Thorfinn karlsefni biography definition

THORFINNRkarlsefniTHORDARSON, first European to attempt to found a settlement on the American mainland; fl. 1000–20.

Thorfinnr was a wealthy Icelandic merchant who had made many merchant voyages before going to Greenland shortly after the year 1000 a.d.

There he married Gudridr, the widow of Thorsteinn, the son of Eirikr Thorvaldsson (Eric the Red).

Thorfinn karlsefni biography definition

Some time between the years 1003 and 1015 Thorfinnr led an expedition to colonize Vinland. The course he followed and the location of his settlement have elicited much speculation, as is the case with the voyage of Leifrheppni Eiriksson.

The most detailed account of Thorfinnr’s venture is found in the Saga of Eric the Red, but it is vague enough to have given rise to widely divergent views. There is no agreement among scholars, but a tentative and not unconvincing case may be made for the following itinerary.

Thorfinnr and about 160 men and women left the Eastern Settlement of Greenland and sailed first to the Western Settlem