The story starts off with Olaf the White, a warrior king, and his marriage to Aud the Deep-Minded. They have a son, named Thorstein the Red. Thorstein and his mother rule Scotland once Olaf is killed in battle. Thorstein follows the same downfall of his father, and following this, Aud sets off for Iceland. The chapter ends with her and a bondman named Vifil, who bore sons Thorbjorn and Thorgeir.
[[To Norway]]The story then shifts to Eirik, son of Thorvald in Norway. Eirik grew up to be a great warrior, slaying all his enemies that he encountered while living on the Valtjhof estate. He proceeded with his conquest, gathering many allies, but simultaneously gaining many enemies as well. Eirik and his crew were banned from Thorsnes. This prompted them to seek more land elsewhere. A few summers pass, and Eirik and his men continue to explore. After a monumental fight with Thorgest, a named foe, Eirik finally solidifies his claim over the land which he calls “Greenland”. He calls the land Greenland to give it a soothing name that will attract many more settlers.
[[Shifting focus...]]The focus is now on Thorbjorn Vifilsson, who is the chieftain, with a daughter named Gudrid. As a side note, it is important to see how the chapters of this saga continue to start off with a description of a family and its lineage, proving how important ancestry was in these times.
Gudrid was tall and beautiful, and caught the eye of Einar, the son of a freed slave who had come to power. Thorbjorn adamantly opposed this union, as he wanted his only daughter to marry one of wealth.
[[However, Thorbjorn himself had troubles awaiting...]]In an assembly, he announces to his people that he is having troubles with his wealth, and would be traveling to Greenland in Eirik’s footsteps before he brought anymore disgrace to his family. The journey was difficult, and many of the men died due to disease.
[[Greenland itself was not doing too well either]]The settlement was wracked with famine. The focus now is on a little prophet named Thorbjorg. She went around the settlement of Greenland, telling people their fortunes. Gudrid asks to receive her fortune as well, being in a state of despair about her lack of marriage. Thorbjorg predicts her marriage in Greenland, but warns that it would be short-lived. Rather, Gudrid is destined to continue her lineage in Iceland.
[[Back to Eirik]]The story goes back to Eirik and his wife, Thjodhild. They have two sons, Thorstein and Leif, who follow in their father’s footsteps in conquest. The story follows Leif as he travels to Norway and falls in love with Thorgunna, a beautiful noblewoman. They have a child named Thorgils, who assists Leif in his exploration. The two travel to Norway and bring Christianity back with them. However, he finds difficulty convincing his father to convert and leave his old ways.
[[In the following chapter...]]Thorstein, Leif’s brother, asks for Gudrid’s hand in marriage. However, very soon into their union, Thorstein is killed by a deadly plague that took over their town. A very mystical occurrence then takes place: Thorstein’s corpse rises and encourages Gudrid to seek comfort in God, the Christian God. Gudrid takes his advice, and moves to Brattahild to be with Eirik.
[[Someone new...]]Now, a new character is introduced: Thorfinn Karlsefni and his crewmen who traveled to Greenland. They become quick trading partners with Eirik. The main story at this point of the saga is the search for Vinland. Karlsefni and his men sailed for days, looking for Vinland while acquiring many natural resources along the way. This denotes the first interaction with Native people-- which they called Skraelings. The Skraelings were described to be “evil looking”, and immediately are seen as a threat. The two parties battled fiercely for a very long time. After a while, Karlsefni and his men realized that they could not inhabit this land safely any longer.
[[Next chapter]]On their way to Greenland, one of the ships was attacked and eaten by maggots. The crewmen had to decide which of the men would sail away in the lifeboats, and which of the men would be forced to be sacrificed on the ship. This story of sacrifice was told for generations after.
[[The end...]]The story ends with Karlsefni setting out for Iceland. The lineage of Karlsefni is discussed, and the saga comes to an end-- beginning both with the description of a lineage, and ending with another.
The next chapter takes place with Karsefni and his men interacting with a mythical creature known as the “One Footer”. The creature kills Thorvald, Eirik’s other son, and runs off. However, following this encounter, the men find themselves deprived of luck, and constantly getting into fights. They decide to leave Vinland, and on the way, adopt two Skraeling children known as Vaetilldi and Uvaegi. From the children, they learn a lot about the culture of the Vinland inhabitants, as well as threats they’ve faced from other groups of people, known as the Hviramannaland. These children are taken with Karlsefni back to Greenland.
[[To Greenland yet again]]