Q 01/05

Leif Erikson is thought to have been the first European to set foot on which continent?

A) Southern Africa

B) Australia

C) Antarctica

D) North America

Answer · why

D) North America

He got there roughly half a millennium before Christopher Columbus.

Q 02/05

How did Leif Erikson's father, Erik the Red, die around 1003?

A) In a shipwreck off Greenland

B) In a duel over land

C) In a hunting accident

D) In a winter epidemic

Answer · why

D) In a winter epidemic

Immigrants who arrived in 1002 brought the disease that killed many of the colony's leading citizens.

Q 03/05

By what nickname is Erikson also known?

A) Leif the Bold

B) Leif the Lucky

C) Leif the Fair

D) Leif Ironside

Answer · why

B) Leif the Lucky

He earned it on the voyage home from Vinland.

Q 04/05

According to the sagas, Leif Erikson named the land where his crew found grapevines after which drink?

A) Mead

B) Ale

C) Wine

D) Cider

Answer · why

C) Wine

Vinland means Wineland, though some scholars argue the root vin- meant pasture or meadow.

Q 05/05

In which modern country is L'Anse aux Meadows, the Norse site often linked to Leif Erikson's settlement?

A) Iceland

B) Greenland

C) United States

D) Canada

Answer · why

D) Canada

It sits at the northern tip of Newfoundland and was occupied about 1,000 years ago.