Climatic golden age: the weather was warmer than today prior to the advent of the "Little Ice Age" around 1300 A.D., and agriculture and commerce benefited.(HISTORY--PAST AND PERSPECTIVE)

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During the late 10th century, Eirik the Red killed a man named Thorgest during an argument about a shovel on a hardscrabble island off the coast of Iceland. It was not the first time that the temperamental Viking had killed someone. After all, Vikings were known for their aggressive ways. They were products of their harsh environment, and ransacking and raiding was their stock in trade. The meager soil in their northern Scandinavian homelands impelled young Norsemen beyond their native locales in search of food, adventure, and plunder.

During the seventh century, pagan Norsemen raided eastern Britain, stealing gold and silver from Catholic settlements. Over time, the intrepid raiders established settlements as far away as Kiev, Russia, and their influence extended as far south as Constantinople, Rouen, and Tuscany.

Years earlier Eirik's family had been banished to Iceland from their home in southwestern Norway "because of some killings." Once in Iceland, the fiery-haired Eirik the Red married a local woman, but before long he was banished from the island for three years. Like a good Viking, Eirik the Red took his ship and sailed west in about 982 A.D. to explore some little-known islands. Using a dial that measured shadows cast from the sun to establish the ship's position, he was able to steer by latitude, and he eventually made landfall on what he later called Greenland. He was not the first Viking visitor, but for the next three years he worked to establish a permanent settlement. Greenland enjoyed warm brief summers, and its days were somewhat longer than Iceland's. It boasted abundant fish and mammals, and the western coast was largely ice free during the short summers.

In 985, Eirik sailed back to Iceland where he endeavored to persuade colonists to join him. He named the land Greenland hoping that it would provide a favorable impression among would-be colonists. His sales pitch worked, and 25 ships sailed back to Greenland. Upon arrival, the colonists dispersed north, and Eirik established his settlement in the richest farmland area. Conditions were much more conducive to farming than they had experienced in Iceland.

Before long, Norse sailors became aware of land to the west of Greenland. Lief Eiriksson, the son of Eirik the Red, is usually credited with establishing the first European contact with North America, but it was Bjarni Herjolfsson who made the first close visual contact. After arriving in Iceland in 985, he learned that his father had emigrated to Greenland with the first load of colonists. Wasting no time, Herjolfsson set sail for Greenland almost immediately. For several days his crew sailed in dense fog. They had lost their way, but northerly winds eventually brought them within sight of land. Its flat and well-forested coastline did not match the descriptions of Greenland with its deep fjords, and the cautious Herjolfsson never made landfall. Instead, he took advantage of a southwesterly gale that pushed them to their Greenland destination.

Lief Eiriksson saw the opportunity and seized upon Herjolfsson's mistake to explore the mysterious land west of Greenland. Like his father before him, he sailed west and soon came upon the flat sandy beaches with forests just beyond--the same coastline that Herjolfsson viewed from his own ship. Eiriksson named the area Markland, meaning Forest Land. This area became modern-day Labrador. A northeast wind pushed them further south to the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River. Here they encountered wild grapes, causing them to name the region Vinland (Wine Land).