Editing Bjarni Herjólfsson (section)

==Life==

Bjarni was born to [[Herjulf Bårdsson|Herjólfr]], son of Bárdi Herjólfsson ({{langx|non|Bárði}}), and Thorgerdr ({{langx|non|link=no|Þorgerðr}}) in [[Icelandic Commonwealth|Iceland]]. In adulthood, Bjarni became a merchant captain, based in [[Norway]], but visiting his father every summer in Greenland.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Bjarni Herjólfsson |url=https://www.bing.com:9943/search?q=Bjarni+Herj%C3%B3lfsson&cvid=aa454deeb75a48bca010591b8bb9f0d8&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggAEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg7MgYIARBFGDkyBggCEAAYQDIGCAMQABhAMgYIBBAAGEAyBggFEAAYQDIGCAYQABhAMgYIBxAuGEAyBggIEEUYPNIBCDM5MjBqMGo0qAIIsAIB&FORM=ANAB01&PC=U531 |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=Bing |language=en}}</ref>

===Discovery of America===

Bjarni is believed to have been the first European to see North America. The ''[[Grœnlendinga saga]]'' (''Greenlanders Saga'') tells that one year he sailed to Iceland to visit his parents as usual, only to find that his father had gone with [[Erik the Red]] to [[Greenland]]. So he took his crew and set off to find him. But in that summer of 986, Bjarni, who had no map or compass or crew, was [[blown off course]] by a storm. 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.<ref name="Sullivan">Sullivan, Steve & Stephen Krensky. (1991) ''Who Really Discovered America?'', Hastingshouse/Daytrips Publ. p. 36. {{ISBN|0-8038-9306-X}}.</ref> 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. Eventually arriving in Greenland, he decided to settle with his father in [[Herjolfsnes (Norse Greenland)|Herjolfsnes]]. He reported his findings in Greenland but no one showed much interest in them until Bjarni returned to Norway after his father's death.<ref>(1997) ''The Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates 10th Edition'', Collins. {{ISBN|0-06-270192-4}}.</ref>