III.

Tale of the Greenlanders

A different story is told in Tale of the Greenlanders, a saga that modern scholars believe is older and more reliable than the Saga of Erik the Red. According to Tale of the Greenlanders, an Icelandic trader named Bjarni Herjólfsson was the first European to sight land in North America. Some years later, Leif bought Bjarni's ship and, based on his description, retraced the voyage shortly after 1000. As he sailed, he reached what he called Helluland (perhaps Baffin Island) and Markland (perhaps Labrador) before finding Vinland.

Leif and his crew built shelters and stayed in Vinland for a year or two before returning to Greenland. Leif lent his ship to his brother Thorvald for further exploration of Vinland where, according to some sagas, Thorvald was killed by Native Americans.