Thjodhilde

Thjodhilde was the wife of Erik the Red.

Fiction

Nearly two thousand years ago, Erik's family was exiled from Norway. They relocated to Iceland, where Thjodhilde was pessimistic that they would grow anything on the land. After Erik got into a dispute with his neighbour that ended in manslaughter, the family was once again exiled. Thjodhilde held their son Leif as they and Erik's allies boarded a boat to sail to a far-off country once sighted by the legendary Gunnbjorn.

Within a few days, they successfully navigated to a landmass they called Greenland, where they set up a colony. After three years of living in piece, Erik's exile expired, and he told his wife of his plans to return to Iceland and persuade others to join the colony. The Saga of Erik the Red

Notes

• Þjóðhildur Jorundsdottir was the wife of the real Erik the Red; "Thjodhilde" is a possible Anglicisation of her name, but is uncommon compared to variants like "Thjodhild" and "Thjodhildur". While the comic implies Thjodhilde to have travelled with Erik from Norway, in real life she was born in Iceland, where Erik had moved to at the age of ten. In addition to Leif, they reportedly had three other children named Freydis, Thorvald, and Thorstein.
• Like Leif, the historic Thjodhilde converted to Christianity; she holds the distinction of commissioning the first church on American soil.