Ericson, Leif

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[[Image:Leif Eiriksson Trondheim Norway.jpg|thumb|Statue of Leif Ericson in the harbor at Trondheim Norway]]
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{{epname|Ericson, Leif}}
'''[[Leif]] Ericson''' ([[Old Norse language|Old Norse]]: '''Leifr Eiríksson''' (c. 970 – c. 1020) was a [[Norsemen|Norse]]/[[Iceland|Icelandic]] [[explorer]] known to be the first [[Europe]]an to have landed in [[North America]] (presumably in [[Newfoundland]], [[Canada]]).
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[[Image:Leif Eiriksson Trondheim Norway.jpg|thumb|Statue of Leif Ericson in the harbor at Trondheim Norway.]]
Although Christopher Columbus is commonly accepted as being the first European to discover the New World, he didn't reach it until 1492, some 500 years after Leif Ericson's arrival. Although the Vikings only made a few voyages to the New World after Ericson, his remarkable discovery of what is now North America remained virtually unknown to most of Europe, which was caught up in the Crusades during this period.
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'''Leif Ericson''' (Old Norse: '''Leifr Eiríksson''') (c. 970 – c. 1020 C.E.) was a [[Norse]] explorer thought to be the first [[Europe]]an to have landed in [[North America]], presumably in [[Newfoundland]], [[Canada]].
  
Born around 970, Leif Ericson was the son of Eric the Red, who started the first European settlement of Greenland in 985. He sailed from Norway with his father to Greenland and lived there until 1000, when he returned to his homeland. While he was in Norway, Ericson may have become a Christian, at which point King Olaf I of Norway asked him to return to Greenland and teach the Vikings there about Christianity.  
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Born around 970 C.E. in [[Iceland]], Ericson was the son of [[Erik the Red]], who started the first European settlement of [[Greenland]] in 985 C.E. Leif sailed to Greenland with his father and lived there until around 1000 C.E., when he returned to his homeland of [[Norway]]. There, Ericson reportedly became a [[Christian]], and King [[Olaf I]] of Norway asked him to return to Greenland and bring the [[Vikings]] there to [[Christianity]]. According to one legend, when Ericson was sailing back to Greenland, he was blown off course and instead ended up in [[North America]]. In a second version, Leif sailed intentionally west after hearing of richly forested lands there from an earlier voyager, [[Bjarni Herjólfsson]], and was thus not truly the first European to discover the area.  
  
As Ericson was sailing back to Greenland, he was blown off course and instead ended up in North America. A different version of the saga cites another Viking, Bjarni Herjolfsson, reaching North America in 985 or 986. Ericson may have bought his boat wanting to retrace Herjolfsson's route, sailing to North America not by mistake, but by design.
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Ericson established a settlement in a place he called [[Vinland]], which was probably the part of [[Canada]] now referred to as [[Newfoundland]]. The community lasted less than two years due to hostility between the settlers and native peoples, as well as internal struggles.
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{{toc}}
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While Europe remained almost totally in the dark about Erickson's discovery, Norse sagas recorded his exploits. In the 1960s, archaeological findings confirmed the existence of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland dating back to Ericson's time. Thus, it is now considered very probable that Leif Ericson reached the New World almost 500 years before [[Christopher Columbus]].
  
Regardless of the method, Ericson arrived in a place he called Vinland, which was probably the part of Canada now referred to as Newfoundland. Surprisingly, few Vikings ever returned to Vinland, only Ericson's sister and a small group of settlers who were killed by Indians. Lief Ericson died around 1020. while Europe remained almost totally in the dark about the discovery of this new world, Norse sagas recorded his exploits.  
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==Early life==
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[[Image:LeifurEriksonInFrontOfHalgrimmsKirkja.jpg|thumb|180px|right|The statue of Leif outside Hallgríms Church in Reykjavík, Iceland was a gift from the United States Government.]]
  
