Viking exploration of North America Viking exploration of North America Bjarni Herjólfsson was a Norse explorer, believed to be the first European to view mainland North America. While sailing from Iceland to Greenland in 986, Bjarni was blown off course in a storm. Though he managed to regain his course, he reported seeing low-lying hills covered with forests somewhere to the west. Though the land looked hospitable, he was eager to reach his destination (he was looking for his father, and Greenland) and spent no time exploring the new lands. He did, however, report his findings both in Greenland and in Norway, but no one seemed to have taken any interest in them at the time. ...more on Wikipedia about "Bjarni Herjólfsson"
Erik the Red ( 950– 1003; Old Norse: Eiríkr rauði; Norwegian; Eirik Raude; sometimes Eric the Red), so-called because of his red hair and beard (perhaps even because of his bad temper), was the founder of the first Nordic settlement in Greenland, then mostly uninhabited. Born in the Jaeder district of south-west Norway, he was the son of Þorvaldr Ásvaldsson ( Thorvald Asvaldsson), and was therefore also called, patronymically, Erik Torvaldsson (or Eiríkr Þorvaldsson). ...more on Wikipedia about "Erik the Red"
Freydís Eiríksdóttir was a Viking woman who sailed to Vínland in the early 11th century. She was an illegitimate daughter of Erik the Red and half sister to Leifur Eiríksson. ...more on Wikipedia about "Freydís Eiríksdóttir"
Grœnlendinga saga or the Saga of the Greenlanders is an Icelandic saga. Along with Eiríks saga rauða it is one of the two main literary sources of information for the Norse exploration of North America. It relates the colonization of Greenland by Erik the Red and his followers. It then describes several expeditions further west led by Erik's children and Thorfinn Karlsefni. ...more on Wikipedia about "Grœnlendinga saga"
Helluland is the name given to one of the three lands discovered by Leif Eriksson sometime around 1000 CE on the North Atlantic coast of North America. Helluland was characterized in the Icelandic sagas as a land large flat stones (from which it earns its name "Helluland" or "Land of Flat Stones"). This leads historians to guess that Helluland was Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. ...more on Wikipedia about "Helluland"
L'Anse aux Meadows (from the French L'Anse-aux-Méduses (Jellyfish Cove)) is a site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, where the remains of a Viking village were discovered in 1960 by the Norwegian explorer Dr. Helge Ingstad and his archaeologist wife, Anne Stine Ingstad. ...more on Wikipedia about "L'Anse aux Meadows"
Leif Ericson ( Old Norse: Leifr Eiríksson; modern Icelandic: Leifur Eiríksson; modern Norwegian: Leiv Eiriksson) ( c. 980 – c. 1020) was a Norse explorer and the first European to discover North America—more specifically, the region that would become Newfoundland and, by later extension, Canada. ...more on Wikipedia about "Leif Ericson"
Markland is the name given to an area of unknown location, named by Leif Ericson when visiting North America. Markland, for "treeland," is known to be north of Vinland and south of Helluland. It is generally believed to be Labrador. Ericson's crew cut down trees and took them to Greenland, because Greenland has no trees. Arctic Greenland is well above the tree line. ...more on Wikipedia about "Markland"
Leif's settlement did not prosper; the settlers fought over the few women who accompanied the expedition, and also had conflicts with the local Native Americans (whom they called Skraelings). The settlement was abandoned after a few years. The Greenland Norse remembered the existence of land to the west, though, and continued to travel to Markland for wood. The final voyage may have occurred as late as the 14th century. ...more on Wikipedia about "Norse colonization of the Americas"
Eiríks saga rauða or The Saga of Eric the Red is a saga about Eric the Red (Old Norse: Eiríkr rauði) (950–1003). ...more on Wikipedia about "Saga of Eric the Red"
Skræling, or skrælingar is what the Vikings called the Dorset from Greenland when they encountered them, and they used the same name for the inhabitants (possibly the ancestors of the later Beothuk) of North America (" Vinland"), when they voyaged there. ...more on Wikipedia about "Skræling"
Snorri Þorfinnsson (likely born between 1005 and 1013), was the son of Þorfinnur Karlsefni and Guðríður Eiríksdóttir. He was born in Vinland, making him the first European to be born in the Americas. ...more on Wikipedia about "Snorri Thorfinnsson"
Thorfinn Karlsefni ( Icelandic: Þorfinnr Karlsefni) was an Icelandic explorer who circa 1010 AD led an attempt to settle Vinland with three ships and 160 settlers. Among the settlers were Freydís Eiríksdóttir and Thorvald Eriksson, half-sister and brother of Leif Eriksson. ...more on Wikipedia about "Thorfinn Karlsefni"
Thorvald Eriksson ( old Icelandic: Þorvaldr Eiríksson) was the son of Erik the Red and brother of Leif Ericson. According to the sagas he was part of a settlement expedition led by Thorfinn Karlsefni and was killed by an arrow from the Skraelings in Vinland. ...more on Wikipedia about "Thorvald Eriksson"
Vinland was the name given to part of North America by the Icelandic Norseman Leif Eiríksson, about year 1000. Later archeological evidence of Norse settlement in North America was found in L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada. Whether this was the Vinland of the Norse accounts is the subject of debate. It must be recognised that the Vikings did not perceive the exploration and settlement of Greenland and Vinland as any different than that of founding Iceland. It was merely an extension of their homeland, and notions of a different world only surfaced upon meeting the natives, noticeably different from Irish monks in Iceland. ...more on Wikipedia about "Vinland"
The Vinland map is purportedly a 15th century Mappa Mundi, redrawn from a 13th century original. Its importance is that, in addition to showing Africa, Asia and Europe, the map depicts a body of land across the Atlantic called Vinland, which the map describes as having been visited in the 11th century. It is believed by some that the map demonstrates that Viking explorers found and mapped the New World before Columbus did in 1492. ...more on Wikipedia about "Vinland map"
The Vinland Sagas are two Icelandic documents: The Saga of the Greenlanders and The Saga of Eric the Red. The Vinland Sagas represent the most complete information we have about the Norse settlements in Greenland and Vinland. They still were not written until at least 200 years after the original voyages. When comparing the two sagas, we notice that there are contradictory accounts of the voyages. This leads to the uncertainty of how much of the sagas are based on facts and how much on fiction. ...more on Wikipedia about "Vinland sagas"
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