History - Erik the Red: A Captivating Guide to the Viking Who Founded the First Norse Settlement in Greenland

Erik Thorvaldsson, better known by his nickname Erik the Red, was the son of a Norwegian farmer, Thorvald Asvaldsson. Not much is known about Thorvald Asvaldsson or Eriks early life in Norway. It was probably the typical life of a Norwegian farmer, working the land and caring for the livestock. There is no information about Eriks siblings or other family members; not even his mothers name is recorded in the Nordic sagas.

What is known is that Erik was born sometime around 950 CE in Rogaland on the southwestern coast of Norway, and at the age of about ten, he traveled with his family to Iceland. This was not a voluntary relocation. Thorvald moved with his family to Iceland out of necessity rather than desire. He may have been the father of one of the greatest Norse explorers, but he does not appear to have been an adventurous man himself. He wasnt seeking to carve out a niche for himself in the colonies, nor was he a man with strong political ambitions who was seeking fame and fortune; Thorvald was a man on the run. He was forced to flee Rogaland after he was banished or outlawed from Norway for killing another Viking.

At the time when Erik the Red was born, the Vikings had a reputation for ruthlessness and lawlessness, but Norse society was actually highly regulated, and they had well-established laws and governance. Vikings may not have been averse to violence and killing, but they lived within a structured society in their own settlements and criminal behavior did not go unpunished.

When Thorvald Asvaldsson murdered a fellow Norseman, he was tried at the Thing and found guilty by his fellow Norsemen. As a result, he was banished from Norway. Under Norse law this was the ultimate punishment for Thorvald Asvaldsson and, by extension, his family. He had to forfeit all his property and was forced to flee, not only from his village, but from Norway itself. Fortunately for Thorvald Asvaldsson, he lived during the Viking Age, a time of Scandinavian exploration and expansion which meant that he had options. The most obvious answer to his predicament was to take his family and flee to the newly established settlement on Iceland.

Viking law was well established and was the root of their government. The Vikings did not have a central government, but the rule of law, fairness, and justice was important to them. They lived in an ordered and structured society made up of small settlements, and each settlement had a chief. Decisions regarding village life were made at the Thing. The Thing can be compared to a legislative assembly. The chief of the settlement ran the Thing, but he and his council could only guide the Thing, and all free men had the right to take part in the decision-making process. At a Thing, the members of a settlement voted on day to day issues, including who owned a piece of land or what punishment a person would receive if they were found guilty of breaking the law.

A Thing was a public gathering that could be held at any time, and gave all free men in a settlement the opportunity to settle disputes and express their views on certain matters. Once a year the clan gathered for the Althing. This was an annual event where new laws were made and the Vikings could vote on important decisions like taxes, peace treaties, and the election of a new chief.