Lief Erikson Research Paper

Lief Erikson

The date of Leif Eriksson’s birth is uncertain, but he is believed to have grown up in Greenland. Also known as “Lief the Lucky,” he was the second of three sons of a very famous Norse explorer known as “Eric the Red”. He established settlement in Greenland after being expelled from Iceland. According to the Icelandic Eiriks saga (or, “Saga of Eric the Great”), Eriksson sailed from Greenland to Norway around 1000. Historians believe that he stopped in Hebrides and had a child, whom he named Thorgils. The mother of this child was Thorgunna, daughter of the local chief in the area. While he was in Norway, King Olaf I Tryggvason, converted him to Christianity. One year later, King Olaf I Tryggvason sent him back to Greenland with a commision to convert all the settlers of Greenland to the Christian faith. According to Erikis saga, Eriksson sailed violently off course on his way back home (to attempt to convert the settlers in Greenland) and landed on the continent we know today as North America! The specific area he landed on he named Vinland after he saw all the wild
He had no idea whatsoever that he would never return to North American shores ever again. His father did not like this new religion and disapproved it. His mother,(named Thjodhild)however, he finally convinced to convert to Christianity. Erikssons mother also built the very first Christian church in Greenland which they build at Battahild. When Eric the Red died, Eriksson took the job of being the chief of the Greenland settlement. His son Thorgils was sent by Thjodhild(his mother) to live in Greenland, but was for some reason unpopular among the locals in the settlement. Fun fact: Leif Eriksson and Thjodhild never actually married! Another (apparently legitimate) son, named Thorkel Leifsson, became chief by 1025, after the death of Leif Eriksson. Nothing else is known about the descendants of Leif