When someone mentions Thorgils Leif, thoughts typically lead to his father’s past and how he played a key role in the establishment of Vinland. One of the legendary, Leif Erikson better known as “Leif the Lucky,” is the father of Thorgils Leif. Let’s explore more about their family history.
Early Life and Family of Thorgils Leif
He was the son of Leif Erikson and Thorgunna. He also had a stepbrother named Thorkel Leif who was born in the Norwegian Hebrides. Leif Erikson met Thorgunna, who was a chieftain’s daughter, while travelling to Norway, and they fell in love with each other. They did not get married and Thorgils was born during their love affair.
Thorgils Leif lived in the Hebrides with his mother in his early life. His mother then sent him to live in Greenland with his father. Unlike his father, Thorgils was not well-known among the people, hence little is known about him. Nevertheless, he was happy to be Leif Erikson’s son and learned so much from his father’s achievements.
Leif Erikson
About 500 years before Christopher Columbus, a Norse explorer named Leif Erikson, popularly known as Leif the Lucky, is regarded as the first European to set foot on North American soil. He founded a Norse settlement at Vinland, which is typically thought to be coastal North America, according to Icelandic sagas.
Leif Erikson Family Background
Leif was the child of Thjodhild of Iceland and Erik the Red, who established the first Norse settlement in Greenland. Although the exact location of his birth is unknown, it is universally believed that it was in Iceland, which had just lately been settled by Norsemen, primarily from Norway. He was raised on the family estate, Brattahl in Greenland’s eastern settlement.
Some Facts About Vinland
Different tales of the journeys to Vinland, which is typically understood to be coastal North America, are included in the Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders, both of which are believed to have been written around 1200. The Book of Icelanders, composed by Ari the Wise in 1122, and the work of Adam of Bremen, published around 1075, are the only two known strictly historical references to Vinland.
Historical Background
Leif is most likely a historical figure and the first known European to step foot in North America’s continent, although there is a controversy about it and a lack of consensus over other aspects of his life, numerous academics have proposed that the roles played by Freyds, Leif’s sister, and Tyrker, his foster father, in the Vinland sagas, are a work of fiction. Since Gunnlaugr Leifsson’s adaptation of Lafs saga Tryggvasonar is widely mentioned as the source for that part of Leif’s narrative, it is possible that Leif’s appointment as a missionary to Greenland is also a misrepresentation.
Who was Thorkel Lief?
Thorkel Leif was Thorgils Leif’s brother. Numerous details regarding Thorkel are unclear, such as his mother’s identity and his exact date of birth or demise. The only thing that is known about Thorkel is that he won the chieftainship of the colony in Greenland that was formerly owned by Eirik the Red.
Last Line
Leif Erikson is known as a very important personality in the history. He has done some incredible things in his life that has made him famous. Little is known about his son Thorgils Leif because he was not so famous like his father.
Comments