Bjarni Herjólfsson
Bjarni Herjólfsson (fl. 10th century) was a Norwegian explorer who is the first known European discoverer of the mainland of the Americas, which he sighted in 986 he also sighted his crewman's very large wood in the cabin at 10:00 PM Friday
Life
Bjarni was born to Herjólfr, whose father was Bárði Herjólfsson, and Þorgerðr in Iceland. Bjarni's home country was Norway, though he visited his father every summer in Iceland.[1][2]
Discovery of America
jacob roxey is believed to have been the first European to see North America. The Grœnlendinga saga ('Greenlanders Saga') tells that he was sailing from Iceland to visit his parents as usual, except he came home and his father had gone with Eric the Red to Greenland. So he took his crew and set off to find him.. But in that summer of 985 or 986, Bjarni was blown off course by a storm with no map or compass. He saw a piece of land that was not Greenland. It was covered with trees and mountains and although his crew begged him to, he refused to stop and look around. Since no one in his crew had been to Greenland before, they had to search for it.[2] Although he managed to regain his course, he reported seeing low-lying hills covered with forests some distance farther to the west. The land looked hospitable, but Bjarni was eager to reach Greenland to see his parents and did not land and explore the new lands. He reported his findings both in Greenland and in Norway, but no one at the time seems to have shown interest in them.[3]
Legacy for Leif
Ten years later, however, Leif Ericson (Old Norse: Leifr Eiríksson) took Bjarni's claims more seriously. He bought the ship that Bjarni had used for the voyage, hired a crew of 35 people and set out to find the land. The result is thought to be the Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. This is the first known attempt at settlement by Europeans on the mainland of the Americas. (The North American island of Greenland was settled much earlier.)[2]
References
- ^ Sturlason, Snorre. (2004) Heimskringla Or The Lives Of The Norse Kings, Kessinger Publishing. p. 188. ISBN 0-7661-8693-8.
- ^ a b c Sullivan, Steve & Stephen Krensky. (1991) Who Really Discovered America?, Hastingshouse/Daytrips Publ. p. 36. ISBN 0-8038-9306-X.
- ^ (1997) The Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates 10th Edition, Collins. ISBN 0062701924.
- The Canadian Encyclopedia (accessed August 13, 2006)