Leif Ericson (#76)

Leif Ericson

Background

Leif Ericson was born sometime in the 1070s in Iceland, where his parents, Erik the Red and Thjodhild, met. Ericson's grandfather, Thorvald Asvaldsson, had been banished from Norway for manslaughter. Following his path, Ericson's father, Erik the Red, had gotten himself banished from Iceland for the same reason. When Erik was banished in 986, Leif went along with him to Greenland, where he grew up in the colony of Tyrker.

Adulthood

In 999, Ericson traveled from Greenland to Norway, but he got blown of course and had to spend several months in the Hebride archipelago. While in the Hebrides, he met noblewoman Thorgunna, with whom Leif had a child, Thorgils, with. When he made it to Norway, he became the hirdman, or armed companion, of King Olaf Tryggvason. While in Norway, Ericson converted to Christianity and was given the mission to bring Christianity to Greenland.

Finding America

From here, two separate stories of Ericson's life start. One story, from the Book of Icelanders, states that while on his way to Greenland as a missionary, he was blown of course towards America. The other story, found in the Saga of the Greenlanders, states that Leif heard the story of Bjarni Herjolfsson, a Norse merchant who claimed to have seen land west of Greenland. Leif, with a boat and crew, went off in search of this land. Either way, Leif went west of Greenland, landing on three different islands. First, he found a rocky, desolate place he called Helluland, which was probably Baffin Island. He then found a forested island he called Markland, which was most likely the island of Labrador. Finally, in 1001, he found Vinland, which was most likely Newfoundland, which he named after the abundance of grapes, which were probably just berries. On Vinland, Ericson founded a settlement called Leifsbudir, which, after a little while, was abandoned, most likely due to strained relations with local Native Americans.

The End

It is unknown how Ericson died, but it was probably around the year 1020 in Greenland. Ericson is on our list because of his claim to the discovery of America. His claim to the throne is about 500 years earlier than Columbus.

Erik the Red (#114)

Childhood

Erik Thorvaldsson was born around 950 A.D. in Norway. Erik was the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson, but is better known as Erik the Red, probably due to his red hair. Thorvald was exiled from Norway for committing manslaughter, so he and his family, including Erik, moved to Iceland.

Life

Erik, after marrying a woman named Thjodhild, moved to the island of Oxney. After finishing his house, he went back to a man named Thorgest to retrieve some, setstokkr, or items of mystical importance that he had given Thorgest to keep safe. When Erik wasn't given his setstokkr, he took some from Thorgest's house, though it is unknown whether they were Thorgest's or Erik's. When Thorgest followed Erik, two of Thorgest's sons were killed by Erik along with several others. Erik was thus exiled from Iceland for three years. Erik then moved west, and is one person credited with discovering Greenland, though he was definitely the first person to settle there. Greenland got its name from Erik. The whole name was part of an advertisement scheme to draw people to Greenland even though it was very cold and icy there. Erik created the settlement of Eystribyggo in Greenland where the settlement grew to the size of 5,000 with Erik as their leader.

The End

Erik the Red died  around the year 1003 A.D. He is important for discovering Greenland, creating one of the largest advertisement lies in history, and for having the son, Leif Erikson, who would later be one of the many discoverers of America.