Thorgunna [mother of Thorgils]

Thorgunna was living in the Hebrides in 999, her birth and death dates and locations are unknown as is her ancestry, she had at least one son, named Thorgils.

In the year 999 Leif Eriksson sailed to Norway to visit King Olaf Trygvason, his ship was blown off course and he landed on one of the Hebrides islands where continuing poor weather made it impossible for him to leave so he spent the summer there.

During his stay he had a relationship with a woman named Thorgunna, the daughter of the local chief. Thorgunna became pregnant but Leif, although he acknowledged paternity, had no intention of marrying her. As Leif's departure date drew near, she asked that he take her with him but Leif refused, citing her family connections. Thorgunna had a reputation for being able to predict the future, and vowed that even though Leif was leaving them, one day she and their son would journey to find him and the experience would not be a good one.

Some sources state that Leif later returned to the Hebrides and took Thorgunna and the child with him, while other sources claim that Thorgunna sent the child, a boy named Thorgils, to Leif in Greenland. What is known for certain is that Leif and the boy eventually found each other and the young man was recognized as Leif's son. Thorgils never became popular though, people said that there was something uncanny about him, and another of Leif’s sons named Thorkel, presumably legitimate, succeeded him as chieftain.

Sources

• http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Sagaen_om_Thorfin_Karlsefne_og_Snorre_T... (4)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leif_Erikson
• http://ageofex.marinersmuseum.org/index.php?type=explorer&id=10
• http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/vinland/whereisvinland/leif/i...

  ---