Prelude

The hated Bjarni.

In 986 A.D. Bjarni Herjólfsson sailed his merchant cargo ship west from Iceland. He was chasing after his father who went to Greenland with Erik the Red, but Bjarni got lost in a storm and missed Greenland. Eventually he and his crew saw some trees and mountains, a land obviously not treeless Greenland. They saw Canada. His crew hated Bjarni for refusing to land.

Following the Canadian shoreline north, they finally made it around to Greenland. Eric the Red cursed Bjarni for not landing and exploring. Probably, Eric was even more upset Bjarni didn’t collect a cargo of timber desperately needed for building in Greenland. Soon everybody hated Bjarni.

Solution? Send a more adventurous and foresightful man to claim the new land. Leif Erikson was given Bjarni’s boat for the exploratory sail west. The subsequent story of Lief Eriksons colony and explorations has been written and speculated about many times.

What about poor unimaginative, uncurious Bjarni? His ship is stolen from him and he is despised by all. Can you imagine Bjarni’s regret? If only he could redo the recent voyage. He can’t rewind the clock. Only go forward.

So, what happened to Bjarni Herjólfsson? Dropped below the horizon of history.

I’m so bold as to write a speculative fictional account of Bjarni Herjólfsson’s history after his shaming.

Bjarni Herjólfsson’s Revenge.

Hope you are enjoying.

Yob