By: BHS Features Staff
October 9, 2024
To mix up this week’s column, the BHS Features Staff decided to go back into history and present a profile on Leif Eriksson because his story and journeys are celebrated every October 9.
Leif Eriksson discovered the North American continent long before the Pilgrims. On October 9, most Nordic communities (worldwide) celebrate Leif Eriksson Day, which commemorates his many accomplishments for bringing the first Nordics to North America. The date for this celebration was originally declared in 1964 by the 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson.
Eriksson was the second son of Erik the Red, the founder of the first settlement in Greenland. It is a tradition for Vikings to name their children after the father. Erik the Red named his son Leif, who eventually became Lief Erikkson.
When Eriksson was young, he grew up without his father. Erik the Red was banished from Iceland for three years because he was found guilty of murder. When he came back to Iceland, he went out and told people about his discovery of a new land. Eriksson then took his family, as well as the colonists, to live there. Erik made his home in Brattahlid, Greenland, where Leif grew up.
According to a theory, Eriksson sailed from Greenland to North America. When he found a region, he named it Vinland. He called this place Vinland because of stories he heard centered around an Icelandic trader. After the Winter, he went back to Greenland and never came back to North America. He is thought to be the first European to have ever explored North America, around four decades before Christopher Columbus did in 1492.
After he left Vinland, he converted his mother, Thjodhild, to Christianity. His mother built the first church at Brattahlid, Greenland, and Eriksson spent the remainder of his life converting people in Greenland to Christianity.
After he died, his brother, Thorvald, continued to explore North America. Thorvald Eriksson was the first European to die in North America.
Scholars consider an Icelandic saga, the Groenlendinga saga (meaning the Saga of Greenlanders), to have the information that Eriksson heard about Vinland from an Icelandic trader named Bjarni Herjulfsson. It is believed that he is the first person to have spotted the North American continent. He saw the continent from his ship but had never set foot on the land. This was 14-years before Eriksson’s voyage.
It is uncertain where Eriksson’s landing was. The Groenlendinga saga claims he made three landfalls: Helluland (believed to be Labrador), Markland (believed to be Newfoundland), and Vinland. The exact location of Vinland is still unknown to this day and has been debated over the centuries. It has been speculated to be in various places along the Northern Atlantic coast.
During the early 1960s, scientists found evidence of what they believed to be the base camp of the 11th-century Viking Exploration. This evidence was found at L’Anse aux Meadows during an excavation.
So, what happens nowadays?
In Seattle, Washington, many events are held year-round in the Leif Eriksson Lodge. Additionally, in some Northern states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan), the Norwegian communities band together and put on Leif Eriksson festivals. They include competitive runs, Viking weddings, craft sales, and more.
Leif Eriksson is one of many different stories of various people who explored North America. You can read more in the Exploration of North America.
If you celebrate Leif Eriksson Day, then enjoy today, October 9!
{Information from History of Leif Eriksson, The Mariners Museum and Park, and National Today.}
THE RETURN OF THE EYE 