The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America Study Guide & Plot Synopsis

The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America Plot Summary

Preview of The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America Summary:

The Vinland Sagas are two of the classic Icelandic Sagas, but even among these special works of literature, they have a special place. They both tell the story of the Norse exploration and attempted colonization of North America, over five centuries prior to Columbus. Both sagas tell the legendary story of Eirik the Red (Erik, for the Anglicized), who was outlawed from Iceland in the tenth century, founded a colony of Icelanders in Greenland, and even suggest that he named Greenland in order to attract more settlers there.

The stories also introduce a sharp, rich sea merchant, Bjarni Herjolfsson, who on his way to Greenland, was caught up in winds that sent him across the Atlantic and to three previously undiscovered islands. Fifteen years later, Eirik the Red's famous son, Leif Eiriksson, known as Leif the Lucky, brought his own ship to the New World to explore it. Leif and...
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