During his period of exile, he explored land to the west.

He returned to Iceland with a name calculated to attract settlers: Greenland.

The name was brilliant in its simplicity.

A place known to Europeans as Greenland sounded more inviting than an island dominated by Arctic conditions.

Erik’s salesmanship mattered because establishing a colony required more than discovering land.

It required persuading families to risk livestock, tools, food, ships, and years of labor on an uncertain frontier.

According to the Icelandic sagas, Erik eventually led settlers westward.