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Leif Erikson (c. 970 – c. 1020) First European Explorer of North America

Leif Eriksson statue in Reykjavik, Iceland
Eric the Red Statue, Greenland
Erik the Red (Eiríkur rauði). Woodcut frontispiece from the 1688 Icelandic publication of Arngrímur Jónsson’s Gronlandia (Greenland). Fiske Icelandic Collection.
Reenactment at L’Anse aux Meadows. Photo: Joyce Hill
Erik the Red’s farm located in Brattahlío

Erik the Red (c. 950 – c. 1003) was exiled from both Norway, his homeland, and later Iceland for conduct befitting a murderous Viking. With no other choice, he set sail on a westward voyage for territoire inconnu with Leif and his two other sons. In 985 he and his ships eventually reached the south coast of Greenland to establish the first European settlement upon landing there.

In 1398 their cousin Scottish Earl Henry Sinclair (1345 – 1404) and his fleet of eighteen ships set sail for the New World. Laden with Templar treasure with 300 colonists aboard, the fleet made landfall first at Greenland before reaching Nova Scotia. A contingent of Templars later landed in Rhode Island. Newport Tower they constructed is a replica of the baptistry of Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is the only visible footprint of the Templar’s 14th-century presence in North America since only the footings of Sinclair Castle remain in Nova Scotia. The castle was constructed by the Earl and his Templar brethren.

Related ancestral blog articles

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Leif Erikson

Birth c. 970 in Iceland

Death c. 1020 in Greenland

agnatic descendant of Sigge “Odin” Fridulfsson of Asgard (50 BC – 30 AD) 1st King of Scandinavia 

FamilySearch

Fab Pedigree

Britannica

SOURCES

The Saga of Eric the Red

The Story of Leif Erikson

10 of the Most Famous Vikings

Twelve Great Viking Leaders

Erik the Red: The Norse Explorer who Settled Greenland

Vikings Americas 500 years Christopher-Columbus-study claims

Evidence of Vikings in North America

Eric “The Red” Britannica

YouTube videos

Erik the Red:The Saga of Viking Greenland

Leif Ericson

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Saga Six Pack – Beowulf, The Prose Edda, Gunnlaug The Worm-Tongue, Eric The Red, The Sea Fight and Sigurd The Volsung (Illustrated)

Erik the Red

Eric the Red and Leif the Lucky

Leif Eriksson (On My Own Biography)

Leif Erikson: A Captivating Guide to the Viking Explorer Who Beat Columbus to America and Established a Norse Settlement at Vinland (Northmen)

Who Was Leif Erikson?

The Greenlanders Saga

The Patricians, A Genealogical Study – Ebook Editions US$5.95

Author at Harrod’s Deli – London

Steven Wood Collins (1952 – ) Antiquarian, Genealogist, Novelist 

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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