[[Image:Viking at MN Capitol.jpg|thumb|150px|right|A statue near the [[Minnesota State Capitol]] in [[St. Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] dedicated on October 9, 1949.]]
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Ericson's father, [[Eric the Red]], was a well-known [[Norway|Norwegian]] explorer and [[outlaw]] who founded two Norse colonies in [[Greenland]], known as the Western Settlement and the Eastern Settlement. Leif’s mother was named Thjodhild. He reportedly had two brothers, Thorvald and Thorstein, and one sister, [[Freydís Eiríksdóttir|Freydís]].
  
[[Image:Leifr Eiriksson.jpg|thumb|180px|right|A statue of Leif outside Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was a gift from the United States Government.]]
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Leif married a woman named Thorgunna, and they had one son, Thorgills Leifsson. During a stay in [[Norway]], Leif reportedly converted to [[Christianity]], like many Norse of that time. He also entered the service King [[Olaf I of Norway|Olaf Tryggvason]], who may have enlisted him to bring Christianity to the settlers in his father's colonies in Greenland. According to one legend, it was while Leif was returning to Greenland that he was blown off course and discovered the New World.
 
 
===Early life===
 
It is believed that Ericson was born about 970 in [[Iceland]]. His father was [[Erik the Red]], a [[Norway|Norwegian]] well-known explorer and [[outlaw]], and his  mother was named Thjodhild. Erik the Red had founded two Norse colonies in [[Greenland]], known as the Western Settlement and the Eastern Settlement. Leif Ericson reportedly had two brothers, Thorvald and Thorstein, and one sister, [[Freydís Eiríksdóttir|Freydís]]. Leif married a woman named Thorgunna, and they had one son, Thorgills Leifsson.
 
 
 
During a stay in [[Norway]], Leif Erikson converted to [[Christianity]], like many Norse of that time. He also went to Norway to serve the [[List of Norwegian monarchs|King of Norway]], [[Olaf I of Norway|Olaf Tryggvason]].  
 
  
 
==Journey to the New World==
 
==Journey to the New World==
 
===Icelandic sagas===
 
===Icelandic sagas===
The main source of information about the Viking voyages to Vinland can be derived from two Icelandic sagas, The ''Saga of Eric the Red'' and the ''Saga of the Greenlanders''. These sagas were written down approximately 250 years after the settlement of Greenland and are open to considerable breadth of interpretation. Combining those two, it seems that there were a few separate attempts to establish a Norse settlement in Vinland, including one led by Thorfinn Karlsefni, none of which lasted for more than two years. The disbandment of the small Viking colony probably had several causes. Disagreements among the men about the few women that followed on the trip, and fighting with the skrælingar (Native Americans) already living in the area, are both indicated in the written sources.
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The main sources of information about the [[Viking]] voyages to [[Vinland]] are two Icelandic legends, the ''Saga of Eric the Red'' and the ''Saga of the Greenlanders''. These stories were written down approximately 250 years after the settlement of [[Greenland]] and are open to considerable breadth of interpretation.
  
The story tells that after the settlement of Greenland by the Vikings a merchant by the name of Bjarni Herjólfsson set sail from Iceland to Greenland to visit his father, a new settler in Greenland. His ship was blown off course by a storm and thus accidentally discovered the east coast of America in 985 or 986. It was late in the summer, and he did not want to stay over winter in this new land, which he noted was covered with forests, so he did not land and managed to reach Greenland before winter fell.
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The ''Saga of the Greenlanders'' indicates that the initial discovery of what later became known as Vinland predated Leif Ericson's voyage by 14 years. In this version a merchant by the name of [[Bjarni Herjólfsson]] set sail from [[Iceland]] to Greenland to visit his father there. His ship was blown off course by a storm and thus he accidentally discovered the east coast of [[North America]] in 985 or 986. It was late in the summer, and he did not want to stay over to winter in this new land, which he noted was covered with forests, so he did not land and managed to reach Greenland before winter fell.
  
