Leif Ericsson Who discovered America? The common answer to this question would most likely be Christopher Columbus. However, many explorers and adventurers came to America before Columbus. Viking Leif Ericsson was one of these explorers. Ericsson visited, and may have even discovered, the land that became America on one of his many adventures away from his native Greenland. The life, discoveries, and legacy of Leif Erikson are an important piece of history that not many are familiar with. Leif Ericsson, also known as “Leif the Lucky,” is thought to have been born in the 10th century, circa 960-970 AD. His father, Eric the Red, was a well-known Viking explorer who established the first Norse settlement on the land now known as Greenland. …show more content…
Thorgunna gave birth to a son, Thorgils, who Leif later retrieved from Norway and brought to Greenland. Since Thorgils did not have much popularity with the Greenlanders, Leif passed down the position of chief to another son, Thorkell. Leif is also known to have been converted to Christianity by King Olaf of Norway. Leif met with the king on one of his voyages, and the king proceeded to convert him, as was his custom with the people he believed to be heathens. “It proved easy for the king to persuade Leif, and he was accordingly baptized, together with all of his shipmates” (The Saga of Eric the Red). Little else is known about Leif’s personal life, and even less about his death, but he is believed to have lived peacefully in Greenland for the latter part of his life. Leif’s most well-known voyage, which included his visit to North America, began with a discovery made by another Viking by the name of Biarni Heriulfsson. On his way to visit Leif’s father, Biarni and his men sailed past a new land. Biarni refused to set foot on this foreign land because it was flat and wooded, very unlike the icy mountains he had been expecting to find in Greenland. When Biarni met with Eric the Red, he described what he saw on his journey
The Greenland Natives were killed around 1000 A.D and many assumed that Leif Erikson was the murder. However, the time that this occurred Erikson was around the age of 8. How could an 8 year old kill all those natives? The answer is that he didn’t kill them, his father did. Erik the red was Leif’s father and the culprit of the Greenland Native’s deaths. Some people may have associated Leif with his father or just thought Leif did it all. But according to Saga Of Erik The Red, c. 1000 Red did it all.
When the Vikings landed they were not friendly. The Vikings killed 10 Indians while they were sleeping (Weiner 4). That did not bold well with the Indians that upset them immensely. The Vikings did not like that they were outnumbered by the Indians (Weiner 4). The Indians did not like the Vikings at all. The Vikings tried to make peace with the Native Americans, but the Native Americans did not accept it. The Indians wanted the Vikings gone. Norse colony tried to establish itself in Newfoundland according to the sages (Clarke 177). Thorwald died trying to make the same trip his brother Leif had done to get to Vinland and an arrow belonging to the Native Americans killed him. (Clarke 177). Thorwald had made a home and settled before he died. Even after his death his family had stayed for a short time. Then it had gotten too dangerous for the Vikings so they had to leave. Hostility from Native Americans made their period there short lived (Clarke 178). The Indians had driven the Vikings out of North America. The Vikings left and only came
Many people think that Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot in America, but this conventional belief is wrong; Leif Erikson, a Norse explorer set foot in Newfoundland almost 500 years before Columbus was even born. This paper will cover everything about Leif Erikson’s life including his grandfather’s banishment from Norway, and Leif’s father’s exile from Iceland. Leif Erikson’s early life, his family, and his visit to Norway to serve under the king. The first recorded European to see North America, Bjarni Herjólfsson, and Leif Erikson’s voyage to America. This paper is also going to talk about Leif Erikson’s brother, Thorvald Erikson’s voyage to Vinland because his tale is interesting. Near the end of this research paper, it will have a paragraph on Leif Erikson’s later life. Finally at the end of this paper it is going to talk about the unknown reason why no other Europeans sailed to Vinland, and Leif’s impact on modern day North America.
