The name is Leifur Eiríksson in Icelandic. However, you may just call me Leif Eriksson. If it challenges you that much to spell it that way, then many intelligent scholars have been know to spell it Ericsson, but that is just a minor detail. I have much to tell you about my conversion to Christianity and my eventual exploration expedition.
Conversion?
In my temporary home of Norway, many of the people here are believers in Norse mythology. However, Christianity is beginning to take hold, and I am not quite sure what to do. Should I continue on with the Norse, or shall I convert to a religion where I feel that I can truly trust my life in. What truly is interesting though, is that I am not the only one with the problem. Ingialld, the son of Thorsteinn Highbankawk struggled with the same issues. In the end, I have much reason to believe I will convert in the same fashion as him.
Lets Go!
As I began the preparations for my voyage of exploration, I felt it necessary to include my father, Erik the Red, who was a very accomplished explorer to accompany me on my sea voyages. However, much to my dismay, he replied by stating that he felt as though his age is holding him back and that he would not be able to make the entire round-trip alive. But, I was able to convince my father that he is the only person on earth that would be able to bring me much good luck. An unfortunate event occurred however. As he approached the ship, he fell off of his horse. In pain he exclaimed “It is not designed for me to discover more lands than the one in which we are now living, nor can we now continue longer together.” This indeed was disappointing, but I needed to continue on; his spirit would be with me on my voyage.
One of the Greatest?
When I think back to my old views of Norse Mythology, I think about the story of the three high seats. I realize that you may be able to realize that a farfetched simile is now coming forth so I am prepared to put it out there. I want to be like a high seat king when it comes to exploration. As I think to myself on this long voyage, I feel that I truly do have the ability to become a useful member of society. Sadly, every time I think about this, I get the feeling of loss or defeat in my stomach. Much to my surprise, I found a group of Norseman at sea. I decided to allow them onto my ship and make them a part of the voyage. These actions earned me the nickname Leif the Lucky. This seemed to put off the feelings of emptiness for a while.
Second Place…
To me, being an explorer is much more than an occupation. It is something that I truly enjoy doing. If that was not true, I would never put myself through the many treacherous situations that I did. As aforementioned in an earlier post, I had a feeling in my stomach of loss or defeat. I now realize what it is. I, Leif Eriksson was the first European to land on North American soil. To be exact, my landing place was in what I decided to name Vinland, or present day Newfoundland. Much to my misfortune, I was not credited in being the first explorer there. However, I have no say in this, and now the owner of the title to the first European explorer to land in North America is Christopher Columbus.