15 Captivating Insights About Leif Erikson

Leif Erikson’s exploration of North America started more than a millennium ago, well before Columbus’s famous 1492 expedition. Discover more about this daring adventurer.

1. The tales of Leif Erikson are documented in the Icelandic sagas.

Penned in the 13th and 14th centuries, the Icelandic Sagas comprise roughly 40 historical accounts of the Viking era. Their authorship remains unknown, with theories suggesting they originated from Iceland’s oral traditions, where stories were verbally transmitted across generations before being recorded. Similar to Homer’s The Iliad, these sagas blend myth and reality, though archaeological findings support some of their historical assertions. Two sagas, The Saga of Erik the Red and The Saga of the Greenlanders, recount the exploits of Leif Erikson, a Viking explorer who ventured west of Greenland around 1000 CE and allegedly established a settlement in what is now North America. While the two narratives differ in details, both affirm that Leif Erikson was among the earliest—if not the very first—Europeans to set foot on the continent.

2. Americans often get his name wrong.

In Iceland and Scandinavia, the name Leif is typically pronounced as “Layf,” rhyming with the English word safe. However, in the U.S., it’s commonly mispronounced as “Leef.”

The spelling of his name varies widely. In Old Norse, it’s written as “Leifr Eiríksson,” while in Nynorsk, a modern Norwegian script, it appears as “Leiv Eiriksson.” Adding to the confusion, variations like Ericson, Eriksson, and Erikson are also used. In the United States, the most accepted spelling is Leif Erikson.

3. An Irish monk might have reached North America centuries before Leif Erikson.

Saint Brendan the Navigator, a widely-traveled Irish abbot, passed away around 577 CE. His exploits gained fame posthumously, and in the 9th century, his legend was further popularized by a Latin biography titled The Voyage of St. Brendan.

The book recounts how Brendan and a small crew embarked on a westward voyage from Ireland in a leather-bound wooden sailboat, seeking the Garden of Eden—and supposedly found it. They arrived at a lush island, stayed briefly, and departed after an angel instructed Brendan to return home.

In 1976, explorer Tim Severin attempted to verify the feasibility of Brendan’s journey. By constructing a 36-foot replica of the ship Brendan might have used and setting sail from the same location, Severin successfully reached Newfoundland the following year. This experiment demonstrated that the technology of Brendan’s time could have enabled such a voyage, though it doesn’t confirm whether Brendan or his contemporaries actually undertook it.

4. Erikson’s father was the first European to establish a colony in Greenland.

Erik Thorvaldson, famously known as Erik the Red, had fiery red hair and a tumultuous life. Born in Norway, his family was exiled to Iceland after his father committed manslaughter. There, Thorvaldson married a wealthy woman and fathered four children, including his son Leif. After killing a neighbor in a dispute, he was temporarily banished and ventured west, settling on a vast island previously sighted by another explorer. When his exile ended in 985 CE, Erik founded a colony on the island, naming it Greenland to attract settlers despite its icy terrain.

5. Erikson served as a Christian missionary.

While the sagas provide scant details about Erikson’s early life, he was likely born in Iceland between 970 and 980 CE and raised in Greenland. In 999 CE, he was sent to Norway to serve as a royal bodyguard for King Olaf Tryggvason, a fervent advocate of Christianity. Around 1000 or 1001 CE, Tryggvason tasked Erikson with returning to Greenland to convert its inhabitants.

Erikson’s mother, Thjodhild, quickly adopted Christianity and demanded the construction of a chapel near their Greenland home. However, Erik the Red clung to his pagan beliefs. In response, Thjodhild refused to share his bed, which, according to one saga, “greatly tested his patience.”

6. Erikson fathered two known sons.

During his journey to meet Olaf Tryggvason, Erikson’s ship veered off course and landed in the Hebrides near Scotland. Due to harsh weather, they were stranded for a month. During this time, Erikson impregnated a local lord’s daughter but left her behind when he continued to Norway. She later gave birth to their son, Thorgills Leifson, who was sent to live with Erikson in Greenland. Leif also had another son named Thorkel at some point.

7. The accounts of Erikson’s arrival in North America vary.

According to The Saga of Erik the Red, Leif encountered North America accidentally while returning to Greenland after leaving King Olaf. However, The Saga of the Greenlanders offers a different version, stating that a trader named Bjarni Herjólfsson first spotted the land but didn’t explore it. Intrigued by Herjólfsson’s stories, Erikson purchased his ship and, with a crew of 35, successfully located and explored the newfound territory.

8. Erikson likely made a stop at Baffin Island before reaching the mainland.

Baffin Island, the largest island in Canada, stretches 932 miles and is believed to be one of the three North American locations mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas.

In The Saga of the Greenlanders, Erikson’s crew encounters a frigid, rocky landscape. He names it Helluland, meaning “stone-slab land” in Old Norse. Historians, based on descriptions from the sagas, identify Helluland as Baffin Island, supported by the discovery of Norse artifacts there.