 
===Vikings settle in Vinland===
 
===Vikings settle in Vinland===
He then afterwards told the story and sold the ships to Leif Ericson, who, according to the stories, sailed back to those areas many times. With wood being in very short supply in Greenland, the settlers there were eager to explore the riches of this new land. Some years later, Ericson explored this coast, and established a short-lived colony on a part of the coast that he called [[Vinland]]. The Viking settlers found the area pleasant: there were plenty of large [[salmon]] in the river and the climate was mild, with little frost in the winter and green grass year-round. They remained at this place over the winter.
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Herjólfsson later sold his ships to Ericson, who sailed west intentionally and was not blown off course trying to reach Greenland after meeting King Olaf, as in the ''Saga of Eric the Red''. With wood being in very short supply in [[Greenland]], the settlers there were eager to explore the riches of this new land. Ericson explored this coast and eventually established a short-lived colony in what he called [[Vinland]]. The Viking settlers found the area pleasant. There were plenty of large [[salmon]] in a river there, and the climate was mild, with little frost in the winter and green grass year-round.
 
 
The first discovery made by Leif was according to the stories, [[Helluland]] ("flatstone land"), possibly [[Baffin Island]]. [[Markland]] ("wood land") - which is now Labrador - was discovered next (there is some evidence that the treeline in northern Labrador has been diminished or eroded since circa 1000), and lastly Vinland (commonly interpreted as "wine land", but interpreted as "pasture land" by others). "Wine land" is now what we call [[L'Anse aux Meadows]].
 
 
 
The expedition included both families and livestocks and the aims were to begin new settlements. [[Straumfjörðr]] was the name of the northern settlement and [[Hóp]] was the name for the southern settlement. Only two Viking leaders actually overwintered in Vinland, the second being [[Thorvald Eiríksson]], Leifr's brother, who was killed the second summer. However, according to the stories, the idea was soon abandoned due to conflicts with the ''skrælingar'' (possibly the later [[Beothuks]], or [[Dorset people]]). New voyages for woodcutting etc. seem to have been discussed even as late as the 1300s.
 
 
 
Until the nineteenth century, the idea of Viking settlement in North America was considered by historians to be the product of mere folk tales. The first scholarly theory for the idea was put forth in 1837 by Danish literary historian and antiquarian [[Carl Christian Rafn]] in his book ''Antiquitates Americanæ''. Rafn had made an exhaustive examination of the sagas, as well as potential settlement sites on the North American coast and concluded that Vinland was a real place in North America that had been settled by the Norse.
 
 
 
===Colony raids, diverse economy===
 
When Ericson and the Vikings settled, they did not have good relationships with the aboriginal people. They raided nearby villages and killed whoever failed to escape into the woods, but despite hostilities, furs, cloth, and other goods were traded between the Vikings and aboriginals. When the fighting finally stopped, the Vikings built houses out of [[sod]] with [[clay]] floors, since the sod provided good insulation and stopped rainwater going into the home.
 
  
The Vikings caught fish, hunted game animals, picked berries, and had brought meat, cattle, and poultry from Iceland. The cattle not only provided food, but some also produced milk (and eventually dairy products). The chickens not only provided meat but also eggs, and their chicks maintained the poultry system.
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The first area discovered by Leif, according to one story, was ''Helluland'' ("flatstone land"), possibly [[Baffin Island]]. Markland ("wood land")—which is now [[Labrador]]—was apparently discovered next. There is some evidence that the treeline in northern Labrador has been diminished or eroded since circa 1000. Lastly emerged Vinland (commonly translated as "wine land," but also interpreted as "pasture land" by others). Vinland may now be what is called [[L'Anse aux Meadows]], where archaeological discoveries indicate a probable [[Norse]] settlement from around Ericson's time.
  
===Disbandment, return===
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[[Image:Authentic Viking recreation.jpg|thumb|250px|Recreation of the Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows.]]
The disbandment of the small Viking colony probably had several causes. Disagreements among the men about the few women that followed on the trip, and fighting with the ''skrælingar'' (Native Americans) already living in the area, are both indicated in the written sources.
+
The expedition included both families and livestock and its aim was to begin new settlements. Straumfjörðr was the name of Vinland's northern settlement and Hóp was the name for the southern settlement. When Ericson and the Vikings settled, they did not have good relationships with the aboriginal people. They raided nearby villages and killed whoever failed to escape into the woods. Thorvald Eiríksson, Leif's brother, was killed during his second summer there. Despite hostilities, furs, cloth, and other goods were traded between the Vikings and some of the native peoples. When the fighting finally stopped, the settlers built houses out of [[sod]] with [[clay]] floors, since the sod provided good insulation and stopped rainwater going into the home. They caught fish, hunted game animals, picked berries, and had brought meat, cattle, and poultry from [[Iceland]].
  
