Англи хэлний "Пирамид" тэмцээний текст 8, 9-р анги

Leif Ericson

            Leif Ericson was a Norse explorer regarded as the first European to land in North America (excluding Greenland), nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. According to the Sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, believed to be at the Norse L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland in modern-day Canada.

            Leif was the son of Erik the Red and his wife Thjodhild, and the grandson of Thorvald Asvaldsson. His year of birth is believed to be about 970. Though Leif's birthplace is not stated in the sagas, it is likely he was born in Iceland, where his parents met—probably somewhere in western Iceland, and possibly at a farm where Thjodhild's family is said to have been based. Leif had two brothers, Thorsteinand and Thorvald, and a sister, Freydís.  

Thorvald Asvaldsson, his grandfather, was banished from Norway for killing someone and went into exile in Iceland accompanied by young Erik. When Erik was himself banished from Iceland, he traveled further west to an area he named Greenland, where he established the first permanent settlement in 986. Tyrker, one of Erik's slaves, had been specially trusted to keep in charge of Erik's children, as Leif later referred to him as his "foster father".

            Leif and his crew travelled from Greenland to Norway in 999. Blown off course to the Hebrides, a group of islands near Scotland, and staying for much of the summer, he arrived in Norway and became a hirdman of King Olaf Tryggvason. Leif also converted to Christianity, and was given the mission of introducing the religion to Greenland. The Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders, both thought to have been written around 1200, contain different accounts of the voyages to Vinland. According to the Saga of Erik the Red, Leif apparently saw Vinland for the first time after being blown off course on his way to introduce Christianity to Greenland.      According to the Saga of the Greenlanders, Leif had heard the story of a merchant Bjarni Herjólfsson who claimed to have sighted land to the west of Greenland after having been blown off course. Leif approached Bjarni, purchased his ship, gathered a crew of thirty-five men, and mounted an expedition towards the land Bjarni had described. Leif's father Erik was set to join him, but dropped out after he fell from his horse on his way to set sail, an incident he thought was a bad omen (sign). Leif followed Bjarni's route in reverse, and landed first in a rocky and desolate place he named Helluland (which means “Flat-Rock Land,” which is possibly Baffin Island in modern northern Canada). After venturing further by sea, he landed the second time in a forested place he named Markland (Forest Land, possibly Labrador in modern eastern Canada). Finally, after two more days at sea, he landed in a place Leif named Vinland (Wineland). There, Leif and his crew built a small settlement, which was called Leifsbúdir (Leif's Booths) by later visitors from Greenland. After having wintered over in Vinland, Leif returned to Greenland in the spring with a cargo of grapes and timber. On the return voyage, Leif rescued an Icelandic castaway and his crew, earning Leif the nickname "Leif the Lucky."          

Leif is described as a strong man of striking appearance, who was wise and considerate. During Leif's stay in the Hebrides, he fell in love with noblewoman Thorgunna who gave birth to their son Thorgils. Thorgils was later sent to Leif in Greenland, but he did not become popular. After Leif's first trip to Vinland, he returned to the family home in Greenland, and started preaching Christianity to the Greenlanders. His father Erik did not want to leave his ancient Norse religion, while his mother Thjodhild quickly became a Christian and built a church called Thjodhild's Church. Leif is last mentioned alive in 1019, and by 1025 he had passed on his leadership to another son, Thorkell. Nothing is mentioned about Leif's death in the sagas—he probably died in Greenland sometime between these dates. Nothing further is known about Leif's family beyond the succession of Thorkell as chieftain (leader).

            For the anniversary of the first official immigration of Norwegians to America, President Calvin Coolidge stated at the 1925 Minnesota State Fair, to a crowd of 100,000 people, that Leif had indeed been the first European to discover America. In 1929, the Wisconsin state government passed a bill to make October 9 "Leif Erikson Day" in the state; the bill was signed by Governor Walter J. Kohler, Senior. in May of the same year. That date was not chosen to remember any event in the life of Leif Ericson. Rather, it marked the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States when the ship Restauration, coming from Stavanger, Norway, arrived in New York Harbor on October 9, 1825. In 1964 the United States Congress authorized and requested the president to proclaim October 9 of each year as "Leif Erikson Day".