Leif Ericson (Old Norse:
Leifr Eiríksson) (c. 970 – c. 1020) was a
NorseNorsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language. The meaning of Norseman was "people from the North"...
explorer who is currently regarded as the first
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an to land in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
(excluding
GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago...
) 492 years before
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere...
. According to the Sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at
VinlandVinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norseman, about the year 1000 CE.In 1960 archaeological evidence of the only known Norse settlement in North America was found at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland, in what is now the Canadian province...
, which has been tentatively identified with the
L'Anse aux MeadowsL'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse village in North America outside of Greenland...
Norse site on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland in
Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador is a province of Canada on the country's Atlantic coast in northeastern North America. This easternmost Canadian province comprises two main parts: the island of Newfoundland off the country's eastern coast, and Labrador on the mainland to the northwest of the island.A...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
It is believed that Ericson was born about AD 970 in
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
, the son of
Erik the RedErik the Red founded the first Nordic settlement in Greenland. Born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Þorvaldr Ásvaldsson , he therefore also appears, patronymically, as Erik Thorvaldsson...
(Old Norse:
Eiríkr inn rauði), a Norse explorer from Western Norway, an
outlawAn outlaw or bandit is a person living the lifestyle of outlawry; the word literally means "outside the law".In the common law of England, a "Writ of Outlawry" declared the subject to be "Caput gerat lupinum" , and it followed not only that, since the subject was no longer human, he had no legal...
and himself the son of an outlaw,
Þorvaldr ÁsvaldssonThorvald Asvaldsson was the father of the colonizer of Greenland, Erik the Red and grandfather of Leif Ericson, who visited North America centuries before Christopher Columbus...
.
Leif Ericson (Old Norse:
Leifr Eiríksson) (c. 970 – c. 1020) was a
NorseNorsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language. The meaning of Norseman was "people from the North"...
explorer who is currently regarded as the first
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an to land in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
(excluding
GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago...
) 492 years before
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere...
. According to the Sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at
VinlandVinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norseman, about the year 1000 CE.In 1960 archaeological evidence of the only known Norse settlement in North America was found at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland, in what is now the Canadian province...
, which has been tentatively identified with the
L'Anse aux MeadowsL'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse village in North America outside of Greenland...
Norse site on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland in
Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador is a province of Canada on the country's Atlantic coast in northeastern North America. This easternmost Canadian province comprises two main parts: the island of Newfoundland off the country's eastern coast, and Labrador on the mainland to the northwest of the island.A...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Early life
It is believed that Ericson was born about AD 970 in
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
, the son of
Erik the RedErik the Red founded the first Nordic settlement in Greenland. Born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Þorvaldr Ásvaldsson , he therefore also appears, patronymically, as Erik Thorvaldsson...
(Old Norse:
Eiríkr inn rauði), a Norse explorer from Western Norway, an
outlawAn outlaw or bandit is a person living the lifestyle of outlawry; the word literally means "outside the law".In the common law of England, a "Writ of Outlawry" declared the subject to be "Caput gerat lupinum" , and it followed not only that, since the subject was no longer human, he had no legal...
and himself the son of an outlaw,
Þorvaldr ÁsvaldssonThorvald Asvaldsson was the father of the colonizer of Greenland, Erik the Red and grandfather of Leif Ericson, who visited North America centuries before Christopher Columbus...
. Leif's mother was Thjodhild (
Þjóðhildr). Erik the Red founded two Norse colonies in Greenland, the
Western SettlementThe Western Settlement was the smaller of the two main areas of Greenland settled in around 985 AD by Norse farmers from Iceland . There was also a third, still smaller area known as the Middle Settlement...
and the
Eastern SettlementThe Eastern Settlement was the largest and first of the three areas of Greenland, settled in approximately 985 AD by Norse farmers from Iceland . At its peak it contained approximately 4000 inhabitants...
, as he named them. In both
Eiríks saga rauða and
Landnáma, Ericson's father is said to have met and married Leif's mother Þjóðhildur in Iceland; no official site is known for Leif's birth.
Leif Ericson had two brothers,
ThorvaldThorvald Ericsson was the son of Eric the Red and brother of Leif Ericsson. According to the sagas, he was part of an expedition for the exploration of Vinland....
and
ThorsteinnThorstein Eríksson was the youngest son of Erik the Red.Leif Eriksson's voyage is discussed extensively in Brattahlid and Thorvald, Leif's brother, thinks that Vinland was not explored enough. Leif offers him his ship for a new voyage there and he accepts. Setting sail with a crew of 30, Thorvald...
, and one half sister,
FreydísFreydís Eiríksdóttir was a daughter of Eric the Red, associated with the Norse exploration of North America. The only medieval sources which mention Freydís are the two Vinland sagas, believed to be composed in the 13th century but purporting to describe events around 1000. They offer widely...
