Erik the Red

This article is about the Viking. For other uses, see Erik the Red (disambiguation).
This is a Norse name. The last name is a patronymic, not a family name; this person is properly referred to by the given name Erik.
Erik the Red
Erik the Red from Arngrímur Jónsson's Grönlandia. Note anachronistic details in his weapons and armor.
Bornc. 950
Jæren, Norway
Diedc. 1003 (aged around 53)
Greenland
NationalityNorse
Occupation(s)Settler, explorer
Known forFounded the first Norse settlement in Greenland
PartnerÞjódhild Jorundsdottir
ChildrenFreydís, Leif Erikson, Thorvald and Thorstein
ParentThorvald Asvaldsson (father)

Erik Thorvaldsson[a] (c. 950 – c. 1003), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color of his hair and beard.[1][2] According to Icelandic sagas, Erik was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson; to which Thorvald would later be banished from Norway, and would sail west to Iceland with Erik and his family.[3] During Erik's life in Iceland, he married Þjódhild Jorundsdottir and would have four children, with one of Erik's sons being the well-known Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson.[4][5] Around the year of 982, Erik was exiled from Iceland for three years, during which time he explored Greenland, eventually culminating in his founding of the first successful European settlement on the island. Erik would later die there around 1003 CE during a winter epidemic.[6]

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Leiv Eirikson Discovering America, 1893 painting by Christian Krohg
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Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300–1850, Basic Books, 2002, p. 10. ISBN 0-465-02272-3.
  2. ^ Cooper Edens: Sea Stories: A Classic Illustrated Edition, 2007, ISBN 9780811856348, p. 53
  3. ^ "Erik the Red – Ages of Exploration". exploration.marinersmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Erik the Red". Britannica. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).