Eirik the Red

Eirik the Red (Eiríkr rauði in Old Norse) is thought to have lived between 950 and around 1003. He is widely believed to have created the Norse settlement in Greenland. His parents were forced to leave Norway due to some killings, as the Vinland Sagas report. They then settled in western Iceland but then Erik himself got involved in several killings (recounted in more detail in Eirik's Saga) which lead him to be declared an outlaw around 982. The dispute surrounded a dispute with his neighbor, Thorgest.

While Eirik the Red was not the first Icelandic settler of Greenland, he was the first permanent settler and he is also said to have named it; in both sagas it is reported that Eirik named the island 'Greenland' in order to attract settlers there. In Eirik's Saga, Eirik spends three years exploring the island. He also founded a home...