The Vinland Sagas

The Saga of the Greenlanders and Eirik the Red’s Saga contain the first ever descriptions of North America, a bountiful land of grapes and vines, discovered by Vikings five centuries before Christopher Columbus. Written down in the early thirteenth century, they recount the Icelandic settlement of Greenland by Eirik the Red, the chance discovery by seafaring adventurers of a mysterious new land, and Eirik’s son Leif the Lucky’s perilous voyages to explore it. Wrecked by storms, stricken by disease and plagued by navigational mishaps, some survived the North Atlantic to pass down this compelling tale of the first Europeans to talk with, trade with, and war with the Native Americans. Keneva Kunz's meticulous yet highly accessible translation is accompanied by an introduction by Gísli Sigurðsson, which discusses the historical reliability of the two sagas and the geographical placing of Vinland, and builds up a picture of the explorers' likely sea routes to the new world. This edition also contains maps, a family tree and an index of characters, a chronology and suggestions for further reading.