The Saga of Eric the Red

The Saga of Eric the Red was, by most accounts, written by Jon Thorharson in 1387, almost four centuries after the events in the saga, which were almost certainly handed down by oral tradition.

In the saga, the events that led Eric the Red's banishment to Greenland are chronicled, as well as Leif Ericcson's discovery of Wineland the Good, a place where wheat and grapes grew naturally, after his longboat was blown off-course. By geographical details, this place is surmised to be present-day Newfoundland, and is likely the first discovery of America, some five centuries before Christopher Columbus's journey.