Viking Explorers: How Norse Seafarers Discovered North America Before Columbus

The Vikings, or Norse, originated in Denmark and Norway. They came to be renowned throughout Europe for their warlike nature and their sailing prowess and were sometimes called “heathen wizards” because of this. Initially, they sought only plunder but sometimes formed permanent settlements. By the eighth century CE, Vikings had established colonies in various parts of Europe, including Normandy in northern France, Sicily in the Mediterranean, and Russia. They also expanded westward, reaching Scotland and Ireland as well as the Orkney, Shetland, and Faroe Islands. The Vikings used the stars for navigating, but also used sun shadow-boards, which allowed them to travel along a single line of latitude so that they could sail directly west, for example.

The Vikings reached Iceland in 873, found it uninhabited, and established their own colony there. It was remote from Viking centers of power in Denmark and Norway and became a rather lawless place. One of the early settlers, Eric the Red (c. 950-c. 1003 CE), was eventually exiled from Iceland; with his followers he sailed west, reaching Greenland, and established a new Viking colony there. The name Greenland may have reflected the actual appearance of the land, as southern Greenland was then much warmer than it is today, but is more likely to be a marketing ploy designed to encourage further settlement.

The Vikings continued their westward expansion, and under Eric the Red’s son Leif (known as Leif Erikson, c. 970-c. 1020) reached what is today known as Canada around 1000 CE. Leif explored Canadian islands and eventually reached the island of Newfoundland (and perhaps farther south). Leif named this new land Vinland after the abundance of wild grapes found growing there. He then returned to Greenland, but his brother Thorvald (Thorvald Eriksson, c. 972-c. 1006) made a second voyage to Newfoundland, this time encountering the indigenous Inuit population. After killing several Inuit, Thorvald’s ship was attacked by them, forcing him to return to Greenland. A further attempt to explore the region was an expedition led by Thorfinn Karlsefni (980-c. 1010) in 1009, who with three ships founded a colony in Newfoundland. Later, one member of this expedition, Thorhall, sailed north in one of the ships to explore but was blown off course by a storm and ended up reaching Ireland, making this perhaps the first direct crossing from North America to Europe from west to east.

The last Viking expedition to North America was led by Eric the Red’s daughter Freydis (c. 970-?). This voyage also resulted in conflicts with the native Inuit, and the Vikings decided to concentrate their efforts in Greenland rather than continuing to explore and settle Vinland in North America. Thus, Viking exploratory efforts in North America were abandoned, and little, if any, knowledge of this continent reached the rest of Europe.