Vikings / Famous Vikings / Leif Erikson
Leif Erikson
Explorer
- In Old Norse
- Leifr Eiríksson
- Lived
- c. 970 – c. 1020
- Role
- Explorer
Leif, son of Erik the Red, grew up at Brattahlíð in Greenland. Around the year 1000 he sailed west and south-west and landed in places he named Helluland, Markland and Vinland, wintering at a base called Leifsbúðir. The Saga of the Greenlanders says he followed up Bjarni Herjólfsson's sighting; Erik the Red's Saga says he found the land by chance returning from Norway, where King Olaf Tryggvason had charged him with converting Greenland. He is regarded as the first European known to have landed in continental North America.
Known for
- First known European landing in North America, c. 1000
- Named Helluland, Markland and Vinland
- Brought Christianity to Greenland, according to the sagas
In the story
On the timeline
Events that name Leif Erikson
2 events. Each opens in the timeline.
- c. 1000 Leif Erikson Reaches Vinland Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, reaches North America around 1000. In the Saga of the Greenlanders he buys Bjarni's ship… Date or details approximate
- c. 1000 Thjodhild's Church at Brattahlíð Erik the Red's wife Thjodhild accepts Christianity, which the sagas say her son Leif brought from Norway, and has a small church… Date or details approximate
Sources
Wikipedia — Leif Erikson Wikipedia — Vinland Wikipedia — L'Anse aux Meadows Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Leif EriksonPicture: Leif Erikson Statue, Duluth (15290644106), John K. Daniels (sculptor); photo Sharon Mollerus · CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.