Saga of the Greenlanders

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/saga-of-the-greenlanders

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the manuscript origin?Preserved in the Flateyjarbók, a manuscript compiled in the late 14th century
2. What is the period of events?Narrates events purportedly occurring around the year 1000
3. Who were the main explorers in the Saga of the Greenlanders?The saga follows Bjarni Herjolfsson, Leif Erikson, Thorvald Eriksson, Thorstein Eriksson, Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, Thorfinn Karlsefni, and Freydís Eiríksdóttir.
4. What lands did the Norse explorers find?They saw three places: Helluland (flat stones, likely Baffin Island), Markland (forest coast, likely Labrador), and Vinland (a warm, fertile area, maybe Newfoundland).

Sagas of Icelanders: A genre of medieval Icelandic prose literature, typically recounting historical events, family sagas, and heroic deeds.
Norse Exploration: The voyages and discoveries made by Scandinavian peoples, particularly during the Viking Age, across Europe, the North Atlantic, and into North America.
Vinland: A historical region in North America explored and named by Norse explorers, believed to be the site of their earliest attempts at settlement.