Erik the Red Erik Thorvaldsson ( ; 950 – c . 1003 ) , known as Erik the Red ( ) , is remembered in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland . The Icelandic tradition indicates that he was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland , Norway , as the son of Þorvald Ásvaldsson , he therefore also appears , patronymic ally , as Erik Thorvaldsson ( " Eiríkr Þorvaldsson " ) . The appellation " the Red " most likely refers to his hair color and the color of his beard . Leif Ericson , the famous Icelandic explorer , was Erik ' s son . Exile . Erik the Red ' s father was banished from Norway for the crime of manslaughter . He sailed West from Norway with his family and settled in Hornstrandir in northwestern Iceland . The Icelanders later sentenced Erik to exile for three years due to " some killings " he committed around the year 982 . After marrying Thjodhild ( " Þjóðhildr " ) , he moved to Haukadal ( Hawksdale ) where he built a farm . The initial confrontation happened when his thrall s started a landslide on the neighboring farm belonging to Valthjof ( " Valþjófr " ) . Valthjof ' s friend , Eyiolf the Foul ( " Eyjólfr saurr " ) , killed the thralls . In return , Erik killed Eyjiolf and Holmgang - Hrafn ( " Hólmgöngu - Hrafn " ) . Eyiolf ' s kinsmen demanded his banishment from Haukadal . Erik then moved to the island of Öxney ( Iceland ) . He asked Thorgest ( Þórgestr ) to keep his " setstokkr " , inherited ornamented beams of significant mystical value , which his father had brought from Norway . When he had finished his new house , he went back to get them , but they " could not be obtained " . Erik then went to Breidabolstad and took them . These are likely to have been Thorgest ' s " setstokkr " , although the sagas are unclear at this point . Thorgest gave chase , and in the ensuing fight Erik slew both Thorgest ' s sons and " a few other men " . After this each of them retained a considerable body of men with him at his home . Styr gave Erik his support , as did also Eyiolf of Sviney , Thorbjiorn , Vifil ' s son , and the sons of Thorbrand of Alptafirth ; while Thorgest was backed by the sons of Thord the Yeller , and Thorgeir of Hitardal , Aslak of Langadal and his son Illugi . The dispute was resolved at an assembly , the Thing , with the result that Erik was outlawed for three years . Discoveries . Even though popular history credits Erik as the first person to discover Greenland , the Icelandic sagas suggest that earlier Norsemen discovered and tried to settle it before him . Tradition credits Gunnbjörn Ulfsson ( also known as Gunnbjörn Ulf - Krakuson ) with the first sighting of the land - mass . Nearly a century before Erik , strong winds had driven Gunnbjörn towards a land he called " Gunnbjarnarsker " ( " Gunnbjörn ' s skerries " ) . But the accidental nature of Gunnbjörn ' s discovery has led to his neglect in the history of Greenland . After Gunnbjörn , Snaebjörn Galti had also visited Greenland . According to records from the time , Galti headed the first Norse attempt to colonize Greenland , which ended in disaster . Erik the Red was the first " permanent " European settler . In this context , about 982 , Erik sailed to a somewhat mysterious and little - known land . He rounded the southern tip of the island ( later known as Cape Farewell ) and sailed up the western coast . He eventually reached a part of the coast that , for the most part , seemed ice - free and consequently had conditions — similar to those of Iceland — that promised growth and future prosperity . According to the " Saga of Erik the Red " , he spent his three years of exile exploring this land . The first winter he spent on the island of Eiriksey , the second winter he passed in Eiriksholmar ( close to Hvarfsgnipa ) . In the final summer he explored as far north as Snaefell and into Hrafnsfjord . When Erik returned to Iceland after his exile had expired , he is said to have brought with him stories of " Greenland " . Erik deliberately gave the land a more appealing name than " Iceland " in order to lure potential settlers . He explained , " people would be attracted to go there if it had a favorable name " . He knew that the success of any settlement in Greenland would need the support of as many people as possible . His