On the return voyage, Ericson rescued an Icelandic castaway named Þórir and his crew — an incident that earned him the [[nickname]] "Leif the Lucky" (Old Norse: ''Leifr hinn heppni''). Ericson died about 1020.
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According to the stories, conflict with natives was the major factor that forced the settlement to be abandoned. These ''skrælingar'' may have been [[Beothuks]] or [[Dorset people]]. However, another cause of Vinland's demise may have been disagreements among the Viking men about the few women that followed on the trip, which is also indicated in the written sources.
  
In 1008 B.C.E., [[Thorfinn Karlsefni]] brought 60 people (including five women) to Vinland. He continued the practice of bringing cattle and sheep from Europe, and traded furs, skins, and tbe like with the aboriginal people.
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On the return voyage, Ericson rescued an Icelandic castaway named Þórir and his crew—an incident that earned him the [[nickname]] "Leif the Lucky." After returning to Greenland, he reportedly brought his mother to the Christian faith, and she in turn established the first church in Greenland. Ericson died about 1020.
  
[[Image[[Link title]]:LeifurEriksonInFrontOfHalgrimmsKirkja.jpg|thumb|Statue of Leif in front of Hallgríms church]]
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In 1008 on a separate journey, [[Thorfinn Karlsefni]] reportedly brought 60 people (including five women) to Vinland. He continued the practice of bringing cattle and sheep from [[Europe]] and traded furs, skins, and other commodities with the aboriginal people.
  
==Vinland's obscure history==
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The Vikings probably did not perceive the exploration and settlement of Greenland and Vinland as any different from that of founding Greenland and Iceland. It was merely an extension of their homeland, and notions of a different world only surfaced upon meeting the natives, who were noticeably different from the Irish monks, perhaps equally strange, which the Vikings had encountered in Iceland.
Vinland was first recorded by [[Adam of Bremen]], a geographer and historian, in his book ''Descriptio insularum Aquilonis'', c. 1075. To write it, he visited the Danish king Svend Estridson, who had knowledge of the northern lands.
 
  
Until the nineteenth century, the idea of Viking settlement in North America was considered by historians to be the product of mere folk tales. The first scholarly theory for the idea was put forth in 1837 by Danish literary historian and antiquarian [[Carl Christian Rafn]] in his book ''Antiquitates Americanæ''. Rafn had made an exhaustive examination of the sagas, as well as potential settlement sites on the North American coast, and concluded that Vinland was a real place in North America that had been settled by the Norse.
+
Although there are no records of further settlements, new voyages for woodcutting seem to have been discussed even as late as the 1300s.
  
[[Image:Vikings-Voyages.png|right|thumb|150px|Map]]
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==Vinland's story==
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[[Image:Vikings-Voyages.png|right|thumb|250px|Map of Viking voyages.]]
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Vinland was first recorded in writing by [[Adam of Bremen]], a geographer and historian, in his book ''Descriptio insularum Aquilonis'', c. 1075, after he visited the Danish king [[Svend Estridson]], who had knowledge of the northern lands and their legends. The Viking sagas were recorded later, but are not considered trustworthy, especially in the light of the strong European emphasis on the story of [[Christopher Columbus]] discovering the Americas in 1492.
  
==Evidence of Ericson's voyage==
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Until the nineteenth century, the idea of a Viking settlement in North America was considered by historians to be the product of mere folk tales. The first scholarly theory for the idea was put forth in 1837 by Danish literary historian and antiquarian [[Carl Christian Rafn]] in his book ''Antiquitates Americanæ''. Rafn had made an exhaustive examination of the sagas, as well as potential settlement sites on the North American coast, and concluded that Vinland was a real place in North America that had been settled by the Norse.
===Archaeology===
 
In 1960 archaeological evidence of Norse settlement in North America was found at [[L'Anse aux Meadows]] on the island of [[Newfoundland]], in what is now the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and [[Labrador]]. Although this proved conclusively the Vikings' pre-Columbian discovery of North America, whether this exact site is the Vinland of the Norse accounts is still a subject of debate.  
 
