Erik Thorvaldsson, known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer who lived from about 950 to about 1003 and who, according to medieval and Icelandic saga sources, founded the first European settlement in Greenland. The sagas place his birth in the Jæren district of Rogaland in Norway, the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson, whose banishment from Norway drove the family west to Iceland. In Iceland he married Thjodhild Jorundsdottir and had four children, among them the explorer Leif Erikson. Around 982 he was exiled from Iceland for three years, and he spent that time exploring Greenland, an effort that ended in a lasting European settlement there. He most likely earned the epithet the Red from the color of his hair and beard, and he died in Greenland around 1003 during a winter epidemic.
Facts
RoleNorse explorer and founder of the first European settlement in Greenland 1 Role
Role (category) Connections
In Era
Source Erik the Red (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Erik the Red (Wikipedia)Introduction, second paragraphQuote, Introduction, second paragraph
born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway
Sources
1. Erik the Red (Wikipedia)
Introduction
He most likely earned the epithet
Introduction [role]
was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland
Introduction [role-category]
was a Norse explorer
Introduction [birth-year]
c. 950, c. 1003
Introduction, second paragraph
born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway
In Era: The Viking Age, Introduction, life dates
c. 950, c. 1003
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.