Summary
Vikings: Valhallaintroduced viewers to Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), but it made many changes to the story of this legendary explorer. AfterVikingsexplored the stories of some notable figures from Viking history and Norse legends,Vikings: Valhallaexplored those from the final years of the Viking Age. Set over a century after the events of the main series,Vikings: Valhallaintroduced Leif Erikson, Freydis Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson), Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter), King Canute (Bradley Freeman), and Emma of Normandy (Laura Berlin), withthe conflict between pagans and Christiansas the backdrop.
Vikings: Valhallasaw Leif arriving in Kattegat with his sister Freydis and their crew as she looked for revenge against a Christian Viking, which led Leif to join King Canute’s team to attack England afterthe St. Brice’s Day massacre. Leif became close friends with Harald, and season 2 saw them traveling together to Constantinople so Harald could get the funds to form his own army.Vikings: Valhallaseason 3 finally saw Leif preparing for his big journeyto the other side of the world, but the show not only left his story unfinished, but it made significant changes to his real story.
Leif Erikson’s Backstory: A Greenlander Who Was Erik The Red’s Son
Leif & Freydis Were Erik The Red’s Children
Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer born in the 970s in Iceland.Leif was the son of legendary Norse explorer Erik the Redand his wife Thjodhild. Erik was born in Norway, but his father, Thorvald Asvaldsson, was banished from Norway for committing acts of manslaughter, and so he and his family settled in Iceland. Just like his father before him, Erik was later banished from Iceland and a dispute later led to him being outlawed from Iceland for three years. During that time, Erik founded the first successful settlement in Greenland, where his children – Leif, Freydis, Thorvald, and Thorstein – were raised.
Leif grew up in the Eastern Settlement of Greenland, where his father was elected as the people’s leader. This didn’t leave Erik much time for his children, so one of his slaves (thralls), Tyrker, was tasked with looking after them, and according to some sources, Leif later referred to him as his “foster father” (viaDiscovering the Global Past, Volume 1).
Leif Erikson Converted To Christianity While Serving Under Olaf, King of Norway
The Real Leif Erikson Didn’t Die As A Pagan
Leif sailed from Greenland to Norway to serve among the retainers at the court of King Olaf I Tryggvason, who was a Christian.
InVikings: Valhalla, Leif started as a pagan, but the more he saw of the world and the more he experienced, the more he questioned his pagan beliefs. Although he didn’t convert to Christianity in the series, by the end of season 3 he was more open to learning about other religions and beliefs rather than sticking to what he knew, which is what Freydis did. This was one of the biggest differences betweenVikings: Valhalla’s version of Leif Erikson and the real one, as the latter didn’t die as a pagan.
Before 1000, Leif sailed from Greenland to Norway to serve among the retainers at the court of King Olaf I Tryggvason (not to be confused with Olaf Haraldsson), who was a Christian. There, Leif was converted to Christianity, andwas commissioned to introduce Christianity to the Greenlanders. Unlike him, Erik the Red remained a pagan until he died.
The First European In North America: Leif Erikson Discovered The New World
Unlike What Vikings Established, Leif Erikson Got To America First
Leif was on his way to Greenland to introduce Christianity when he and his crew were blown off course.
There are two versions of how Leif Erikson got to North America: the one in theSaga of Erik the Redand the one in theSaga of the Greenlanders. The first one says Leif was on his way to Greenland to introduce Christianity when he and his crew encountered a storm that blew them off course.Leif and company arrived at an unknown shore, disembarked, and explored the land. Leif found forests with building timber, maple trees, and wild grapes, so he called this new land Vinland (“Land of Wine”) (viaBritannica).
TheSaga of the Greenlanderssays Leif wasn’t the first European to discover Vinland.
