During the Viking Age, the Norse were a dynamic blend of warriors, explorers, and farmers. Medieval chronicles recount that when Norway was unified for the first time under King Harald Fairhair, heavy taxes on farmers prompted many to seek new opportunities elsewhere. Viking expansion can be traced to two key social factors: an inheritance law favoring the eldest son and the scarcity of available land in Scandinavia. As settlements grew denser, younger sons had little choice but to venture beyond established borders, seeking to carve out their own fortunes.
In the culture of the time, personal daring, physical endurance, and a readiness to take risks were held in high regard. By the 8th century, advances in shipbuilding provided the technology for ambitious voyages, allowing the Norse to journey to the farthest reaches of the known world and establish colonies there. Ingólfr Arnarson is traditionally recognized as the first permanent Norse settler of Iceland. Some settlers simply claimed land, others purchased it, and a few may have taken it from earlier settlers through holmgang duels.
According to Ari Þorgilsson, Iceland’s foremost medieval chronicler, the country was fully settled by the year 930. At the beginning of the 10th century, the seafarer Gunnbjörn Ulfsson journeyed from Norway to Iceland, but his ship was blown off course and drifted toward Greenland’s western coast, likely near Cape Farewell. He encountered a bleak, iceberg-covered landscape and chose not to land. Another early attempt to settle Greenland came from Snæbjörn Galti, who, according to a now-lost saga, led the first Norse attempt to colonize the island.
That expedition ended in failure due to unforgiving hardships during the winter. As a result, Erik the Red is often credited as the first successful settler of Greenland. Erik, whose fiery temper led to his banishment from Iceland, used his exile as an opportunity to explore the seas. Around the year 982, he sailed to Greenland, a land previously visited by Snæbjörn but abandoned due to brutal conditions.
After rounding Cape Farewell, Erik found a part of the island with a more hospitable climate, similar to Iceland, and deemed it suitable for settlement. When he returned to Iceland, he spoke of his discoveries and, with charismatic salesmanship, renamed the land “Greenland” to make it more appealing to potential settlers. In the year 985, Erik returned to Greenland with a group of settlers. Of the 25 ships that set out, only 14 arrived, yet they established two colonies, one in the eastern and one in the western part of the island.
Although Erik’s son Leif is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental America, he was not the first European to discover Vinland. That distinction belongs to Bjarni Herjólfsson, who, while en route from Iceland to Greenland, was blown off course by wind and fog. Bjarni sighted an unknown coast but, mistakenly thinking it was part of Greenland, did not land. Upon returning to Iceland, he shared his tale, which sparked the interest of Leif Erikson.
Leif purchased Bjarni’s ship and gathered a crew, retracing Bjarni’s route. He arrived first at a barren, rocky shore that he named Helluland, likely Baffin Island. Continuing south, Leif found a forested region known as Markland. Further exploration led him to a lush area he named Vinland, owing to the discovery of vines and grapes by his companion.
In Vinland, Leif and his crew built a small settlement and spent the winter there before returning to Greenland in the spring with a cargo of timber and grapes. The successful voyage earned Leif the nickname “Leif the Lucky,” though he never returned to Vinland. Later expeditions from Greenland and Iceland would continue, and a few daring explorers would attempt to settle there. When the Vikings set foot in Iceland, they encountered a land untouched by human hands.
Similarly, when they reached Greenland, they found an equally desolate landscape. It wasn’t until the 13th century that the Thule Inuit were recorded as having landed in Greenland. While Leif Erikson himself had no direct contact with the indigenous peoples of Vinland, later Norse explorers did, referring to them as skrælings, an ancient term meaning “wretches. ”
The Saga of Erik the Red offers a vivid description of the native peoples of Vinland.
The first encounter took place during a colonizing expedition led by Þorfinn Karlsefni, accompanied by Leif’s brother Thorvald. The saga recounts that they established a settlement above a lake, with some dwellings further inland and others closer to the water. They remained there through the winter, where the land was free of snow and cattle grazed without needing herders. As spring dawned, they saw a fleet of hide canoes approaching from the south so numerous that the sea seemed dotted with bits of charcoal.