. He married a woman named Thorgunna, and they had one son,
Thorkell LeifssonSon of Norse explorer, Leif Ericson, Thorkell Leifsson succeeded his father as paramount chieftain of Greenland some time after 1018 AD. Leif, himself, had previously succeeded his father, Eric the Red, or Eirikr Thorvaldsson.-References:...
.
Exploring west of Greenland
During a stay in Norway, Ericson converted to Christianity, like many Norse of that time, at the behest of the King of Norway,
Olaf IOlaf Tryggvason , , was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggve Olafsson, king of Viken, , and the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of Norway.Olaf played an important part in the conversion of the Vikings to Christianity...
. When he returned to Greenland, he bought
Bjarni HerjólfssonBjarni Herjólfsson was a Norwegian explorer who is the first known European discoverer of the mainland of the Americas, which he sighted in 986.-Life:Bjarni was born to Herjulf, whose father was Bard Herjólfsson, and Thorgerd in Iceland...
's boat and set out to explore the land that Bjarni had seen to the west of Greenland, which was likely coastal Canada.
The
Saga of the Greenlanders tells that Leif set out in the year 1002 or 1003 to follow Bjarni's route with 35 crew members, but going north.
The first land he went to was covered with flat rocks (Old Norse
hella). He therefore called it
HellulandHelluland is the name given to one of the three lands discovered by Leif Eriksson sometime around 1000 AD on the North Atlantic coast of North America. Helluland was characterized in the Icelandic sagas as a land of flat stones, or ground of flat rock...
("Land of the Flat Stones"). This was possibly
Baffin IslandBaffin Island in the territory of Nunavut is the largest member of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world, with an area of and has a population of 11,000...
. Next he came to a land that was flat and wooded, with white sandy beaches. He called this
MarklandMarkland is the name given to a part of shoreline in Labrador, Canada, named by Leif Eriksson when he landed in North America. Markland, Norse for "forestland" or "borderland", is known to be north of Vinland and south of Helluland. Lead by Thorfinn Karlsefni, 160 men and women settled in Markland...
("Wood-land"), which is possibly
LabradorLabrador is a region of Atlantic Canada. Together with the island of Newfoundland from which it is separated by the Strait of Belle Isle, it constitutes the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The region is part of the much larger Labrador Peninsula on the Canadian mainland...
.
Settlement in Vinland
Leif and his crew left Markland and again found land, which they named
VinlandVinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norseman, about the year 1000 CE.In 1960 archaeological evidence of the only known Norse settlement in North America was found at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland, in what is now the Canadian province...
. They landed and built a small settlement. They found the area pleasant as there were wild grapes and plenty of salmon in the river. The climate was mild, with little frost in the winter and green grass year-round. They remained in the region over the winter.
On the return voyage, Leif rescued an Icelandic castaway named Þórir and his crew — an incident that earned Leif the nickname
Leif the Lucky (Old Norse:
Leifr hinn heppni).
Research done in the 1950s and 1960s by explorer
Helge IngstadHelge Marcus Ingstad was a Norwegian explorer. After mapping some Norse settlements, Ingstad and his wife Anne Stine, an archaeologist, in 1963 found remnants of a Viking settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows in the Province of Newfoundland in Canada...
and his wife, archaeologist
Anne Stine IngstadDr. Anne Stine Ingstad was a Norwegian archaeologist who, along with her husband Dr. Helge Ingstad, discovered the remains of a Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1960.Anne Stine Moe was born and raised in Lillehammer, Norway. She...
, identified a Norse settlement located at the northern tip of Newfoundland, known as
L'Anse aux MeadowsL'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse village in North America outside of Greenland...
, which has been connected to Leif's settlement.
Return to Greenland
After contacting Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway, Leif became a
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
, and was later sent in Greenland to spread Christianity, with the help of a priest and a teacher. When Leif returned to Greenland, he stayed at Brattahlid with his father Eric. He upon hearing the nickname "Leif the Lucky", told him it was controversial, because although Leif saved the castaway, he had brought a priest to Greenland
United States commemoration
In 1964, the United States Congress authorized and requested the president to proclaim October 9 of each year as "
Leif Erikson DayLeif Erikson Day is an American observance occurring on October 9. It honors Leif Ericson , who brought the first Europeans known to have set foot in North America. In 1964, the United States Congress authorized and requested the President to create the observance through an annual proclamation....
". That date was chosen for its connection to the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States (the ship
RestaurationRestauration was a sloop built in 1801 in Hardanger, Norway. It became a symbol of Norwegian American immigration. Historical sources may contain several variations on the name of the sloop, including Restauration, Restoration, Restaurasjonen, and Restorasjon.On what is considered the first...
, coming from
Stavangeris a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway. Stavanger was established as a municipality 1 January 1838...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
, arrived in New York Harbor on October 9, 1825), not for any event in the life of the explorer. The day is also an official observance of several U.S. states.
External links