Eriksson



__ **Leif Eriksson- Viking Explorer**  __

**__ Inroduction and Background __**   **Leif Eriksson was a Viking who was born in Greenland at around 980 AD. He had two (or more) brothers, Thorvald and Thorstein, and a sister, Freydis, and he was the oldest child. His siblings went on expeditions of their own, all of them to the places previously discovered by their big brother.He was a Norwegian Explorer and was converted to Christianity in about 1000 AD. His father was another famous Viking, Erik the Red. When he was two years old, his father took their family to Greenland, Brattahild, now known as Kagsiarsuk. His mother built the first church in Greenland after, like her son, being converted into Christianity. Leif himself was converted into Christianity in Norway in about 1000 by the Norweigan king Olaf the 1st Tryggvason. He then sailed to Greenland to spread the faith.**  **  __Purpose__

His purpose was to find the land which Bjarni Herjolfsson had seen. In their Viking settlement in Greenland, people were disappointed in Herjolfsson because they thought that he should have went and explored the land. Leif thought that he would go there and explore, and after that, if there was good climate, food, water, and other nececities, he would go back to Greenland to get enough Norsemen to start a settlement there. **  **   __ Route __media type="custom" key="694779" He and his crew of 35 men sailed westward from Greenland, then south. They landed, stayed awhile, explored, and then sailed back to Greenland. Eriksson's route is in black. Red arrows and green pins mark where he explored. __ Hardships Faced __

He and his crew did not know where to go, since they did not have maps. They were just vaguely following the route Herjolfsson said he took. There were storms at sea, as always. __ Other Notable Occurances __

Leif earned his nickname, "Leif the Lucky", when he sighted and rescued a shipwrecked crew of 15. If L'anse Aux Meadows was Vinland, Leif Eriksson might have lived here with about 80 other Norsemen. __ Another Story of Leif Eriksson __

In 1000 AD Leif sailed from Greenland to Norway. In Norway he was converted to Christianity by King Olaf 1 Tryggvason. On his return trip his ship sailed off course. He landed in North America in a place called Vinland, or Wineland. Historians believed he landed somewhere on the northern tip of Newfoundland on the straight of Bell Isle. __ Historical Contributions __ He was the first European to reach North America. He found the land Herjolfsson saw, and also discovered two more places. He called the places "Helluland", meaning Flat-Stone Land, which we now know as Baffin Island, "Markland", meaning Woodland, which is now Labrador, and "Vinland", meaning land of wine, now known as Newfoundland. ** media type="surveygizmo" key="0PZ6W12C8MN19Q0H2RYBG9NRK5376H-44353" width="700" height="500" **By: Alexandra, Anujan, Kate, and Colin** - http://www.percyisland.com.au/European_Explorers.jpg -ship picture - Leif Eriksson. Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2003. eLibrary. Proquest CSA. BAYVIEW GLEN SCHOOL. 02   Apr 2008. < [|http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/curriculumca> -info "Vikings in the North 985-1020 (circa)." Map. Cartographica. 2006. eLibrary. Proquest CSA. BAYVIEW GLEN SCHOOL. 02 Apr 2008. < [|http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/curriculumca>.
 * __//Bibliography//__**

Livesey, Robert and A.G. Smith. __The Vikings.__ Toronto: Stoddart Kids, 1999. -American School, (19th century). "The Discovery of America by Leif Eriksson (fl.1000)." 01 Oct 2004. Bridgeman. eLibrary. Proquest CSA. BAYVIEW GLEN SCHOOL. 08 Apr 2008. < [|http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/curriculumca>. Krohg, Christian (1852-1925). "Leif Eriksson (10th century) sights land in America, 1893." 01 Oct 2004. Bridgeman. eLibrary. Proquest CSA. BAYVIEW GLEN SCHOOL. 08 Apr 2008. < [|http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/curriculumca>. Owens, Ann-Maureen, Yealland, Jane. __The Kids Book Of Canadian Exploration.__ Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2004.

Arnold, Phyllis, Gibbs , Betty. __Canada Revisited 6.__ Edmonton: Arnold Publishing, 1999.