Leif Eriksson (see photo below) is a famous Viking who visited America five centuries before Columbus. Only the navigator, unlike the Genoese, did not continue his research and almost did not populate that land. In the next 500 years, not a single European visited the American continent. In this article, we will briefly talk about the travels of the Scandinavian and his relatives.
Leif Ericsson. What did he discover?
The question of whether Europeans visited America before Columbus has been debatable for a very long time. There are two sagas that describe the travels of Leif Eriksson and his brothers - the Saga of Eric the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders. But both works were created in the XIII century, that is, two hundred years after the events described. Well, the story itself is a free retelling and interpretation of what happened. However, the mysterious Vinland, which was discovered by the Vikings, was mentioned by Adam of Bremen (medieval chronicler). True, the latter described him from the words of the King of Denmark, Sven Estridsen.
The question was finally cleared up only after the discovery of Canadian archaeologists. In Labrador and Newfoundland, they discovered Viking sites. After that, no one doubted that Leif Eriksson discovered America before Columbus. Although if you believe the content of the Saga of the Greenlanders, then the Viking was still the second number. The discoverer of America - Bjarni Hjerjulfson.
At the end of the tenth century, he went to Greenland. Lost on the way from the route, Bjarni saw land on the horizon. Hjerjulfson did not go ashore, but, having reached Greenland, he told his neighbors in detail about everything he had seen. Leif Eriksson became interested in his story. The son of Eric the Red, who founded the first southern Viking settlement in Greenland, quickly realized that most of this huge island was uninhabited. Moving north was risky and dangerous. On the other hand, there was a catastrophic lack of wood for building ships. But that didn't stop the Viking.
Discovery of new lands
Leif Ericsson purchased the ship from Bjarni. Then he assembled a team of 35 people and went west. Two days later, the Scandinavians discovered the coast that Hjørjulfson was talking about. The places visited by Leif came up with the names: Land of Volcanoes (Helluland), Land of Forests (Markland) and Vineland (Vinland). It is now reliably known which parts of Greenland Eriksson discovered. Markland is Labrador and Helluland is Baffin Island. Only the location of Vinland is still disputed. It was there that the Viking stopped for the winter, and then returnedhome.
Traveling relatives
After Eriksson's discoveries, the Greenlands began to make plans to populate new regions. Inspired by Leif's journey, his brother Thorvald set sail. Soon he reached America and was able to establish a settlement there. But the colony did not last long. A year later, the Vikings faced the aggression of the local population. The Indians killed almost all the inhabitants. Torvald himself was killed in battle.
Leif's second brother - Thorstein - also set sail to the west. True, he never reached America. Apparently, Thorstein's ship turned south early. According to another version, the Viking swam to Hudson Bay, and then lost patience and returned back. After that, the relatives of Eric the Red made two or three more trips, but were never able to gain a foothold on the continent.
Mysterious Vinland
Apparently, Newfoundland is hidden under this name. The site of the Vikings discovered by archaeologists on the island clearly indicates that they were present there at the beginning of the 11th century. Only the name is misleading. Those who have visited the island are probably aware of the small number of grapes growing. Therefore, many people believe that Leif Eriksson, whose biography is known to all Scandinavians, left Labrador for New England. And there are just a lot of wild grapes.
Specialists question this theory. Leif was a very experienced navigator. He found what he was looking for, and would hardly risk going south. There are other versions of the origin of the name Vinland. One of them says that Leif Eriksson christened this land in a completely different way. Over time, the name was distorted, and in this form it was recognized by the Danish king Sven, who told the whole chronicle to Adam of Bremen. According to another version, Vinland is a promotional name. Thus Ericsson tried to attract new settlers to the island. This theory is also supported by the fact that the same Greenland is not a green land at all, as its name implies.