9. Erikson and the Vikings left behind an enduring geographic mystery.

After departing Helluland, the Vikings sailed southward. They reached a wooded region they named Markland (“land of wood”), situated south of Helluland but north of a third area called Vinland. Historians identify Markland as part of Canada’s Labrador coast. Europeans continued visiting Markland after Erikson’s expedition; a 1347 document references a ship that had recently stopped there, likely to gather timber, though the exact location remains unclear.

The true location of Vinland remains elusive. The sagas describe it as a fertile land rich in grapevines, salmon, game, and wild grasses. Erikson’s group established a settlement there, spending the winter before returning to Greenland. Later Viking expeditions to Vinland are recorded in the sagas, and other texts suggest the Bishop of Greenland visited in 1121 CE. However, the original settlement was eventually abandoned.

In 1960, archaeologists uncovered a Viking settlement in Newfoundland. Known as L’Anse aux Meadows, the site dates between 990 and 1030 CE and was inhabited for approximately a decade, based on radiometric dating. This aligns closely with the timeline of Erikson’s story in the Icelandic Sagas.

Historians continue to debate whether L’Anse aux Meadows is the legendary Vinland. Some argue it was merely an outpost of the colony, serving as a stopover for travelers. Others propose it might be Markland rather than part of Vinland.

10. Erikson took over as Greenland’s chieftain after his father.

Erik the Red did not join his son on the North American expedition and passed away soon after Erikson’s return to Greenland. By that time, the island’s population had reached approximately 2400 people. As chieftain, Erikson abandoned his seafaring adventures and likely died before 1025 CE, when his son Thorkel assumed leadership.

11. Erikson’s half-sister was known for her violent tendencies.

As recounted in The Saga of the Greenlanders, during Erikson’s tenure as Greenland’s chieftain, his half-sister Freydis and her husband Thorvard journeyed to North America with two brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi. After settling in Vinland for several months, Freydis falsely accused the brothers of assaulting her and urged Thorvard to kill them.

Helgi and Finnbogi were residing at a separate campsite with others. Thorvard, Freydis, and their allies attacked the camp, slaughtering all the men. Unsatisfied, Freydis took an axe and brutally killed the women at the camp. When news of this reached Leif in Greenland, he was horrified but could not bring himself to punish his half-sister.

In contrast, The Saga of Erik the Red portrays Freydis as a heroic figure who defended against an attack by Native people, omitting any mention of her violent actions. The accuracy of either account remains uncertain.

12. Conflicts arose between the Native inhabitants and the Europeans.

Norse artifacts have been discovered at Inuit archaeological sites, and vice versa. The sagas recount that Native people, referred to as “Skraelings” by the Norsemen, occasionally attacked the Vinland settlement. In one instance, Indigenous forces reportedly used catapults and advanced weapons against the Vikings but were ultimately repelled, possibly with Freydis’s help. In another incident, Erikson’s brother Thorvald was fatally struck by an arrow from an Indigenous warrior near the settlement.

13. The debate over Columbus versus Erikson began in the late 19th century.

Christopher Columbus gained widespread recognition after Washington Irving published a highly inaccurate biography of him in 1828. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison urged Americans to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s Caribbean arrival. Colorado, influenced by Italian residents, made Columbus Day a state holiday in 1907. Presidential proclamations for Columbus Day began in the 1930s, though it didn’t become a federal holiday until 1968.

Forty-six years after Irving’s biography, Wisconsin author Rasmus Bjorn Anderson wrote America Not Discovered By Columbus, highlighting that Leif Erikson had reached North America five centuries before Columbus’s ships. Anderson advocated for a Leif Erikson holiday, choosing October 9 to commemorate the 1825 arrival of Norwegian immigrants in New York, marking the start of organized Scandinavian migration to the U.S. Wisconsin became the first state to adopt Leif Erikson Day in 1929.

14. U.S. presidents now issue annual proclamations for Leif Erikson Day.

Books like America Not Discovered By Columbus helped Leif Erikson gain popularity in the U.S., particularly among those who favored him for not being Catholic. The influx of immigrants from Catholic-majority countries like Poland and Italy sparked anti-Catholic sentiment, making the Scandinavian explorer a more appealing figure to many Anglo-Saxon Protestants than Christopher Columbus.

While Columbus Day became a federal holiday, Leif Erikson Day has not achieved the same status. However, since 1964, it has been a tradition for the U.S. president to recognize Scandinavian-Americans with a proclamation on October 9 each year.

15. Statues of Leif Erikson can be found across the globe.

A Harvard chemist with a deep interest in Viking history ensured that Boston installed a statue of Leif Erikson in 1887. Soon after, Milwaukee and Chicago followed suit with their own statues. Additional monuments honoring Erikson can be found in Norway, Newfoundland, and Iceland. The Reykjavík statue, a one-metric-ton gift from the U.S., once had guards to protect it. After its installation in 1931, officials feared drunk passersby might vandalize it, so night watchmen were assigned to stand by the statue until World War II began.