  
It must be recognized that the Vikings did not perceive the exploration and settlement of Greenland and Vinland as any different from 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 the Irish monks in Iceland, its first inhabitants.
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In 1960, archaeological evidence of Norse settlement in North America was found at [[L'Anse aux Meadows]] on the island of [[Newfoundland]]. Although this proved conclusively the Vikings' pre-Columbian discovery of North America, whether this exact site is the Vinland of the Norse accounts is still a subject of debate.  
There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings were the first Europeans to reach North America, centuries before Christopher Columbus.
 
  
 
===Speculation===
 
===Speculation===
*A few have speculated that [[Norsemen]] may have penetrated as far as [[Minnesota]], either coming down from [[Hudson Bay]] or going west through the [[Great Lakes]]. Some suggested that the [[Mandan]] showed evidence of pre-Columbian explorers from Europe, A runestone with carvings of a Scandanavian nature was discovered near Kensington, Minnesota, aptly titled the [[Kensington Runestone]], this stone dates back to aproximately 1030.
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[[Image:Viking at MN Capitol.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Statue near the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul.]]
*In the nineteenth century, the theory that Ericson and his men visited New England gained in popularity. The statue of Ericson on [[Commonwealth Avenue, Boston|Commonwealth Ave.]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]] and the [[Norumbega Park|Norumbega Tower]] in [[Weston, Massachusetts]] were both created as monuments to this supposed Viking presence.
 
*There is only one piece of hard evidence that suggests Vikings may have visited [[United States|the area now called the United States]]: an eleventh-century Norse coin, the [[Maine Penny]], found in [[Brooklin, Maine]] along with thousands of other artifacts during an excavation of a former [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] trading center. However, it is noted that this coin may have made it from Newfoundland via trade or may have even been brought to North America centuries later by the [[England|English]] or [[Portugal|Portuguese]].  
 
*Although there have been numerous attempts over the decades to show Viking presence in [[United States]], such as fanciful translations of mysterious stone carvings, there has been no evidence accepted by the professional archaeological community.
 
  
===Localization theories===
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A few have speculated that [[Norsemen]] may have penetrated as far as [[Minnesota]], either coming down from [[Hudson Bay]] or going west through the [[Great Lakes]]. Some suggest that the [[Mandan]] Indians showed evidence of being culturally influenced by pre-Columbian explorers from Europe. For example, a runestone with carvings of a [[Scandanavia]]n nature was discovered near Kensington, Minnesota, dating to approximately 1030 C.E.. A statue of Leif was erected near the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota on October 9, 1949.  
*Historians do not agree on the location of Vinland. Literary historians and antiquarians Rafn and Erik Wahlgren believed that Vinland was probably in New England. In the 1960s, a Viking settlement was discovered and excavated at [[L'Anse aux Meadows]] in Newfoundland, and some historians believe that this was Ericson's settlement, thus connecting Vinland to Newfoundland. Others have followed Rafn Wahlgren in sharing the belief that Vinland was farther to the south. In this view, L'Anse aux Meadows was perhaps part of an undocumented later attempt at settlement.
 
  
*Those who believe Newfoundland is the location of Vinland generally think that settlements farther south are unlikely, because maintaining such a distant lifestyle from the Norse homelands would have been far too difficult for the Vikings of the time. Iron and other convenient resources would have been too difficult to sustain on any workable level, as the later English settlers in New England would find. Costly fights with native populations so far from supply lines would have been another deterrent.
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In the nineteenth century, the theory that Ericson and his men visited [[New England]] gained popularity. The statue of Ericson on Commonwealth Ave. in [[Boston]], and the Norumbega Tower in Weston Massachusetts were both created as monuments to this supposed Viking presence. However, there is only one piece of hard evidence that suggests Vikings may have visited the area now called the United States: an eleventh-century Norse coin, the Maine Penny, found in [[Brooklin, Maine]] along with thousands of other artifacts during an excavation of a former Native American trading center. However, this coin could have come from Newfoundland via trade with native peoples of that area, or may have even been brought to North America centuries later by the [[England|English]] or
 
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[[Portugal|Portuguese]].
*An argument for placing Vinland farther south is presented in Adam of Bremen's account. In his ''Descriptio insularum Aquilonis'' he wrote that the name Vinland comes from huge amounts of grapes growing there (''Praeterea unam adhuc insulam recitavit a multis in eo repertam occeano, quae dicitur Winland, eo quod ibi vites sponte nascantur, vinum optimum ferentes''). He received this information from King Svend Estridson. However, grapes do not grow in the sites commonly seen as possible locations of Vinland.
 
