Editing Vinland (section)

===''Saga of the Greenlanders''===
{{Main|Saga of the Greenlanders}}
[[File:Hvalsey Church.jpg|thumb|[[Church of Hvalsey]], one of the best preserved remnants from the Norse settlement in Greenland.]]
[[File:Simiutaq.jpg|thumb|[[Simiutaq Island]], [[Greenland]], as seen from the [[Davis Strait]]. This has been suggested to be a suitable starting point for a crossing to Canada<ref name="Jónas Kristjánsson 2012 pp. 145-177"/>]]
[[File:Flying over Baffin Island.jpg|thumb|Baffin Island, possible location of Helluland]]
[[File:Leif Erikson 6c 1968 issue.JPG|thumb|upright|Leif Erikson U.S. [[commemorative stamp]], issued 1968]]

In [[Grœnlendinga saga|''Grænlendinga saga'']] or the 'Saga of the Greenlanders', [[Bjarni Herjólfsson]] accidentally discovered the new land when traveling from Norway to visit his father, in the second year of Erik the Red's Greenland settlement (about 986&nbsp;CE). When he managed to reach Greenland, making land at [[Herjolfsnes (Norse Greenland)|Herjolfsness]], the site of his father's farm, he remained there for the rest of his father's life and didn't return to Norway until about 1000&nbsp;CE. There, he told his overlord (the Earl, also named Erik) about the new land and was criticized for his long delay in reporting this. On his return to Greenland he retold the story and inspired Leif Eriksson to organize an expedition, which retraced in reverse the route Bjarni had followed, past a land of flat stones ([[Helluland]]) and a land of forests ([[Markland]]). After having sailed another two days across open sea, the expedition found a headland with an island just off the shore, with a nearby pool, accessible to ships at high tide, in an area where the sea was shallow with sandbanks. Here the explorers landed and established a base which can plausibly be matched to L'Anse aux Meadows; except that the winter was described as mild, not freezing. One day an old family servant, [[Tyrker]], went missing and was found mumbling to himself. He eventually explained that he found grapes/currants. In the spring, Leif returned to Greenland with a shipload of timber, towing a boatload of grapes/currants. On the way home, he spotted another ship aground on the rocks, rescued the crew and later salvaged the cargo. A second expedition, one ship of about 40 men led by Leif's brother Thorvald, sets out in the autumn after Leif's return and stayed over three winters at the new base ([[Leifsbudir|''Leifsbúðir'']] (-budir), meaning Leif's temporary shelters), exploring the west coast of the new land during the first summer, and the east coast during the second, running aground and losing the ship's [[keel]] on a headland they christen Keel Point (''Kjalarnes''). Further south, at a point where Thorvald wanted to establish a settlement, the [[Norse settlements in Greenland|Greenlanders]] encountered some of the local inhabitants (''[[Skræling]]jar'') and killed them, following which they were attacked by a large force in hide boats, and Thorvald died from an arrow-wound. After the exploration party returned to base, the Greenlanders decided to return home the following spring.

Thorstein, Leif's brother, married Gudrid, widow of the captain rescued by Leif, then led a third expedition to bring home Thorvald's body, but drifted off course and spent the whole summer sailing the Atlantic. Spending the winter as a guest at a farm on Greenland with Gudrid, Thorstein died of disease, reviving just long enough to make a prophecy about her future as a Christian. The next winter, Gudrid married a visiting Icelander named Thorfinn Karlsefni, who agreed to undertake a major expedition to Vinland, taking livestock. On arrival, they soon found a beached whale which sustained them until spring. In the summer, they were visited by some of the local inhabitants who were scared by the Greenlanders' bull, but happy to trade goods for milk and other products. In autumn, Gudrid gave birth to a son, Snorri. Shortly after this, one of the local people tried to take a weapon and was killed. The explorers were then attacked in force, but managed to survive with only minor casualties by retreating to a well-chosen defensive position, a short distance from their base. One of the local people picked up an iron axe, tried it, and threw it away.

The explorers returned to Greenland in summer with a cargo of grapes/currants and hides. Shortly thereafter, a ship captained by two Icelanders arrived in Greenland, and [[Freydís Eiríksdóttir|Freydis]], daughter of Eric the Red, persuaded them to join her in an expedition to Vinland. When they arrived at Vinland, the brothers stored their belongings in Leif Eriksson's houses, which angered Freydis and she banished them. She then visited them during the winter and asked for their ship, claiming that she wanted to go back to Greenland, which the brothers happily agreed to. Freydis went back and told her husband the exact opposite, which led to the killing, at Freydis' order, of all the Icelanders, including five women, as they lay sleeping. In the spring, the Greenlanders returned home with a good cargo, but Leif found out the truth about the Icelanders. That was the last Vinland expedition recorded in the saga.