Leif and his crew loaded their ship with samples of these goods and returned to Greenland. TheSaga of Erik the Redsays Leif never returned to Vinland after that trip, but other explorers from Greenland and Iceland did, among them Thorfinn Karlsefni, who tried (and failed) to establish a permanent settlement there. TheSaga of the Greenlanderssays Leif wasn’t the first European to discover Vinland – it was Bjarni Herjólfsson, though he and his crew didn’t disembark and continued to sail. About 15 years later,Leif bought Bjarni’s ship, gathered a crew, and planned his expeditionto the land Bjarni talked about.
Erik was supposed to join Leif, but he fell off his horse on his way to the ship, which he took as a bad omen, so he stayed in Greenland. Leif followed Bjarni’s route in reverse, landing first in a desolate land he named Helluland, later a forested place he named Markland, and then to the land he would go on to name Vinland. Leif and company established a small settlement there and wintered there, after which he returned to Greenland. Just like in theSaga of Erik the Red,Leif never returned to Vinland, but other explorers did.
How Leif Erikson Became Leif The Lucky
There Are Two Versions Of How Leif Erikson Became “The Lucky”
Just like the story of how Leif Erikson got to North America, there are different versions of how he became known as “Leif the Lucky”. InVikings: Valhalla, Leif was called “Leif the Lucky” by Harald in the final episode, as they said goodbye in Kattegat. Harald had gone through many battles and problems with Leif by his side since season 1, and he witnessed how smart and skilled Leif was, thus leading him to name him “Leif the Lucky”. The real Leif Erikson, however, got that nickname for different reasons, depending on the saga.
According to theSaga of Erik the Red,Leif Erikson became “Leif the Lucky” for successfully converting many Greenlandersto Christianity and for rescuing a group of shipwrecked sailors on his way back from Vinland. In theSaga of the Greenlanders, on his way back to Greenland from Vinland,Leif and his crew rescued an Icelandic castaway and his crew, for which he earned the nickname of “Leif the Lucky”. These men eventually found homes in Greenland and settled there.
Leif Erikson’s Story In Vikings Valhalla Compared To Real Life
Vikings: Valhalla Wasn’t Very Loyal To Leif Erikson’s Story
As not much is known about Leif Erikson aside from his father’s banishment and the different versions of how he got to North America,Vikings: Valhallahad to flesh it out. BothVikings: Valhalla’s version of Leif Erikson and the real one were explorers, and given the stories about the latter,he was most likely a very skilled captain, strategist, and more, just like in the TV series. As mentioned above, the real Leif converted to Christianity, while the one in the series simply opened up his mind to learn more about other religions while questioning his pagan beliefs.
Vikings: Valhallaalso gave Leif Erikson two love interests: Liv, a fellow Greenlander, and Mariam, an astronomer who taught him to read, math, and more. Unfortunately, Liv and Mariam died and Leif, although he had casual partners, didn’t have a romantic partner again.The real Leif Erikson fell in love with a noblewoman named Thorgunnawhile in Norway, and they had two sons: Thorgils and Thorkell.
What Happened To Leif Erikson & How Did He Die?
The Exact Date Of Leif Erikson’s Death Is Unknown
The last mention of Leif Erikson alive was in theSaga of St. Olafin 1018.
When Leif returned to Greenland, he took over the leadership of it after his father’s death, and his son Thorkell succeeded him as Greenland’s chieftain. The last mention of Leif Erikson alive was in theSaga of St. Olafin 1018, and according toThe Saga of the Sworn Brothers, by 1025 the chieftaincy had passed to Thorkell, soLeif is believed to have died between 1018 and 1025.Vikings: Valhallawon’t continue the story of Leif Erikson, but the questions it left about it can be answered by history.
Sources:Discovering the Global Past, Volume 1,Britannica.
Vikings: Valhalla
Set over a thousand years ago in the early 11th century, Vikings: Valhalla chronicles the heroic adventures of some of the most famous Vikings ever chronicled. As tensions between the Vikings and the English royals reach a bloody breaking point and as the Vikings themselves clash over their conflicting Christian and pagan beliefs, these three Vikings begin an epic journey that will take them across oceans and through battlefields, from Kattegat to England and beyond, as they fight for survival and glory.
