As requested in our poll a few days ago, here we have some more Icelandic saga for you!

Though not supposedly the first European to see America (that honour goes to Bjarni Herjólfsson), Leif Erikson is credited with being the first to make landfall on the American continent. As the saga tells it, Leif first sighted 'Vinland' (as it was later named after its supposed abundance of grapes) after being blown off course en route to spread Christianity to Greenland on behalf of Olaf Trigvasson. Located in modern day Newfoundland in Canada, a number of Viking age settlements have been dug up in that area including a ship repair station dated to a good five hundred years before the arrival of Columbus.

How do we actually know about history? Voices of the Past is a channel dedicated to recreating the original accounts from the people who lived through events, or who lived far closer to them than we do today. We do this word for word, with an accompanying soundtrack of rousing music and images.

— Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to subscribe for new videos every single week! & Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see covered in the future.

— Become a patron for as little as a dollar a month & help keep this project going:
  / historytimeuk  

— Don’t forget to subscribe to our primary channel History Time, where we make full length historical documentaries:
   / historytime  

—Join our community on social media:
Twitter:
  / historytimeuk  
Facebook:
  / historytimeofficial  
Instagram:
  / historytime_ig  

— Music courtesy of:
Epidemic Sound
Joss Edwards Music:
  / jossedwardsmusic  
Kevin MacLeod

— Voice actor & editor:
David Kelly

Are you a budding artist, writer, illustrator, cartographer, or music producer? Send us an email! No matter how professional you are or even if you’re just starting out, we can always use new music and images in my videos. Get in touch! I’d love to hear from you.

We try to use copyright free images at all times. However if we have used any of your artwork or maps then please don't hesitate to contact me and we’ll be more than happy to give the appropriate credit.