This article is about the Viking. For other uses, see Erik the Red (disambiguation).
This is a Norse name. The last name is a patronymic, not a family name; this person is properly referred to by the given name Erik.
Erik the Red
Erik the Red from Arngrímur Jónsson's Grönlandia. Note anachronistic details in his weapons and armor.
Born
c. 950
Jæren, Norway
Died
c. 1003 (aged around 53)
Greenland
Nationality
Norse
Occupation(s)
Settler, explorer
Known for
Founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland
Partner
Þjódhild Jorundsdottir
Children
Freydís, Leif Erikson, Thorvald and Thorstein
Parent
Thorvald Asvaldsson (father)
Erik Thorvaldsson[a] (c. 950 – c. 1003), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color of his hair and beard.[1][2] According to Icelandic sagas, Erik was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson; to which Thorvald would later be banished from Norway, and would sail west to Iceland with Erik and his family.[3] During Erik's life in Iceland, he married Þjódhild Jorundsdottir and would have four children, with one of Erik's sons being the well-known Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson.[4][5] Around the year of 982, Erik was exiled from Iceland for three years, during which time he explored Greenland, eventually culminating in his founding of the first successful European settlement on the island. Erik would later die there around 1003 CE during a winter epidemic.[6]
Part of a series on the
Norse colonization of North America
Leiv Eirikson discovering America, 1893 painting by Christian Krohg
Places
Vinland
Markland
Helluland
L'Anse aux Meadows
Eastern Settlement
Western Settlement
Middle Settlement
Gunnbjörn's skerries
Great Ireland
Tanfield Valley
Straumfjörð
Alleged artifacts
Maine penny
Skálholt Map
Kensington Runestone
Vinland Map
Explorers
Erik the Red
Leif Erikson
Thorvald Eiriksson
Freydís Eiríksdóttir
Gunnbjörn Ulfsson
Snæbjörn galti
Bjarni Herjólfsson
Thorfinn Karlsefni
Helgi and Finnbogi
Literature
Saga of Erik the Red
Saga of the Greenlanders
Flateyjarbók
Hauksbók
Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum
Book of Icelanders
Skræling
Greenlandic Norse
Researchers
Galvano Fiamma
Adam of Bremen
Carl Christian Rafn
Helge Ingstad
Anne Stine Ingstad
Birgitta Wallace
Patricia Sutherland
Robert McGhee
Gwyn Jones
William W. Fitzhugh
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Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300–1850, Basic Books, 2002, p. 10. ISBN 0-465-02272-3.
^Cooper Edens: Sea Stories: A Classic Illustrated Edition, 2007, ISBN 9780811856348, p. 53
^"Erik the Red – Ages of Exploration". exploration.marinersmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
^Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Erik the Red". Britannica. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
father, EriktheRed, founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland, where Leif was later raised. Following his voyage to Vinland and the subsequent...
the camp Straumfjörð mentioned in the Saga of EriktheRed. Vinland was the name given to part of North America by the Icelandic Norseman Leif Eriksson...
English as the Saga of the Greenlanders) is one of the sagas of Icelanders. Like the Saga of EriktheRed, it is one of the two main sources on the Norse colonization...
involvement, the anonymous Grænlendinga saga (Saga of the Greenlanders) and the also anonymous Saga of EriktheRed. But there are also news about the inhabitants...
pleasant name would attract settlers. The Saga of EriktheRed states: "In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called...
are not always reliable. EriktheRed (Old Norse: Eiríkr rauði), having been banished from Iceland for manslaughter, explored the uninhabited southwestern...
was the son of EriktheRed and brother of Leif Erikson. The only Medieval Period source material available regarding Thorvald Eiriksson are the two Vinland...
and The Saga of EriktheRed (Eiríks Saga Rauða). The sagas were written down between 1220 and 1280 and describe events occurring around 970–1030. The Saga...
ˈausˌval(t)sˌsɔːn]; fl. 10th century; died before 980) was the father of the first Norse settler of Greenland, EriktheRed, and grandfather of Leif Erikson, who visited...
Erik "TheRed" Denmark (born about 1980) is an American competitive eater and a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating. He lives...
colonists and mercenaries. To the west, Vikings under Leif Erikson, the heir to EriktheRed, reached North America and set up a short-lived settlement in present-day...
Erik Jon Spoelstra (/ˈspoʊlstrə/ SPOHL-strə; born November 1, 1970), nicknamed "Coach Spo", is an American professional basketball coach who is the head...
ˈɛiˌriːksˌson]) was the third and youngest son of EriktheRed. Almost nothing is known about Thorstein's life. According to the Vinland Sagas, EriktheRed settled...
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr [ˈɛiˌriːkz̠] (or Eríkr [ˈeˌriːkz̠] in Old East Norse...
detailing the discovery and exploration of Vinland by EriktheRed Vinland Saga (manga), a 2005 manga by Makoto Yukimura about Thorfinn, the Viking explorer...
are documented in the Grœnlendinga saga ("Saga of the Greenlanders" henceforth Grl.) and Eiríks saga rauða ("Saga of Eirik theRed" Henceforth Eir.),...
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