Erik the Red

by Earle Rice Jr.

Few people recall the name of Eirik Thorvaldsson, who began life in Jaederen, Norway, around 950. When he was nine years old, his father killed a man or maybe two and was forced to flee with his family to Iceland. Young Eirik grew up in the harsh environs of that wind-swept isle in the North Atlantic. Harsh lands breed harsh men, and Eirik fit the mold. Like his father before him, he battled with neighbors and killed several men in blood feuds. Banished from Iceland for three years, he sailed west to seek refuge in an unexplored land. After three years in exile, Eirik returned to Iceland with tales of his discoveries in that new land to the west. He called it Greenland to entice others to join him there. Around 985, he sailed west again from Iceland with twenty-five ships of colonists. History records him as the founder of the first European settlement in Greenland and the father of Leif Eriksson. People remember him best as Erik the Red.

48 pages, Library Binding

First published October 15, 2008

About the author

Earle Rice Jr. has written more than fifty books for young adults. Mr. Rice served honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps for nine years, including a tour of combat duty as a machine-gun squad leader during the Korean War. He is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the League of World War I Aviation Historians, the United States Naval Institute, the Air Force Association, and the Disabled American Veterans.

Reviews

[Kathleen McKim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love my job because I get to go places in my research that most people don't have the time for. This is a very readable book which places Erik the Red in history, but also grounds the reader in an understanding of the people and places which gave birth to Norse mythology. For example, because of the travels of Erik's family, the original myths were penned in Iceland, not the original home of the Norsemen (Northmen) who actually came from the regions of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The book also has very interesting information about the Viking migration to Greenland, Iceland, and Nova Scotia, with possible explanations as to why some settlements worked while others did not. Erik the Red was the last of the Viking leaders just before their stories and mythology were "Christianized" under influence of King Olaf I Tryggvason.