forced to tear the cloth into smaller and smaller strips, until they ran out completely.
The only thing to offer now was cow's milk, and though the Skraelings accepted this at first, they soon returned ready to drive the squatters out. Apparently, being of Asian ancestry, they could not digest the milk and when everyone who consumed it was violently ill, they suspected that they had been poisoned. This would set the tone for relations between the Norse and the Skraelings for many years.
What happened next, is one of the things that leads me to believe that her assailants were in fact Boethics, though many would disagree. She bared a breast and slapped it with her sword to call to the attention of the natives that she was a women, and furthermore, a pregnant woman. The sagas suggest that the Skraelings retreated, not knowing what to make of her strange behaviour.
One of the things that many historians base their belief that they were not Boethics that the Vikings encountered; is the term 'Red Indian'. Later Europeans mentioned that the Newfoundland Natives always painted their faces with red ochre, but this was not indicated in the Viking Sagas. However, we do know that they loved red cloth and may have discoved at a later time that they could recreate the colour no longer available in trade. The third feature of the Skraelings mentioned in the sagas is their enormous height, another physical trait of the Boethic people.