A market was soon formed between the two peoples. The natives favored red cloth, which they exchanged for furs. They also wanted to buy swords and lances, but Karlsefni forbade such trade. The encounter turned ominous when a bull belonging to Karlsefni’s group charged from the woods, bellowing loudly.
Terrified, the skrælings fled to their canoes and disappeared for three weeks. When they returned, they came in overwhelming numbers, their canoes crowding the shore, their weapons raised threateningly, and the air filled with war cries. The two groups clashed, exchanging a barrage of missiles. The skrælings had war slings, and soon Karlsefni’s company saw them advancing with long poles, each bearing a large dark ball.
The balls flew through the air, crashing to the ground with a deafening noise. This struck fear into the Norsemen, and outnumbered, they retreated inland, eventually reaching a rocky outcrop where they made a stand. At this moment, Freydís, the daughter of Erik the Red, emerged and scolded the men: “Why do you flee from such worthless creatures, stout men that ye are, when I am sure you could defeat them as easily as cattle? Let me have a weapon, and I will fight better than any of you.
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Her words were ignored, but she pursued them nonetheless. Soon she found the body of Þorbrand Snorrason, his skull crushed by a flat stone. Armed with his sword, she prepared to defend herself when the skrælings came upon her. She raised her tunic, striking her breast with the sword.
The natives, frightened by this act, fled back to their boats and disappeared. Karlsefni and his men praised her bravery, though the conflict had left two of their own dead and four of the skrælings dead. Realizing they could never settle peacefully in Vinland while the natives were hostile, Karlsefni and his group decided to depart. As they sailed north, they came upon five skrælings near the shore.
These natives were dressed in skins and carried a chest containing animal marrow mixed with blood, suggesting they were outcasts. The Norsemen killed them. Continuing to explore, they encountered more skrælings, including one bearded man, two women, and two children. The Norsemen captured the children, taught them their language, and baptized them.
The children spoke of their people’s rulers and kings and described a land where people lived in caves and holes. Ultimately, the Vikings returned to Greenland and never settled in Vinland. The other account of the native peoples of Vinland is found in the Saga of the Greenlanders. It tells of Thorvald Erikson’s journey, another son of Erik the Red and brother to Leif.
Thorvald and his men readied their ship and set sail, arriving at Leif’s established settlement in Vinland. They safely docked and spent a pleasant winter surviving on fish. In the spring, Thorvald went exploring and sailed west, finding no signs of human habitation except for one corn shed. The next summer, Thorvald made explorations east and north of their camp.
At some point, the explorers disembarked into a pleasant, forested area. Bringing their ship close and setting a plank out to shore, Thorvald and his men went inland, remarking, “Here it is beautiful, and here I would like to build my dwelling. ” However, as they returned to their ships, they discovered three skin boats and nine men. The Vikings divided their group, capturing eight of the men while one escaped in his canoe.
They then killed the eight captives and returned to the cape to survey their surroundings. The skrælings soon returned with a larger force to attack Thorvald and his men, shooting a barrage of missiles and arrows at them. Thorvald received a fatal wound and was buried in Vinland, as he had instructed. His companions erected a cross upon his grave.
The sagas tell of the Vikings’ first encounters with the natives of Vinland, which were fraught with violence and animosity, often erupting into brutal conflict. These hostile interactions ultimately compelled Karlsefni to abandon his settlement, as even the smallest provocation seemed capable of igniting a fierce battle. As a result, the Norsemen never returned to Vinland, their dreams of settlement shattered. The Saga of Erik the Red, thought to have been composed in the 13th century, was written nearly two centuries after the discovery of Vinland.
Scholars have long debated the authenticity and historical accuracy of the tales within it. The exact date of composition of the Saga of the Greenlanders remains a topic of discussion, with some suggesting it was written at the dawn of the 13th century, while others place it later in the century or even in the 14th century. The name Vinland first appears in written records in the work of Adam of Bremen in the year 1075.
Given the adventurous spirit of the Norse as both raiders and explorers, their successful settlement of distant lands, and the reference to Vinland in the sagas and by Adam of Bremen, many find it plausible that the Norse reached Vinland, where their encounters with the natives were likely marked by violence and conflict.