Have you heard of this rare bird?
It dates back from Viking times.
 
Beautiful plumage, adorable wit,
and an incredibly mischievous streak!

                            AD Author Calendula Petal

Calendula Petal’s comment on Katy’s Walsvik’s poem

Really got me curious, and very soon I was a wondering,

So very quickly, through my Viking Legends and Lores,

I searched and searched, and eagerly went a plundering.

Hark - Hail Thor - Lo and Behold,

This is what I soon excitedly discovered,

An Ancient Mystifying Viking Thunderbird,

Has now happily been uncovered.

It was found back in 1960,

Unearthed when they pried open a lid,

My Lord, it’s true , it has to be,

A Most Intriguing Thunderbird - The Katydid!

Now I also know why my two old mules

Were nervous in Katy’s homeland, of course,

Because it seems these ancient Viking folks,

Liked to dine on, and sacrifice, the horse.

And it appears that this Ancient Viking Leader Katy,

This Explorer and Wanderer, always filled with Hope,

After her many epic adventures in North America ended,

Even walked across Europe, and went a callin on The Pope!

  

Historical Note:

Vinland the Good, the land of grapes and warm winters, was discovered by the Vikings in A.D. 1000 A.D.

Here the Vikings explored the land, built houses, and traded and battled with strange people they called Skaelings (native residents).

Where exactly was Vinland?

For many years, two Icelandic sagas and scant historical documents provided the only evidence, and Vinland’s exact location remained a mystery.

But In 1960, the discovery of a small Viking settlement on the northern tip of Newfoundland Island finally provided archeological proof of the Viking discovery of North America 500 years before Columbus, and to the exact location of Vinland.

Inside one of the excavated Viking dwellings were found a dazzling array of Viking objects- beds, sleds, an elaborately carved cart with twelve sacrificed horses, buckets filled with food, ornate barrels and chests, intricate wooden carvings, embroidered tapestries, and a very unique and somewhat strange depiction of a Thunderbird.

Who was worthy of such an impressive adulation?

Archeologists believe the visage depicted as a Thunderbird must have been an important Viking leader, likely with religious powers as well.

Interestingly, a story found in Snorri Sturlusson's Heimskringla (Orb of the World) talked about a Queen named Katy; so many scholars have now reasoned that this Thunderbird could be the very depiction of Queen Katy, Viking Leader Extraordinaire.

Called ‘The greatest female explorer of all time’ by the president of Iceland, the story of Gudridur KATY Thorbjarnardottir is truly amazing.

She had traveled all over Iceland with ‘Aud the Deep-Minded’ as her slave, but she eventually gave him his freedom. 

Then she decided to journey to Greenland about 10 years after Erik the Red, a friend of hers, had led a settlement group to the same area. It was a difficult journey with terrible weather and many deaths.

Next she traveled to Vinland, on the shores of North America.  It was another extremely difficult journey, taking an entire summer to accomplish, and many of her comrades fell ill and died of disease.

Following her arrival in Vinland, Queen Katy set out to lead an expedition to explore and settle it.

According to the ‘Saga of Greenlanders,’ there were sixty men and five women on this exploration, including Katy.  The settlers took all sorts of livestock with them, as well.

And Katy soon got Leif Eriksson’s permission to use the houses Leif had built in Vinland during his earlier expedition there.

In the year 1004, during the first autumn in Leif’s house in Vinland, ‘Snorri,’ the son of Katy, was born.

He is the first European recorded in history as being born on the American continent.

After three years in Vinland, during which time scholars believe the group traveled as far south as Manhattan, if not further, relations with the native populations had become untenable, and the group made plans to return to Greenland.

Tragedy struck once again, as the Skaelings (Native Americans), killed many of Katy’s kinsmen.

Heartbroken, she returned to her native home of Iceland.

It was during this time in the world that pagan religions were slowly but steadily being replaced by Christianity.

Katy became a convert to Christianity, fully immersed herself in this new religion, and eventually became a nun.

At a time when women did not travel very much, even in groups, Katy undertook a pilgrimage to visit the Pope in Rome – all alone.

She traversed Europe by foot, met with the Pope, and provided him with a report on Christian life in both Iceland and in Greenland.

A true explorer and pre-eminent female adventurer of her time, Katy’s saga is in many ways even more intriguing than that of Leif Eriksson’s.

I am truly impressed by this epic tale I’ve discovered, and by this ancient thunderbird affectionately known – as the Katydid.

Thanks for tipping me off, Calendula!

And as a student of Native American culture, it appears to me that the Thunderbird unearthed in the Viking settlement on Vinland is more reminiscent of Native American artwork than Viking artwork.

An ancient Native American legend does relate the tale of a fierce Thunderbird, which The Ancient Ones say swooped into their land from far off shores.

Could this relic unearthed at the Viking settlement on Newfoundland Island been a gift from the Skaelings to this fierce Viking Woman?

Could Katy the Fearless have even inspired this mysterious Native American legend?!

I wonder!

I also would have loved to have been standing there on the shores of North America 1,000 years ago when Queen Katy’s Viking ship came swooping in.

But I’m sure that my two old mules, Daisy and Elmer, are extremely glad they weren’t there.

History truly is fascinating!