 
 
*While the theory that Vinland was further south is a legitimate line of inquiry, for some the motivation to search Vinland further south could have been more personal to justify or romanticize the Scandinavian colonization of areas in the present-day United States. There have been several instances where evidence of pre-Columbian Norse explorers in the United States has become a source of controversial debate, for example, the [[Kensington Runestone]]. However, the [[Maine Penny]] is regarded as a legitimate artifact. Runestones found throughout America are often used to show proof of pre-Columbian Norse settlement, but this is not thought to represent Vinland.
 
  
 
==Leif Erikson Day==
 
==Leif Erikson Day==
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==References==
 
==References==
*Burgan, Michael. ''Leif Eriksson (Groundbreakers, Explorers)'', Heinemann, 2002. ISBN 978-1588105967
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*Burgan, Michael. ''Leif Eriksson (Groundbreakers, Explorers)''. Heinemann, 2002. ISBN 978-1588105967
*Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody. ''Before Columbus: The Leif Eriksson Expedition'', Random House Books for Young Readers, 2003. ISBN 978-0375813474
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*Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody. ''Before Columbus: The Leif Eriksson Expedition''. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2003.
*Sanderson, Jeanette. ''Explorers'', Teaching Resources/Scholastic, 2002. ISBN 0-439-25181-8
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*Sanderson, Jeanette. ''Explorers''. Teaching Resources/Scholastic, 2002. ISBN 0439251818
*Steele, William O. ''The Life of Leif Ericson'', Grosset & Dunlap, 1954. ASIN B000JFAN8U
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*Steele, William O. ''The Life of Leif Ericson''. Grosset & Dunlap, 1954. {{ASIN|B000JFAN8U}}
*Weir, Ruth Cromer. ''Leif Ericson, explorer'', Abingdon Press, 1951. B0007DW32U
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*Weir, Ruth Cromer. ''Leif Ericson, explorer''. Abingdon Press, 1951. {{ASIN|B0007DW32U}}
 
 
==Outside links==
 
{{commons|Leifr Eiríksson}}
 
*[http://www.reportret.info/gallery/leifericsson1.html A reconstructed portrait of Leif Ericsson] – Based on historical sources, in a contemporary style; from Reportret: gallery of reconstructed portraits
 
*[http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=34468 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'']
 
  
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==External links==
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All links retrieved July 31, 2013.
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*[http://www.reportret.info/gallery/leifericsson1.html A reconstructed portrait of Leif Ericson] ''www.reportret.info''.
 +
*[http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=34468 Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography] ''www.biographi.ca''. 
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*[http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=224625&pageno=6 Leif's story in the Saga of Erik the Red] ''www.gutenberg.org''.
 
   
 
   
[[category:history and biography]]
 
 
{{credit|127194672}}
 
{{credit|127194672}}
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[[Category:History]]
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[[Category:Biography]]

Revision as of 16:28, 31 July 2013

File:Leif Eiriksson Trondheim Norway.jpg
Statue of Leif Ericson in the harbor at Trondheim Norway.

Leif Ericson (Old Norse: Leifr Eiríksson) (c. 970 – c. 1020 C.E.) was a Norse explorer thought to be the first European to have landed in North America, presumably in Newfoundland, Canada.

Born around 970 C.E. in Iceland, Ericson was the son of Erik the Red, who started the first European settlement of Greenland in 985 C.E. Leif sailed to Greenland with his father and lived there until around 1000 C.E., when he returned to his homeland of Norway. There, Ericson reportedly became a Christian, and King Olaf I of Norway asked him to return to Greenland and bring the Vikings there to Christianity. According to one legend, when Ericson was sailing back to Greenland, he was blown off course and instead ended up in North America. In a second version, Leif sailed intentionally west after hearing of richly forested lands there from an earlier voyager, Bjarni Herjólfsson, and was thus not truly the first European to discover the area.

