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Eric the Red was a 10^th century [[Viking]]. He was expelled from Norway on charges of murder, and took his family away to Iceland, which had been settled by Vikings about a hundred years earlier. After his involvement in several killings there, he was banished and went to Greenland, where he started the first successful colony in that land around the year 985. Eric is best known as the father of [[Leif Ericson]], who tried to start the first European colony in America around the year 1000.

[[Image:Eric the Red.png|right|thumb|300px|Eric the Red from Arngrímur Jónsson's Gronlandia.]]

'''Eric the Red''' was a 10^th century [[Viking]]. He was expelled from Norway on charges of murder, and took his family away to Iceland, which had been settled by Vikings about a hundred years earlier. After his involvement in several killings there, he was banished and went to Greenland, where he started the first successful colony in that land around the year 985. Eric is best known as the father of [[Leif Ericson]], who tried to start the first European colony in America around the year 1000.

Eric's interesting name is in the style of his times. People in that culture often assumed descriptive names, along with a "patronymic" name identifying the father. Eric's "real" name was Eric Thorvaldsson, because his father's name was Thorvald. This style of naming persists in Iceland today. But Eric had very red hair, so people called him "Eric the Red" most of the time.  

Eric's interesting name is in the style of his times. People in that culture often assumed descriptive names, along with a "patronymic" name identifying the father. Eric's "real" name was Eric Thorvaldsson, because his father's name was Thorvald. This style of naming persists in Iceland today. But Eric had very red hair, so people called him "Eric the Red" most of the time.