The Vinland Sagas: The Saga And Eirik The Red

1000 when he was blown off course, and instead found a rocky land barren land in which is now known as present-day Canada, then found with grapevines and named it Vinland. Eriksson gave the land a name Helluland which is Norwegian for “Stone Slab Land.” Researchers believe that this location could possibly have been Baffin Island. Eriksson then voyaged south to a location they called Markland (Forestland), which was most likely present-day Labrador, before they finally set up a base camp most likely on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland. They made their way back soon after and brought back much needed timber, and grapes. Other Vikings continued to sail west to Vinland for at least the ensuing decade. In spite of North America’s bountiful resources, the Viking settlers stayed in desolate Greenland. This was most likely due to the violent happenings—including the slaying of Eriksson’s brother Thorwald–they encountered with the indigenous population of North America.

Erik the Red was a Norwegian Viking that was born in the 10th Century C.E, and his life contributed significantly to the outstanding legacy of the Vikings through his explorations. It is through the discovery of Greenland and its later settlement that cast Erik the Red’s legendary adventures into folklore. These two events are how Erik the Red played his role in Viking history, not through warfare, but through explorations. The adventures undertaken, and the feats achieved by Erik the Red cement his place in Viking History.

The Vikings were Norse seafarers, who mainly spoke the Old Norse language. They raided and traded from their Northern European homelands across wide areas of northern, central and eastern Europe, during the 9th to 11th century. The Vikings originated from Scandinavia, and the beginning of the Vikings expansion often originates from the raid of the Lindisfarne Monetary on 8 June 793. The Vikings were the first Westerners to sail to Iceland, Greenland, and over to the New World. However, the story of the Vikings is also an important story for the development of the Christian world in the West. Throughout this essay, I will explain the importance of Viking religion, Viking trade, and how the Viking age had an impact on the way Western and

     There are many similarities between the hero of the poem Beowulf and the heroes of the two Icelandic sagas, The Saga of The Volsungs and The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki. The former saga is an Icelandic saga representing oral traditions dating back to the fourth and fifth centuries, when Attila the Hun was fighting on the northern fringes of the Roman Empire; the latter is an Icelandic saga representing 1000 years of oral traditions prior to the 1300’s when it was written.

There was a misleading image of the Vikings that made them be known as pagans with a hatred of the Christian Church. What some people failed to realize was that the Vikings had many gods and found it to be no problem accepting Christian god alongside their own. The Vikings encountered with Christianity through their raids, and as they began to settle in lands with a Christian population, they also could adapt to Christianity much quicker. The Vikings had 14 major Gods. Their appreciation is the cosmos is divided into three main levels which are, Asgard, Aesir, which is also the upper level where the major gods such as Odin, along with the fertility gods, and the light levels lived. Midgard was known to be the middle level where dwarves, giants, men, and even the dark elves lived. Niflheim was known to be the lower level, and well known as the underworld. They called Niflheim the world of the evil dead because this was where the evil dead died the second death in the fortress city of Hel. Yggdrasil was known to be above

When one sees the word Viking, the mind firstly shifts to men who are uncivilized and unprincipled. Using evidence of achievements and victories will not only show how much they impacted Europe, but how sophisticated Vikings actually were. As Charlemagne’s empire ended, the people of Europe showed extraordinary resilience toward the new movements of the era. From 800 to 1200 CE, Vikings ruled medieval Europe. These Vikings, along with thick soil, are credited with shifting Europe from endemic violence toward cooperation and legal order. An attack on the Lindisfarne monastery off the coast of Northumberland in northeastern England marked the beginning of the Viking Age. Vikings began to appear in Europe due to Scandinavian raiders repeatedly visiting the Christian countries of Europe. At first they were content with just raiding lands, but soon they began to seize land and proclaim rule. They sought riches, not land. With this established rule, Vikings promised safety and began to reform the lands they had acquired. The people agreed due to starvation and possible attacks from eneimes. The new lands had a need for settled agriculture, defensive warfare and commerce. As the Vikings began to fulfill these needs they saw an expansion in cooperation and rule of law among the villagers.

