Erik the Red
This article concerns the Viking explorer. For the album, see Eric the Red (album). For the comic-book character, see Erik the Red (comics).Erik the Red (
950 -
1003 ;
Old Norse:
Eiríkr rauði;
Norwegian;
Eirik Raude; sometimes
Eric the Red), so-called because of his red hair and beard (and perhaps even because of his bad temper), founded the first
Nordic settlement in
Greenland. Born in the Jaeder district of south-west
Norway as the son of
Þorvaldr Ásvaldsson (Thorvald Asvaldsson), he was therefore also called,
patronymically, Erik Torvaldsson (or Eiríkr Þorvaldsson).
About
960, Erik's father had to flee Norway because of "some killings," as
The Saga of Eric the Red recounts. The family settled in a
Norse colony on the coast of
Iceland. In much the same manner, Erik was exiled from Iceland for several murders around the year
982. According to
The Saga of Eric the Red, his neighbor Thorgest borrowed a few wooden bench boards and when they were not returned to Erik, he sought out an explanation. When Thorgest refused to return them, Erik stole them back. In the following chase, he killed Thorgest's two sons.
The second crime for which Erik was held accountable occurred when Erik insisted upon revenge for the deaths of his
slaves who had "accidentally started a landslide" on Valthjof's farm. Valthjof murderously punished the slaves for this misfortune. Erik did not take kindly to this and so slew Filth-Eyjolf and was eventually convicted of these murders and was forced into
exile from Iceland. This event led him and a group of followers to travel to the lands nearly 500 miles west of Iceland - lands that had supposedly been explored by
Gunnbjorn (explorer). Nearly a century earlier, Gunnbjorn had been swayed by harsh winds towards a land he called "Gunnbjarnarsker" ("Gunnbjörn's skerries"). Gunnbjorn's accidental discovery pushed him aside in the history of Greenland and Erik the Red has been dubbed the genuine discoverer.
Even though popular history credits Erik as the founder of Greenland, he was not the first to discover it nor the first to try to settle it. Before him was Gunnbjorn Ulf-Krakuson who is credited with first sighting the land mass and after him came Snæbjorn Galti. According to records from the time, Galti was the first Norseman to try to colonize Greenland, an attempt that ended in disaster. Then on the timeline comes Erik who traveled around the southern tip of the island, soon to be called
Cape Farewell, and eventually reached a part of the coast that, for the most part, was devoid of any ice and subsequently had conditions similar to those of Norway that promised growth and prosperity. According to
The Saga of Eric the Red, he spent his three years of exile exploring this land. The first winter, he spent on the island of Eiriksey, the second winter he had time in Eiriksholmar which was close to Hvarfsgnipa and the final summer, he explored as far north as Snaefell and in to Hrafnsfjord. When Erik returned to Iceland after his term of banishment, he brought with him stories of "Groenland". Erik purposely gave the land a more appealing name than Iceland to lure potential settlers. He explained, "people would be attracted to go there if it had a favourable name". This was ultimately done, though, to gain favor among people, as he knew full well that in order for Greenland to be successful, he needed the support of as many people as possible. His salesmanship proved successful as many people (especially "those
Vikings living on poor land in Iceland" and those that had suffered a "recent
famine") were convinced that Greenland held great opportunity.
After spending the winter in Iceland, Erik returned to Greenland in
985 with a large number of
colonists and established two colonies on its west coast: the Eastern Settlement, which he named
Eystribyggð, in modern day Julianhåb, and the Western Settlement,
Vestribyggð, close to present-day Godthåb. Eventually, a Middle Settlement was established, but many people suggest this settlement was part of the Western Settlement. The Eastern and Western Settlements, both of which were actually on the southwest coast, proved to be the only two areas suitable for farming. During the summer when the weather conditions were more conducive to travel, each settlement would send a band of men to hunt in
Disko Bay above the Arctic Circle for food and other valuable commodities such as
seal (used for
rope),
ivory from tusks, and beached
whales if they happened to be so lucky. In these expeditions, they probably encountered the
Inuit (Eskimo) people, who had not yet moved into southern Greenland.
For much of the time that the Norse were present on Greenland, they had a very tough life that demanded finding a balance between maintaining population-levels and finding enough food and supplies to survive. Most of the time they had just enough supplies to continue their societies. Despite Norse's constant struggle with their surroundings, at Norse Greenland's peak the inhabitants "numbered around 4000". The Eastern Settlement had around "190 small farms, 12 parish churches, a cathedral, an Augustinian monastery and a Benedictine nunnery." Even though smaller than the Eastern Settlement, the Western Settlement still had "90 farms and four churches," while the smallest Middle Settlement had only around "20 farms." Despite enjoying what some might consider a reasonable amount of time on Greenland in conjunction with varying times of successes and failures, the Norse settlement in Greenland was not to last.
Jared Diamond gives a rationale for this, as have others. He argues a five step process that explains the collapse of civilizations and offers Greenland as an example of this process.
The Norse had found a "virgin" piece of land that they altered in ways they believed would bring the greatest reward but which in fact damaged their environment. Then too, they had been away from familiar peoples for so long that most of their friendships and alliances had fallen away, hurting some of their trading and eventual protection; this process was hastened by political changes in Europe. Perhaps more significant, a change in climate in the North Atlantic led to an increase in sea ice, making communication with Europe difficult, and bringing the
Inuit down from northern Greenland to regular contact with the Norse, leading to violence between the races. Finally, and most importantly, the Norse failed to adapt fully to their surroundings. They clung too much to the ways of life that had been so familiar to them and was ultimately unavailable to them from Greenland.
Despite the apparent failures toward the end of the Greenland colonies, the colonies' importance must not be forgotten, as they marked one of the great stepping stones in Norse expansion and exploration.
In Eystribyggð, Erik built the
estate Brattahlíð, near present-day
Narsarsuaq, for himself. He held the title of
paramount chieftain of Greenland and became both greatly respected and wealthy. The settlement venture involved twenty-five
ships, fourteen of which made the journey successfully; of the other eleven, some turned back, while others were lost at sea.
The settlement flourished, growing to over 3000 inhabitants spread over a considerable area along Eriksfjord and neighboring
fjords. The original party was joined by groups of
immigrants escaping overcrowding in Iceland. However, one group of immigrants that arrived in
1002 brought with it an
epidemic that ravaged the colony, killing many of its leading
citizens, including Erik in the winter of
1003 . Nevertheless, the colony rebounded and survived until the
Little Ice Age made the land marginal for Europeans in the
15th century, shortly before
Christopher Columbus's voyage in
1492.
Pirate raids, conflict with
Inuit moving into the Norse territories, and the colony's abandonment by Norway were other factors in its decline.
History records that Erik and his wife Þjóðhildr (Thorhild) had four children: a daughter,
Freydís, and three sons, the
explorer Leif Eiríksson,
Þorvald (Thorvald) and
Þorsteinn (Thorstein). Erik himself remained a
pagan, unlike his son Leif and wife, who built the first
Christian church in the Americas on their farm (though despite speculation, it is unlikely that Leif was the first to bring
Christianity to Greenland). His son Leif became the first Viking to explore the land of
Vinland (
North America). Leif invited his father on the voyage but according to legend Erik fell off his
horse on his way to the ship and took this as a bad sign, leaving his son to continue without his company. Erik died the winter after his son's departure. His wife Þjóðhildr may have converted him on his deathbed.
*
Clan Morrison*
Erik the Red's Land*
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online*
"The Fate of Greenland's Vikings"
