In Vikings: Valhalla, Leif Erikson, a well-known historical figure, is made even more well-known by his explorer father, Erik the Red.
Erik the Red, the father of Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), is mentioned in Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix, but who was he in real life? Vikings: Valhalla, like its predecessor Vikings, which Michael Hirst produced for the History channel, includes real figures and events into its program while occasionally bending the truth for the benefit of storyline and character development. Vikings: Valhalla, which takes place a century after Vikings, focuses on the struggle between the Norse and the Anglo-Saxons in England after the notorious St. Brice’s Day Massacre.
Eric Johnson plays the role of Erik the Red in season 6 of Vikings. Erik the Red’s portrayal in Vikings has certain inconsistencies, much like that of his son Leif in Vikings: Valhalla. Erik, for instance, was not killed by a slave using a pitchfork. He really died from an outbreak, which made it seem more like a normal death at the time. Erik the Red is nonetheless a well-known enough character to be mentioned in many places throughout the episode despite not being present in Valhalla. In reality, history primarily accords Leif Eriksson the honor of being the first Viking to discover North America. Similarly, Erik, his father, is regarded as the first Viking to find Greenland.
Erik the Red established colonies in Greenland up until his passing. Due to the fact that Leif and his sister Freydis (Frida Gustavsson) reside in Greenland and travel there to reach the Danish settlement Kattegat, Valhalla maintains Erik the Red’s discovery of that continent to be largely accurate.
Given that Valhalla keeps many of Erik the Red’s comments vague enough to remain more true to the historical figure than the Vikings character, it is not required to watch Vikings before Vikings: Valhalla. Erik the Red, who was actually Erik Thorvaldsson and was born in Norway in 950 AD, was known by the color of his hair. When he was a young kid, his family relocated to Iceland when his father Thorvald Asvaldson was banished from Norway for manslaughter. Erik himself was banished for homicide, just as Valhalla states, which resulted in the discovery of Greenland. After his three-year exile was over, Erik the Red returned to Iceland and told locals about his new home.
Considering the period of time the drama is set in and the time when Erikson was alive, Leif Eriksson’s appearance in Valhalla seems reasonable. But Valhalla’s activities take place a century after the Vikings. The inclusion of real people like Erik the Red in eras they didn’t live through is one of the Vikings’ largest historical errors that Valhalla seeks to avoid. Ironically, despite the fact that the drama is set 100 years later, Erikson correctly established that Erik the Red was his father, leading to contradictions between the two. However, given their relevance, such a testament to the historical figures is necessary regardless of any historical inaccuracies.
Leif Eriksson’s discovery of North America in the year 1000 AD was ultimately made possible by the Viking settlement on Greenland started by Erik the Red. Even though Greenland is still very sparsely populated, it allowed the Vikings to travel farther than ever before. Leif, who is now depicted in Vikings: Valhalla hundreds of years later, led the Vikings farther west and assisted in establishing Nordic colonies along the Atlantic coast.
