Leif Eriksson (A.D. 980?-1025?) was a Norse explorer who led what was probably the first European expedition to the mainland of North America. He was the son of Erik the Red, who established the first settlement in Greenland. Leif Eriksson became the leader of this settlement after his father’s death. His life was recorded in long Icelandic stories called sagas. His name is also spelled Ericson, Ericsson, or Eiriksson.
Leif was born in Iceland, near what is now Budardalur. His family sailed to southern Greenland about 985, and his father founded a settlement near present-day Qaqortoq. About 999, Leif sailed to Iceland and then to Norway, where he became a Christian. Leif returned to Greenland the following year and preached Christianity in his father’s pagan settlement.
Leif sailed west from Greenland about 1000 to seek a land that a Norse sea captain, Bjarni Herjolfsson, had sighted. According to the sagas, Leif and his 35 men first landed at a level stone area that he named Helluland (Flat Rock Land). He then sailed farther south to a heavily wooded region that he called Markland (Forestland). He continued south, went ashore at a place where he found grapes growing, and named the place Vinland (Wineland). Some historians think the fruit may have been cranberries or gooseberries. Others believe the explorers discovered grapes even farther south.
Leif and his men spent the winter in Vinland. They built a large house and a shed to protect their ship. They cut logs to bring back to Greenland, where trees were scarce. On the return trip, they rescued 15 victims of a shipwreck, who gave Leif their cargo as a reward. This cargo, plus the logs, helped Leif become rich. Erik the Red died soon after his son’s return. Leif stayed in Greenland to govern the settlement.
No one knows exactly where Leif landed on his voyages because he made no maps. Some historians believe he landed first on Baffin Island and then sailed to Labrador. They think that his settlement was on the island of Newfoundland, where archaeologists found the ruins of a Norse settlement in the early 1960’s. It is likely that Leif’s crew explored a large area and that what the sagas call Vinland included the coasts of present-day New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. Some historians think the crew may have reached Cape Cod.
Other explorers sailed from Greenland to Vinland for about 15 years after Leif’s discovery. His brother Thorwald was killed by an Indian on one expedition. Norse exploration of America may have ended because of Indian attacks.
See also Erik the Red; Vikings; Vinland.
