I.

Introduction

Leif Eriksson (975-1020), Icelandic explorer thought to have been one of the first Europeans to set foot on North American soil. His name is also spelled Erikson, Ericsson, or Eiriksson. He was the second son of Erik the Red, who in about 985 established the first European settlement on Greenland after he was exiled from Iceland. Leif Erkisson’s story was recorded by several Icelandic writers in the 13th and 14th centuries, but the accounts which they give differ so greatly that it is not possible to be certain of the details of Leif’s career.