Around 985 AD, Erik the Red was exiled from Iceland for three years for committing murder. He sailed west, where he stumbled upon a habitable piece of coast connected to an unending expanse of ice.
But now Erik faced a challenge: How to populate his new land?
In a move that would have impressed Don Draper, Erik named this new place “Greenland” because, he said, “Many people will come if it has a pleasant name.”
When Erik’s punishment had passed he returned to Iceland to recruit settlers. According to the Icelandic Sagas, he convinced 25 ships of former and future countrymen to follow him to Greenland. Only 14 made it to the new land.
Pleasant indeed.
More pictures from 35,000 feet follow.
More pictures here.
2 Responses to Greenland: What’s In A Name?
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Beautiful photos! It’s rare to see pictures from Greenland!
I’ve heard it said, Greenland is Ice and Iceland is Green. I guess from your photos, that description could be correct. What is amazing to me is that Eric the Red, only got three years for murder. Mmmmhhhh.