Ericson established a settlement in a place he called Vinland, which was probably the part of Canada now referred to as Newfoundland. The community lasted less than two years due to hostility between the settlers and native peoples, as well as internal struggles.

While Europe remained almost totally in the dark about Erickson's discovery, Norse sagas recorded his exploits. In the 1960s, archaeological findings confirmed the existence of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland dating back to Ericson's time. Thus, it is now considered very probable that Leif Ericson reached the New World almost 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

Early life

File:LeifurEriksonInFrontOfHalgrimmsKirkja.jpg
The statue of Leif outside Hallgríms Church in Reykjavík, Iceland was a gift from the United States Government.

Ericson's father, Eric the Red, was a well-known Norwegian explorer and outlaw who founded two Norse colonies in Greenland, known as the Western Settlement and the Eastern Settlement. Leif’s mother was named Thjodhild. He reportedly had two brothers, Thorvald and Thorstein, and one sister, Freydís.

Leif married a woman named Thorgunna, and they had one son, Thorgills Leifsson. During a stay in Norway, Leif reportedly converted to Christianity, like many Norse of that time. He also entered the service King Olaf Tryggvason, who may have enlisted him to bring Christianity to the settlers in his father's colonies in Greenland. According to one legend, it was while Leif was returning to Greenland that he was blown off course and discovered the New World.

Journey to the New World

Icelandic sagas

The main sources of information about the Viking voyages to Vinland are two Icelandic legends, the Saga of Eric the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders. These stories were written down approximately 250 years after the settlement of Greenland and are open to considerable breadth of interpretation.

The Saga of the Greenlanders indicates that the initial discovery of what later became known as Vinland predated Leif Ericson's voyage by 14 years. In this version a merchant by the name of Bjarni Herjólfsson set sail from Iceland to Greenland to visit his father there. His ship was blown off course by a storm and thus he accidentally discovered the east coast of North America in 985 or 986. It was late in the summer, and he did not want to stay over to winter in this new land, which he noted was covered with forests, so he did not land and managed to reach Greenland before winter fell.

Vikings settle in Vinland

Herjólfsson later sold his ships to Ericson, who sailed west intentionally and was not blown off course trying to reach Greenland after meeting King Olaf, as in the Saga of Eric the Red. With wood being in very short supply in Greenland, the settlers there were eager to explore the riches of this new land. Ericson explored this coast and eventually established a short-lived colony in what he called Vinland. The Viking settlers found the area pleasant. There were plenty of large salmon in a river there, and the climate was mild, with little frost in the winter and green grass year-round.

The first area discovered by Leif, according to one story, was Helluland ("flatstone land"), possibly Baffin Island. Markland ("wood land")—which is now Labrador—was apparently discovered next. There is some evidence that the treeline in northern Labrador has been diminished or eroded since circa 1000. Lastly emerged Vinland (commonly translated as "wine land," but also interpreted as "pasture land" by others). Vinland may now be what is called L'Anse aux Meadows, where archaeological discoveries indicate a probable Norse settlement from around Ericson's time.

Recreation of the Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows.

The expedition included both families and livestock and its aim was to begin new settlements. Straumfjörðr was the name of Vinland's northern settlement and Hóp was the name for the southern settlement. When Ericson and the Vikings settled, they did not have good relationships with the aboriginal people. They raided nearby villages and killed whoever failed to escape into the woods. Thorvald Eiríksson, Leif's brother, was killed during his second summer there. Despite hostilities, furs, cloth, and other goods were traded between the Vikings and some of the native peoples. When the fighting finally stopped, the settlers built houses out of sod with clay floors, since the sod provided good insulation and stopped rainwater going into the home. They caught fish, hunted game animals, picked berries, and had brought meat, cattle, and poultry from Iceland.

According to the stories, conflict with natives was the major factor that forced the settlement to be abandoned. These skrælingar may have been Beothuks or Dorset people. However, another cause of Vinland's demise may have been disagreements among the Viking men about the few women that followed on the trip, which is also indicated in the written sources.

