Bjarni Herjolfsson

ARTICLE CONTENTS:  |  Links to Other Sites
Bjarni Herjolfsson, merchant, trader (fl 986). Bjarni was likely the first European to sight the east coast of North America. In the summer of 985 or 986 he headed to Iceland and then Greenland to join his father. Driven off course by stormy weather he sighted land, which he described as wooded and hilly, and continued northward sighting mountainous land and mountains partly covered with snow. Realizing these lands did not fit the description of Greenland, he changed course and eventally reached his father's estate.

Scholars generally agree that Bjarni sighted Newfoundland, Labrador and Baffin Island, though some argue that he strayed as far south as Maine. A few years later LEIF ERICSSON bought Bjarni's ship and rediscovered the new lands, which he named Helluland, Markland and Vinland.

Author JOHN PARSONS


Links to Other Sites
The Norse in the North Atlantic
About early Viking voyages to North America. Includes photos of L'anse aux Meadows. A Memorial University of Newfoundland website.

Vikings
Watch the Heritage Minute about evidence of Viking visits to Canadian territory from the Historica-Dominion Institute. See also related online learning resources.

L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site
The Parks Canada site for L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, the only authenticated Viking settlement in North America. Also includes information about historic Aboriginal settlements.

0
0
Absolutely free, with over 40,000 articles in French and English, The Canadian Encyclopedia is the ultimate online resource for all things Canadian, from history, sports, arts, science, technology, and much, much more. Get started at www.TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com
Feature Articles
Maisonneuve and the Founding of Montreal

The story of the founding of Montreal is perhaps unique in history....

INSIDE TCE

Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.