Saga of the Greenlanders in the context of Thorstein Eriksson

L'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site, first excavated in the 1960s, of a Norse settlement dating to approximately 1,000 years ago. The site is located near St. Anthony on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

With carbon dating estimates between 990 and 1050 CE (mean date 1014) and tree-ring dating of 1021, L'Anse aux Meadows is the only undisputed site of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact of Europeans with the Americas outside of Greenland. It is notable as evidence of the Norse presence in North America and for its possible connection with the accounts of Leif Erikson in the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red, which were written down in the 13th century. Archaeological evidence suggests the settlement served as a base camp for Norse exploration of North America, including regions to the south.

The Vinland sagas are two Icelandic texts written independently of each other in the early 13th century—the Saga of the Greenlanders (Grænlendinga Saga) and the Saga of Erik the Red (Eiríks Saga Rauða). The sagas were written down between 1220 and 1280 and describe events occurring around 970–1030.

The Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders both contain different accounts of Norse voyages to Vinland. The name Vinland, meaning "Wineland," is attributed to the discovery of grapevines upon the arrival of Leif Eiriksson in North America. The Vinland sagas represent the most complete information available regarding the Norse exploration of the Americas, although due to Iceland's oral tradition, they cannot be deemed completely historically accurate and include contradictory details. However, historians commonly believe these sources contain substantial evidence of Viking exploration of North America through the descriptions of topography, natural resources, and native culture. In comparing the events of both books, a realistic timeline can be created.

The Saga of Erik the Red, in Old Norse: Eiríks saga rauða (listen), is an Icelandic saga on the Norse exploration of North America. The original saga is thought to have been written in the 13th century. It is preserved in somewhat different versions in two manuscripts: Hauksbók (14th century) and Skálholtsbók (15th century).

Despite its title, the saga mainly chronicles the life and expedition of Thorfinn Karlsefni and his wife Gudrid, also recounted in the Saga of the Greenlanders. For this reason it was formerly also called Þorfinns saga karlsefnis; Árni Magnússon wrote that title in the blank space at the top of the saga in Hauksbók. It also details the events that led to the banishment of Erik the Red to Greenland and the preaching of Christianity by his son Leif Erikson as well as his discovery of Vinland after his longship was blown off course.

Thorvald Ásvaldsson (Old Norse: Þórvaldr Ásvaldsson [ˈθoːrˌwɑldz̠ ˈɑːsˌwɑldsˌson]; Modern Icelandic: Þorvaldur Ásvaldsson [ˈθɔrˌvaltʏr ˈausˌval(t)sˌsɔːn]; fl. 10th century; died before 980) was the father of the first Norse settler of Greenland, Erik the Red, and grandfather of Leif Erikson, who visited North America centuries before Christopher Columbus. Thorvald's father was Ásvald Ulfsson, whose father was Ulf Oxen-Thorisson, whose father was Oxen-Thorir, brother of Naddodd, discoverer of Iceland.

Thorvald Ásvaldsson was born in Norway. He fathered Erik the Red with a woman whose name is unknown. He was exiled from Norway in c. 960, during the reign of King Haakon the Good (son of Harald Fairhair), "because of some killings." He left with his son Erik to northwest Iceland, where he died before 980. According to the "Grænlendinga Saga" (Saga of the Greenlanders), "There was a man called Thorvald, who was the father of Eirik the Red. He and Eirik left their home in Jaederen, in Norway, because of some killings and went to Iceland, which had been extensively settled by then;"