The next Viking we hear about is Leif Eriksson, the son of Erik the Red, and his voyage to Vinland.

click here to listen to a Real Audio reading of Part II "Leif Eriksson"

MONK
Bjarni must have felt foolish.

THORFINN
That, I couldn't say. But of course there was much discussion of who would go next. Let me tell the tale!

MONK
Excuse me. I am sorry. Please go on.

THORFINN
But, other people then took up the adventure. Next to try was Leif, son of Erik the Red--"Leif the Lucky," as he came to be known--the man who brought the Christian faith to Greenland. Many tales are told about Leif Eriksson.

Leif bought Bjarni's ship from him, and sailed from Greenland with a large crew. They went first to the place Bjarni had seen last, and each time, Leif went ashore and gave the land a name:

The first place he named "Helluland," which means "flat rock," because it was slab stone from glacier to sea. The second place was flat and forested, with sandy beaches. Leif said, "For what it has to offer, I'll name this place "Markland" (meaning "forest land.")

At sea again, pushed by a northeast wind, it was two days before they spotted land. They went ashore. And when they tasted the dew upon the grass, it seemed they had never tasted anything so sweet. Then they sailed to where a river flowed into the sea. They landed there, and built large houses, and spent their time exploring everywhere. The land was very good. The temperature never fell below freezing, and the animals needed no winter fodder, since the grass did not die. Both lake and river were full of enormous salmon. Here the days and nights were more equal than at home either in Iceland or Greenland. In the depth of winter the sun was there at mid-morning, and still there at mid-afternoon.

Tyrker the German was one of the crew. Now, one day he returned from exploring alone and announced that he had found grapes! Leif then named the land for its natural features: he called it "Vinland." The men all set to work. When they returned to Greenland, they drew behind them a boat filled with grapes.

MONK
Thorfinn, you've told me about Leif Eriksson, and the grapes he brought back. But I have heard that there were strange people there, and that the Vikings…

THORFINN
You mean the skraelings, the natives of the land. No, Leif and his men did not meet them. But others did. The next voyager was Leif's brother Thorvald. In the same ship that Leif had travelled in, Thorvald sailed to Vinland and wintered in Leif's Camp.

Next summer, they explored to the west. The land was fine, with forests near the beaches. They wintered again at Leif's Camp. In the second summer, they explored to the northeast, and found a beach where 9 skraeling were asleep under 3 canoes. The Norse killed all but one skraeling. Then they saw, in the distance, a number of hillocks. They thought, "Those must be settlements." They were right.

Soon a vast number of hide-covered boats came down the fjord, shooting arrows at them. Thorvald was hit. He pulled the arrow out and said, "That was a fat belly. We have found a land of fine resources, though we'll hardly enjoy much of them!" Then Thorvald died, and was buried on the spot, in a place they called "Krossanes" (which means "Cross Point").

In the spring, loaded with grapes and grapevines, they sailed back to Greenland, with many tales to tell. The next to go was Thorstein, another son of Erik. He wanted to retrieve Thorvald's body. But he became lost, and sailed around all summer, gaining nothing. Upon his return to Greenland, Thorstein died. (continue to Part III "Karlsefni and Gudrid"...)

Part I "Erik the Red" | Part II "Leif Eriksson" | Part III "Karlsefni and Gudrid"