salesmanship proved successful , as many people ( especially " those Vikings living on poor land in Iceland " and those that had suffered a " recent famine " ) became convinced that Greenland held great opportunity . After spending the winter in Iceland , Erik returned to Greenland in 985 with a large number of colonists and established two colonies on its southwest coast : the Eastern Settlement or Eystribyggð , in modern - day Qaqortoq , and the Western Settlement or Vestribyggð , close to present - day Nuuk . ( Eventually , a Middle Settlement grew , but many people suggest it formed part of the Western Settlement . ) The Eastern and Western Settlements , both established on the southwest coast , proved the only two areas suitable for farming . During the summers , when the weather favored travel more , each settlement would send an army of men to hunt in Disko Bay above the Arctic Circle for food and other valuable commodities such as seals ( used for rope ) , ivory from Walrus tusks , and beached whale s . Eystribyggð . In Eystribyggð or Eastern Settlement , Erik built the estate Brattahlíð , near present - day Narsarsuaq . He held the title of paramount chieftain of Greenland and became both greatly respected and wealthy . The settlement venture involved 25 ships , 14 of which made the journey successfully ; of the other 11 , some turned back , while others disappeared at sea . The settlement flourished , growing to 5000 inhabitants spread over a considerable area along Eriksfjord and neighboring fjords . Groups of immigrants escaping overcrowding in Iceland joined the original party . However , one group of immigrants which arrived in 1002 brought with it an epidemic that ravaged the colony , killing many of its leading citizen s , including Erik himself . Nevertheless , the colony rebounded and survived until the Little Ice Age made the land marginal for European life - styles in the 15th century ( shortly before Christopher Columbus ' s first voyage to the Americas in 1492 ) . Pirate raids , conflict with Inuit moving into the Norse territories , and the colony ' s abandonment by Norway became other factors in its decline . Descendants . Medieval Icelandic tradition relates that Erik the Red and his wife Þjóðhildr ( Thjodhildr ) had four children : a daughter , Freydís , and three sons , the explorer Leif Eiríksson , Þorvaldr ( Thorvald ) and Þorsteinn ( Thorstein ) . Erik himself remained a follower of Norse paganism , unlike his son Leif and Leif ' s wife , who became Christians . Thjothhild was the daughter of Jørundur Ulfsson and Thorbjørg Gilsdottir ( from whom Gilsfjørd is named ) . Jørund ' s mother Bjørg was granddaughter to Irish king Cerball mac Dúnlainge ( Kjarval ) through his daughter Rafarta . While not the first to sight the North American continent , Leif Erikson became the first Viking to explore the land of Vinland ( part of North America , probably near modern - day Newfoundland ) . Leif invited his father on the voyage , but according to legend , Erik fell off his horse on his way to the ship and took this as a bad sign , leaving his son to continue without his company . Erik died the winter after his son ' s departure . There is no evidence that Leif was aware of his father ' s death until he got back to Greenland . Comparisons to Grœnlendinga Saga . There are numerous parallels to the Grœnlendinga saga , including recurring characters and recounts of the same expeditions , although with a few notable differences . The saga of Erik the Red presents a number of the expeditions in the Grœnlendinga saga as just one expedition led by Thorfinnr Karlsefni , although Thorvaldr Eiríksson , Freydís Eiríkssdóttir and Karlsefni ' s wife Guðríðr play key roles in the retelling . Another notable difference is the location of their settlements . In the Grœnlendinga saga , Karlsefni and the others settle in a place that is only referred to as Vinland , while in Erik the Red ' s Saga , they form two base settlements : Straumfjǫrðr where they spend winter and the following spring , and Hop , where they later settle and run into problems with the natives , as depicted in the Grœnlendinga saga . Otherwise , the tales are largely similar , both with heavy focuses on the exploits of Thorfinnr Karlsefni and his wife Guðríðr .