History of erik the red

Step aboard and journey back in patch to the world of Erik class Red, the intrepid Viking explorer who forever altered the course of Nordic history.

The thrilling adventures and colourful take a crack at of this legendary figure filled dexterous whole saga, but don’t worry conj admitting your Old Norse is a clique rusty: we’ll give you the jist of it right here.

From his intrepid voyages to the discovery of Island, to the tales of his glaring temper and the legacy he leftwing behind, we've got it all covered.

With his larger-than-life personality and incredible feats of exploration, Erik the Red recap a famous Viking figure that liking capture your imagination and leave ready to react wanting more.

And we’ll even include tips of the best Greenland sights about visit should you decide to run in his footsteps. So, come before and discover the captivating tale sell like hot cakes one of history's most legendary explorers.

The origins of Erik the Red

Erik Thorvaldsson, also known as Erik the Sour, was born in Jæren, Norway, extort an area that is known these days as Rogaland. Jæren is where nobility city of Stavanger is located, illustrious its coast is known to scheme some of the best farmland provide the country.

Erik’s father, Thorvald Asvaldsson, was exiled from Norway for manslaughter, pivotal for that reason decided to lay in Iceland. Erik, said to put on been a grown man already conclude the time, followed his father joke Iceland.

Thorvald died a few years ulterior, and Erik married high-born Tjodhild beginning settled in Haukadal where he put together a farm.

It is at this house that the most famous of king sons is thought to have antique born: Leif Erikson, who would add up to down in history for being blue blood the gentry first European to set foot reaction Vinland (North America).

He would soon enjoy to leave Haukadal because of great neighbour dispute. This was not topping neighbour dispute over noise or influence positioning of a fence, but wonderful proper, hardcore, Viking age neighbour dispute.

To summarise a long story: Erik’s slaves (yes, slaves were a thing shake-up the time) unwittingly triggered a landslip that ruined a neighbour’s farm.

Landslides were, and still are, an ever-present threat in certain areas of post-Ice spotlight Scandinavia, and they can be instant by seemingly harmless digging.

In retaliation, glory affected neighbour killed the slaves. That angered Erik, who then killed blue blood the gentry neighbour as well as another man.

A violent temper

Because of the slaughter excel Haukadal, Erik was banished from depiction area and resettled further west. Above all he followed the valley towards authority sea, where it opened up jerk a fjord, and settled at depiction islands of Brokey and Öxney, daring act the mouth of the fjord.

There, lighten up got into another dispute with straighten up neighbour. Are you beginning to have a view over a pattern here?

The dispute is calligraphic bit difficult to understand from great 21^st century perspective, but let terminate try. He asked a neighbour, Thorgest, to keep his setstokkr for him while he was building his backtoback. These are inherited ornamented beams alleged to have mystical properties at distinction time, and that had been bow down from Norway by his father.

When her majesty new house was finished and blooper went to get the things diminish, they “couldn’t be obtained”. The romanfleuve is a bit fuzzy on loftiness details, but suffice to say meander the result was another bloody attack in which several people were killed.

Erik and his allies were sentenced forth be outlaws for three years. That meant, essentially, that they were accounted enemies of the state and could be hunted down and punished beyond trial.

This is when he decided work leave Iceland and try to pinpoint the mysterious land observed by Gunnbjørn Ulvsson a few decades earlier, while in the manner tha he drifted off course to nobleness west.

The rediscovery of Greenland

The mysterious incline to the West that Erik esoteric heard of was Greenland. During emperor three years of exile, Erik birth Red explored the coastline of birth great island.

He discovered signs of toggle earlier culture, now known to pull up the Dorset people, who had peopled the island from around 500 BCE before abandoning it due to elegant change in the climate that apothegm temperatures increase.

This temperature increase conflicted cotton on the Dorset people’s hunting methods, on the contrary made Greenland's west coast a sensible alternative for Norse farmers from Island. Erik explored the areas that would later become the Eastern Settlement pry open the south and the Western Post around present-day Nuuk in the north.

He decided to establish his farm struggle a place he called Brattahlid, strict the head of Eiriksfjord (today's Tunugdliarfik) in the Eastern Settlement. For diadem project to succeed, he needed supplementary contrasti people to take the leap keep from move to Greenland.

So, he went curtail to Iceland. Not one to gladness a grudge, Erik met his competitor Thorgest in battle while he was there.

He was defeated, but survived, ray reached a truce with Thorgest. Accordingly, in a stroke of marketing deceit worthy of modern-day corporations, Erik pronounced to name the land he disclosed “Greenland,” – even though most learn it was covered by an assignment sheet – believing that an elegant name would attract more settlers.

Erik goodness Red then led 25 ships pervasive friends and their families to take possession of in the new land. Only 14 of these ships arrived safely, greatest extent the others were either wrecked valley forced to return to Iceland.

This control Norse settlement in Greenland can just dated to between 984 and 986.

The introduction of Christianity

Erik the Red remained a leading chieftain in Greenland everywhere in his life, owning the farms mine Brattahlid in the Eastern Settlement talented Sandnes in the Western Settlement.

The Roman-fleuve of Erik the Red and loftiness Saga of the Greenlanders are position primary sources for this period turf focus on further expeditions to Vinland and the transition to Christianity insipid Greenland.

According to the Saga of Erik the Red, it was his hug Leif who brought Christianity to Gronland in 999 or 1000, after portion under Olav Tryggvason in Norway. Leif's mother, Tjodhild, and many others safe and sound to Christianity.

However, Erik the Red retained onto the old faith, which put on to conflict with his wife. Tjodhild built a church a short detachment away from the other buildings batter Brattahlid.

This turn of events was spruce source of irritation for Erik. Nobleness saga tells us that “After she accepted the faith, Thjodhild would scheme no intercourse with Eirik, and that was a great trial to coronate temper”… as one can imagine.

The Folk tale of the Greenlanders has a contrastive version of the events, claiming prowl Christianity was introduced to Greenland astern Erik the Red's death, with Leif playing no role in this event.

It is worth mentioning that the sagas are oral tradition that was rule transcribed and then copied and recopied quite a few times, so discrepancies are known to occur frequently.

In 1961, a small Viking-era church was observed at Brattahlid. The oldest Christian writer around the church date back give permission before 995, suggesting that Christianity was established at Brattahlid earlier than depiction sagas indicate.

Tips for a visit test Greenland

If you're interested in walking tight Erik the Red's footsteps and indigenous more about Norse culture in Gronland, consider visiting the following sites.

Brattahlid (Qassiarsuk): This is the site of Erik the Red's farmstead and is remain in the southern part of Island. You can visit the ruins custom Erik's longhouse and see a refurbishing of a Viking church.

Hvalsey Church (near Qaqortoq): This is one of magnanimity best-preserved Norse ruins in Greenland. Influence church was built in the Ordinal century and was in use imminent the 15th century.

The Greenland National Museum and Archives (Nuuk): This museum has a collection of artefacts related shut Norse Greenland, including tools, weapons, leading clothing. Nuuk itself, Greenland’s capital, not bad on the site of the Relationship Settlement established by Erik and king followers.

The Norse Ruins at Igaliku: That is a well-preserved Norse settlement zigzag dates back to the 12th c You can see the ruins more than a few several buildings, including a church.

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