The earliest explorers of America were not English, Spanish or French as usually is said. The first Europeans in America were Scandinavians. The Old Norse Vinland Saga describes how adventurous Leif Eriksson and his men settled briefly somewhere on the north-east coast of America (probably Nova Scotia in Canada). Their voyage took place in the end of the 10th century, more than 400 years before the next recorded European discovery of the New World.
sagas that tracked generations of people. Historically, the first people to travel to Iceland were from Norway. According to Gary Martin, they were "surprised to find such a plentiful land" (pg.1). Not only did they farm, but they also collected food and supplies from the nearby ocean.
The first vignette, A.D. 813, illustrates the establishment of gods in the new world. Norsemen sail to North America, calling on the All-Father to keep them safe. Once established, their bard sings of Odin around the campfire. The Norsemen then meet a native, a “scraeling… dressed in furs” with “small bones braided into his long hair” (68). They entertain and feed him before sacrificing him to their god: “…they carried him at the head of a procession to an ash tree…where they put a rope around his neck and hung him high in tribute to the All-Father…” (68). While their singing to Odin drew the Grimner’s attention, it was the sacrifice that brought him to the new land. The day after the homage, “two huge ravens landed upon the scraeling’s corpse…[and] the men knew their sacrifice had been accepted” (68-69). The blood and sacrifice strengthened Odin’s tie to the land. Though the Norsemen all die in an attack by natives, the religion, though abandoned, is not entirely forgotten. When Leif the Fortunate arrives later, his gods await him.
For a long time in America’s history and even up until I was in Elementary School, it was being taught that Christopher Columbus was in fact the discoverer of America. The truth, as we all know is that he could not have possibly discovered it when there was already people there! Instead, it is possible to say that he “laid claim” to it for Spain. There were many other famous explorers other than Columbus. Some of them include Lief Ericson who discovered Newfoundland, Amerigo Vespucci who discovered South America and the West Indies, Vasco de Balboa who discovered the Pacific Ocean, Hernando Cortez who discovered Mexico and consequently wiped out an entire civilization known as the Aztecs. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo di...
Friendships between males and females are forbidden according to Islamic tradition. Men and women are normally separated during parties or gatherings. Even in school men and women are set apart to prevent any friendships between the sexes. women have instead remain close to the female family members and often visit each other 's homes. Men, however, are free to move about the country or cities and make friends with other men who are not family members. Even still, men tend to stick with their family members and while they might have one or two friends whom are not related, these friends are more acquaintances or colleges then actually friends. For instances, in my family I am close to my sisters even though I am far from them, I call my sisters
Foster, Mary H., and Mabel H. Cummings. Asgard Stories: Tales from Norse Mythology. New York: Silver, Burdett and Company, 1901. Kindle file.
The gods worshipped by the Norse people can be separated into two groups; the Aesir and the Vanir. The Aesir are the gods that hold the cosmos together and were the most commonly worshipped. The leader of these gods is Odin. (Infoplease.) He is the Allfather; the father of all gods, and the ancestor of many families in Northern Europe. He is also a war god. Although in our culture today he is portrayed as an honorable leader and battlefield commander, the Norse
The Viking community was a diverse group of people, from Kings, Jarls, and great warriors to poets and scholars. Extended famili...
the discovery of the new lands which later became known to be America. In his First
The title "Viking" includes a wide description of Nordic people; Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, who lived during a period of
Erikson’s theory has a total of eight different stages. I believe Erikson had a great idea and was correct in his theory and thoughts. His stages and repercussions of each stage can be evident in my life as well as others in my life. Erikson’s first stage is about trust and mistrust in the first year of life. In my first year of life my family was very present. There does not go a week where my family does not recount about that first year and different silly or happy stories, I do not know of first hand, but can tell you without hesitation. Being that I was the first child of my parents, so as a result my parents dedicated every day to me and to support us. On my mother 's side I was the first grandchild to be born. As a result there was always
Freud’s psychosexual theory and Erikson’s psychosocial theory are two very renowned developmental concepts. Erikson was persuaded by Freud’s ideas but he elaborated on the theory differently.