Thorvaldsson: The Discovery Of North America

Most people believe that Christopher Columbus was the first European ever to set foot on North America. That belief changed when in 1963 a group of archaeologists found 1,000 year old Viking artifacts on the tip of Newfoundland, where it is known as L’Anse aux Meadows. Over 2,000 Viking objects were found and they uncovered a Viking-like settlement. Leif Erikson is believed to be the first European to discover North America, almost 500 years before Columbus did, and is much known for his exploring skills. Around 950 AD, the father of Leif Erikson, Erik the Red, or also known as Erik Thorvaldsson, was born in Norway, a Scandinavian country. At the age of ten, Erik the Red’s father, Thorvald, got exiled from Norway for killing two men in manslaughters
and brawls, a common family trait. They traveled to Iceland, where Erik the Red would grow up for the remainder of his childhood. Not much is known about what happened during that time period, but not long after his father’s death, Erik the Red married a woman named Thjodhild Jorundsdottir. At 980 AD, some of Erik the Red’s servants triggered a landslide, which crushed his neighbor Valthjof’s house. Eyiolf the Foul, a relative of Valthjof’s, killed Erik the Red’s servants. Erik the Red retaliated, and killed Eydjiolf and Holmgong-Hrafn, enforcers of their clan. Eyiolf decided that Erik the Red should be banished. He got banished from that region of Iceland. After that, Erik the Red ended up killing two sons of a settler named Thorgest, which lead to his 3 year banishment from Iceland. Erik the Red decided to search the waters west of Iceland.
He found land, which he named Greenland. He thought that if the place had an attracting name, then more visitors will come visit the place. Thorvaldsson decided to make the first European settlement there. After his 3 year banishment period, he headed back to Iceland and convinced several hundred people that colonizing Greenland was worth it. A total of 25 ships were on their way to Greenland, but only 14 ships and 450 colonists made it safely Greenland. They established two main colonies on the southwest side of Greenland, known as the Eastern and Western Settlements. Erik the Red established a farmstead named Brattahlid, which was part of the Eastern Settlement. The colonists traded with Iceland and Norway for essential items. The population of the colonies consisted of around 2,000 people, with the houses being constructed of turf and stone, due to the scarcity of trees in
Greenland. At approximately 980 AD, Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, was born in Greenland. While he was growing up, his father helped developed settlements and was considered chief of the island. At the age of 8, Erikson was separated from his family, which was a Viking tradition. Erikson moved in with his father’s German slave, Thyrker. Thyrker taught Leif Erikson many things, mainly how to be a leader since his father was chief of the island and someday Erikson would have to be chief also. He learned how to fight with Viking weapons, such as double-edged swords and battle axes, and how to defend himself with a shield. Many other valuable skills were taught and learned by Erikson, which included leading a Viking crew, sailing, raiding, exploring, reading, writing, and the history of his people. In 999, at the age of 19, he headed to visit the land of his ancestors, Norway, during the summer. A wind blew him into the Hebrides islands, a group of islands near the Scandinavian countries. The Hebrides islands also happened to be controlled by the Vikings. The wind then died off, leaving Erikson to stay in the Hebrides islands until the wind picked up. While in the Hebrides, Erikson became friends with a local maiden named Thorgunna and their friendship quickly turned into leave. When Leif Erikson was about to leave for Norway at the end of the summer, Thorgunna desperately wanted to come with him. Leif Erikson asked her if her family knew about her departure. She said that she didn’t care, and Erikson said it was unwise to abduct a woman in a foreign country. Thorgunna told him she had his child, and that her child would find him, and it would not be a pleasant experience for him. Erikson did leave some gifts for Thorgunna, which were a Greenland cape, an ivory belt, and a gold ring. Some sources claim Erikson traveled back to the Hebrides islands for their son, Thorgils, while other sources claim that Thorgils traveled to Greenland, where he was recognized by his father. Erikson continued to Norway, where he met King Olaf Tryggvason, who was crowned in 995 AD. When he was crowned, he destroyed all Viking temples and replaced them with Christian churches. King Olaf liked Erikson as soon as they met, and then King Olaf invited Erikson to his court for the winter. King Olaf taught Erikson Christianity. He asked Erikson if he happened to be heading back to Greenland, which Erikson was. King Olaf asked Erikson to spread Christianity to the Greenland settlers. Before Erikson left for Greenland, King Olaf granted him good luck. On his way back to Greenland, Erikson rescued some stranded sailors. At his arrival in Greenland, he began teaching Christianity to his mother, Thjodhild. Thjodhild quickly embraced the religion and built Greenland’s first Christian church. More and more settlements began accepting Christianity in Greenland. Some sources claim that Erikson got off course on his way back from Greenland, and discovered the unknown land of North America. In 986 AD, Icelandic trader Bjarni Herjolfsson was heading for Greenland when he overshot his destination.
