Saga of Erik the Red

Graphical description of the different sailing routes to Greenland, Vinland (Newfoundland), Helluland (Baffin Island), and Markland (Labrador) travelled by different Viking characters in the Icelandic Sagas, primarily the Saga of Erik the Red and Saga of the Greenlanders.

The Saga of Erik the Red, in Old Norse: Eiríks saga rauða (listen), is an Icelandic saga on the Norse exploration of North America. The original saga is thought to have been written in the 13th century. It is preserved in somewhat different versions in two manuscripts: Hauksbók (14th century) and Skálholtsbók (15th century).

Despite its title, the saga mainly chronicles the life and expedition of Thorfinn Karlsefni and his wife Gudrid, also recounted in the Saga of the Greenlanders.[1] For this reason it was formerly also called Þorfinns saga karlsefnis;[2] Árni Magnússon wrote that title in the blank space at the top of the saga in Hauksbók.[3] It also details the events that led to the banishment of Erik the Red to Greenland and the preaching of Christianity by his son Leif Erikson as well as his discovery of Vinland after his longship was blown off course.

  1. ^ Oleson, T.J. (1979) [1966]. "Thorfinnr Karlsefni Thordarson". In Brown, George Williams (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. I (1000–1700) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  2. ^ Halldór Hermannsson, "Eiríks saga rauða or Þorfinns saga karlsefnis ok Snorra Þorbrandssonar", Bibliography of the Icelandic Sagas and Minor Tales, Islandica 1, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Libraries, 1908, OCLC 604126691, p. 16.
  3. ^ Her hefr upp sǫgu þeirra Þorfinnz Karlsefnis oc Snorra Þorbrandzsonar, "Here begins the saga of Thorfinn Karlsefni and Snorri Thorbrandsson"; Arthur Middleton Reeves, (ed. and trans.), The Saga of Eric the Red, also Called the Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefni and Snorri Thorbrandsson, The Finding of Wineland the Good: The History of the Icelandic Discovery of America, London: Henry Frowde, 1890, OCLC 461045740, pp. 21–22.

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