Leif Erikson

Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer, traditionally credited with leading the first European expedition to reach North America, around the year 1000.

Vinland: Vinland is the name given in Norse sources to lands explored west of Greenland around the year 1000. The sagas identify it as the destination of Leif’s expedition.
Erik the Red: Erik the Red was a Norse settler who founded the Greenland colony after being exiled from Iceland. Leif was his son and grew up within the Greenland settlement Erik established.
Thorvald Eriksson: Thorvald Eriksson was a son of Erik the Red who, according to the sagas, voyaged to Vinland after Leif. His later expedition followed Leif’s route and appears in the same saga traditions.
Leif Erikson Day: Leif Erikson Day is an annual observance in the United States on October 9 honoring Norse-American heritage and Leif Erikson. The holiday turns his traditional association with North America into a public commemoration.
L'Anse aux Meadows: L'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site in Newfoundland containing remains of a Norse settlement dating to about 1000. Its Norse buildings provide physical evidence of the voyages associated with Leif.
Thjodhild: Thjodhild was the wife of Erik the Red and mother of Leif Erikson, according to Norse tradition. She was Leif’s mother and is associated with the early Christian community in Greenland.
Freydís Eiríksdóttir: Freydís Eiríksdóttir is a figure in the Vinland sagas, portrayed as a daughter of Erik the Red. Her saga episodes extend the family’s role in voyages to Vinland.
Columbian exchange: The Columbian exchange was the sustained transfer of organisms, peoples, and goods between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia after 1492. Leif’s voyage preceded the exchange by centuries but did not establish lasting transatlantic contact.
Saga of the Greenlanders: The Saga of the Greenlanders is a medieval Icelandic account of Norse voyages from Greenland to Vinland. It credits Leif with finding Vinland after sailing on a ship bought from Bjarni Herjólfsson.
Norse Greenland: Norse Greenland was a medieval Norse settlement established in the late tenth century and sustained for several centuries. It was Leif’s home base and the point of departure for voyages west.

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