On the return voyage, Ericson rescued an Icelandic castaway named Þórir and his crew—an incident that earned him the nickname "Leif the Lucky." After returning to Greenland, he reportedly brought his mother to the Christian faith, and she in turn established the first church in Greenland. Ericson died about 1020.

In 1008 on a separate journey, Thorfinn Karlsefni reportedly brought 60 people (including five women) to Vinland. He continued the practice of bringing cattle and sheep from Europe and traded furs, skins, and other commodities with the aboriginal people.

The Vikings probably did not perceive the exploration and settlement of Greenland and Vinland as any different from that of founding Greenland and Iceland. It was merely an extension of their homeland, and notions of a different world only surfaced upon meeting the natives, who were noticeably different from the Irish monks, perhaps equally strange, which the Vikings had encountered in Iceland.

Although there are no records of further settlements, new voyages for woodcutting seem to have been discussed even as late as the 1300s.

Vinland's story

Map of Viking voyages.

Vinland was first recorded in writing by Adam of Bremen, a geographer and historian, in his book Descriptio insularum Aquilonis, c. 1075, after he visited the Danish king Svend Estridson, who had knowledge of the northern lands and their legends. The Viking sagas were recorded later, but are not considered trustworthy, especially in the light of the strong European emphasis on the story of Christopher Columbus discovering the Americas in 1492.

Until the nineteenth century, the idea of a Viking settlement in North America was considered by historians to be the product of mere folk tales. The first scholarly theory for the idea was put forth in 1837 by Danish literary historian and antiquarian Carl Christian Rafn in his book Antiquitates Americanæ. Rafn had made an exhaustive examination of the sagas, as well as potential settlement sites on the North American coast, and concluded that Vinland was a real place in North America that had been settled by the Norse.

In 1960, archaeological evidence of Norse settlement in North America was found at L'Anse aux Meadows on the island of Newfoundland. Although this proved conclusively the Vikings' pre-Columbian discovery of North America, whether this exact site is the Vinland of the Norse accounts is still a subject of debate.

Speculation

Statue near the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul.

A few have speculated that Norsemen may have penetrated as far as Minnesota, either coming down from Hudson Bay or going west through the Great Lakes. Some suggest that the Mandan Indians showed evidence of being culturally influenced by pre-Columbian explorers from Europe. For example, a runestone with carvings of a Scandanavian nature was discovered near Kensington, Minnesota, dating to approximately 1030 C.E. A statue of Leif was erected near the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota on October 9, 1949.

In the nineteenth century, the theory that Ericson and his men visited New England gained popularity. The statue of Ericson on Commonwealth Ave. in Boston, and the Norumbega Tower in Weston Massachusetts were both created as monuments to this supposed Viking presence. However, there is only one piece of hard evidence that suggests Vikings may have visited the area now called the United States: an eleventh-century Norse coin, the Maine Penny, found in Brooklin, Maine along with thousands of other artifacts during an excavation of a former Native American trading center. However, this coin could have come from Newfoundland via trade with native peoples of that area, or may have even been brought to North America centuries later by the English or Portuguese.

Leif Erikson Day

The Congress of the United States of America, by joint resolution (Public Law 88-566) approved on September 2, 1964, authorized, and requested the President to proclaim October 9 of each year as "Leif Erikson Day."

Since then, Presidents have accordingly proceeded to call upon "all Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs to honor our rich Nordic-American heritage."

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Burgan, Michael. Leif Eriksson (Groundbreakers, Explorers). Heinemann, 2002. ISBN 978-1588105967
  • Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody. Before Columbus: The Leif Eriksson Expedition. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2003.
  • Sanderson, Jeanette. Explorers. Teaching Resources/Scholastic, 2002. ISBN 0439251818
  • Steele, William O. The Life of Leif Ericson. Grosset & Dunlap, 1954. ASIN B000JFAN8U
  • Weir, Ruth Cromer. Leif Ericson, explorer. Abingdon Press, 1951. ASIN B0007DW32U

External links

All links retrieved July 31, 2013.

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