54 THE VINLAND VOYAGES 



of Thorbrand Snorri's son, and how Freydis put the 

 Skrselings to flight. The last incident is strange and 

 incredible. "Freydis sought to follow her people, but 

 lagged behind, because she was pregnant. She fol- 

 lowed them, however, into the forest with the Skrasl- 

 ings in pursuance. She found a dead man in front of 

 her, Thorbrand Snorri's son. His skull was split by a 

 flat stone, and his naked sword lay beside him. She 

 picked up the sword in order to defend herself. Then 

 the Skrselings approached her. She uncovered her 

 breast and slapped it with the naked sword. This action 

 terrified the Skrselings, so they turned around and 

 sought their boats and rowed away. Thorfinn and 

 his men joined her and praised her good fortune." 

 The Saga writer leads one to believe that Thorfinn 

 and the others considered Freydis' deed rather as a 

 piece of luck than a brave act. Her courage and 

 strength do not need any explanation, and she must 

 have been awe-inspiring, shaken with passionate anger 

 as she held the naked sword in her hand. By uncov- 

 ering her breast and striking it with her sword she 

 no doubt wished to indicate two things, that she was 

 a woman and that she was unafraid and ready to 

 protect herself with the sharp sword if attacked. How- 

 ever, this does not explain the terror and flight of 

 the Skrselingsj it only explains how it happened that 

 they did not injure her. 



