Which Norse woman was the daughter of Erik the Red and led a violent expedition to Vinland?
Answer
Freydis Eiriksdottir
Answer
Freydis Eiriksdottir
Which Norse woman was the daughter of Erik the Red and led a violent expedition to Vinland? Freydis Eiriksdottir did.
Freydís Eiríksdóttir is described in the Vinland sagas as a daughter of Erik the Red and a sister or half-sister of Leif Erikson, depending on the saga. In the Saga of the Greenlanders, she arranges a separate expedition to Vinland with the Icelanders Helgi and Finnbogi.
The expedition turns violent after disputes over housing, supplies, and leadership. Freydís accuses the two brothers of plotting against her, and the saga says she persuades her husband and his men to kill them and their followers. She returns to Greenland and conceals the killings, but Leif eventually learns what happened.
The sources are medieval narratives, not contemporary reports, and they do not agree completely. In the Saga of Erik the Red, Freydís appears in a different Vinland episode, where her courage helps repel an attack while she is pregnant. Those variations make her story legendary, but the identification remains clear.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026