All throughout this epic, the most prominent element of religion boiled down to Christianity, followed by a few Pagan beliefs. Christianity is first introduced in Chapter 1, where the narrator speaks of Hrothgar and his men building a hall that would reach toward heaven. References of biblical verses, and praises toward God, were emphasized in order for the characters to believe and invest in a supernatural being, that would look after their safety throughout their time on earth. Others, saw God as a being to worship, in order to receive riches in return for their loyal behavior. Heaven was also seen as a place for the characters to strive for in the afterlife. Therefore, building a hall closer to the heavens in the sky was seen as impressive and created a sense of nobility for the Danes who built the hall, Herot. A biblical reference was also included, “Almighty making the Earth, shaping these beautiful planes marked off by the oceans then proudly setting the sun and moon…” This discusses the time of creation followed by the setting of the sun and moon to glow over the land God created. This piece exemplifies and recounts a time of joyfulness and appreciation for Danish lands.

The Vikings lived in Scandinavia and they worshiped many gods. The Vikings believed that different gods were responsible for different areas of daily life. There were gods for harvests, love, family and war, and that they don’t just have to rely on one god. It is thought that the Vikings made animal or human sacrifices to the gods to get something they needed, such as a good harvest or success in a battle. For example if they needed

The people from the north, Norsemen, lived in villages and on dispersed farms in various regions. The Norwegian Vikings were from Iceland and Ireland. The Danish Vikings were from France and Britain. The Swedish Vikings were from Russia. Regardless of region, Vikings are addressed as one group of people. Written documentation from this era, sagas specify the region of Vikings being recorded.

The Vikings roamed the seas between the early ninth century and the early eleventh century. They were from the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is believed that the Vikings “...were probably prompted to undertake their raids by a combination of factors ranging from overpopulation at home to the relative helplessness of victims abroad” (“Viking (people)”). During their raids, the Vikings also established settlements in Newfoundland,

The Althing in Iceland accepted Christianity in 1000 A.D. (Roesdahl 269). Before that, I majority of Icelanders practiced the old faith, worshiping multiple gods. Many elements of Christianity were introduced though Viking exploration and cooperation with Christian nations, however. This is exemplified in The Saga of Gisli Sursson. Gisli died around twenty years before the particular Althing, but many aspects of his life indicate he was influenced by Christianity. The saga never mentions the faith by name, but references to the religion are there. Through the events portrayed in The Saga of Gisli Sursson, support is given for Christianity.

Moving on to the third factor, the author explains that the Norse were definitely faced with hostile neighbors in Greenland. He states that “Inuit attacks and threats may have played a direct role in the Vikings’ extinction” (Diamond, 255). The Norse had a bad attitude towards the Inuit, and probably attacked and killed the first ones they say. The Inuit had

The Vikings spent most of their time raiding villages and killing people. They sailed very far distances in their longships to find land to raid. The Vikings mostly raided western and eastern parts of Europe. They also raided places like Greenland and Canada. While raiding the Vikings would basically kill anyone that got in their way and they would destroy villages completely. If you survived a Viking raid, you were extremely lucky. When the Vikings raided they would steal anything they could, including money, food, cattle and loot from churches. The Vikings would usually not leave places alone. Once they had raided them one time, they would do it again and keep stealing and killing. One famous raid that the Vikings did was in Northumbria, North-east England. Here the Vikings arrived in their longships and burned down buildings, murdered monks, stole things and frightened everyone. Apparently some of the Christian church leaders said

The Vinland Sagas are two Icelandic texts that include the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Eirik the Red. Both sagas tell similar yet different stories of Norse voyages to North America, a place they referred to as Vinland. The Vinland Sagas tell how the Norse travelled to North America and created settlements there until a battle with the natives broke out. The first of the Vinland Sagas is the Saga of the Greenlanders which focuses more on the voyages and settlements made by Bjarni Herjolfsson, Eirik the Red’s children, and Thorfinn Karlsefni. The second part of the Vinland Sagas is the Saga of Eirik the Red which focuses more on how an outlawed Eirik the Red discovered the modern-day country of Greenland, Leif Eirikson’s

In Jared Diamond’s novel 'Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed' he discusses many civilizations that moved away from their homelands, grew in population, and then either failed or succeeded in their new environments. Throughout this essay I will attempt to explain the Collapse of the Greenland Norse, one of the many societies to rise and fall. The Greenland Norse faced multiple challenges including economical, agricultural, and unfriendly neighbors. Alongside Greenland other North Atlantic islands faced geographical challenges that lead to some of their falls as well. Yet, first I will discuss why the Norse left Scandinavia in search of new terrain.