He found an unknown shore, but Herjolfsson was not in the mood for discovery. He told his stories to Leif Erikson, which motivated him to travel to the unknown lands. In the summer of 1001 AD, Erikson gathered a crew of 35 men and bought Herjolfsson’s ship. He stocked the ship with supplies such as salted meat and mead. Erikson begged his father to lead the expedition. After lots of begging, Erik the Red reluctantly agreed to be leader of the expedition. On the day they were scheduled to leave, Erik the Red was riding his horses to the harbor, when without warning, his horse threw him off, which caused him to injure his foot. He could not continue on the trip. They set sail for North America from
Eiriksfjord. They discovered a land with no grass, which also looked like a huge slab of stone. Leif Erikson named the place “Helluland”, or Flat Rock Land. They headed further south and discovered a flat and wooded area, in abundance of trees. Erikson named this place “Markland”, or Forest Land. After visiting Markland, they got caught in northeast winds and sailed for two “deogr”, an unknown measurement of time or distance. They landed on an unknown mainland. The crew returned to the ship and sailed in between the island and a nearby cape. Rounding the tip of the cape, they discovered new land, and it was considered paradise. It consisted of rivers in abundance of salmon, and mild temperatures, which begged Erikson to stay there for the summer. Erikson and his crew settled there, and divided his crew into 2 groups. One group would guard the camp while the other group explored the surrounding area. The groups usually switched duties. Leif told the group that was exploring to stay together and not wander too far from the camp. Erikson switched his duties between guarding and exploring. One day, the exploring group came back to camp with a German named Tyrker missing. Erikson created a search party to find Tyrker. In theory, Tyrker could be the same person who taught Erikson many useful skills when he was 8 years old. They did find him, and he claimed he found grapes, which could be used to make wine. After his discovery, Erikson switched the group’s duties to cutting down trees for wood, because of the scarcity of trees in Greenland, and to harvest grapes. The settlement is believed to be in L’Anse aux Meadows, on the northern tip of Newfoundland. The place was where they also smelted iron and repaired plank ships. In the spring of 1002 AD, Erikson and his crew began preparations for departure. They filled an extra boat with grapes and stocked every space on their ship with timber. When they began their departure, Erikson glanced back and named the place Vinland, of Wineland. Erikson never returned to Vinland because of his father’s death, which made Erikson chief of Greenland. Thorvald, Erikson’s brother, was motivated and decided North America needed more exploration. Erikson most likely agreed, and lent his boat to Thorvald. Leif was probably planning on a return to Vinland, but since his father’s death, he has had to be chief of the island. Leif also saved houses at Vinland for later explorers. During the spring of around 1002 to 1003 AD, Thorvald gathered a crew of 30 and prepared for the journey to Vinland. When the crew arrived, they searched for Erikson’s camp, which they easily found. They settled there for the winter. In the spring of 1003 AD, the crew started exploring west and found wooded lands and white beaches. There were no signs of animals, and the only sign of humans was a “hand-hewn wooden grain cover.” In the fall, the group headed back to Erikson’s camp. During the summer of 1004 AD, the crew began exploring east in their ship. While exploring, a storm hit them and “smashed the keel of their ship on a ness.” Thorvald and his crew stayed and repaired the damage. Settlements in North America failed because of clashes between the Viking and the Native Americans, which the Vikings called “skraelings”, which meant “little men.” Thorvald died in a skirmish and colonizing the area failed. Icelander Thorfinn Karlsefni also visited Vinland while Leif Erikson spent his time spreading Christianity. He is believed to be dead at around 1025 AD. In 1925, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the first official Norwegian immigrants of the United States, President Coolidge announced “Erikson the first to discover America.” In the September of 1964, Congress approved a public resolution to make October 9, “Leif Erikson Day.”