Maps and Exploration

Erik the Red

Erik Thorvaldsson (c. 950 – c. 1003), known as Erik the Red (Norwegian: Eirik Raude), was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. He most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color of his hair and beard. According to Icelandic sagas, Erik was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson. When Thorvald was banished from Norway, the family sailed west to Iceland. During Erik's life in Iceland, he married Þjódhild Jorundsdottir and had four children, including Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson. Around the year of 982, Erik was exiled from Iceland for three years, during which time he explored Greenland, eventually culminating in his founding of the first successful European settlement on the island. Erik died there around 1003 CE during a winter epidemic.

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See also

• ▸Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications
• ▸Architecture of Poland
• ▸Amador Valley High School

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