Gunnbjörn Ulfsson (fl. c. 10th century), also Gunnbjörn Ulf-Krakuson, was a Norwegian settler of
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. He was reportedly the first European to sight
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
. A number of modern place names in Greenland commemorate Gunnbjörn, most notably
Gunnbjørn Fjeld
Gunnbjørn Fjeld is the tallest mountain in Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, and north of the Arctic Circle. It is a nunatak, a rocky peak protruding through glacial ice.
Geography
Gunnbjørn Fjeld is located in the Watkins Range, an area o ...
.
Sources
The only reference to Gunnbjörn is from the ''Book of Settlement of Iceland'' (''
Landnámabók
(, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE.
is divided into five parts and ove ...
''). It is stated that his sons lived in Iceland's Westfjords and a note is made that Gunnbjörnssker are named after him. Gunnbjörn was blown off course while sailing from
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
to
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. He and his crew sighted islands ( Gunnbjörn's skerries) lying close off the coast of
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
, and reported this find but did not land. Since Greenland is physically part of North America, separated from Ellesmere Island by only a narrow strait, this sighting could also have been the first European connection with North America. The exact date of this event is not recorded in the sagas. Various sources cite dates ranging from 876 to 932. The first records of purposeful visits to Gunnbjörn's skerries were made by
Snæbjörn Galti
Snæbjörn galti Hólmsteinsson (Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ; c. 910 – c. 978) was the first Norseman to intentionally navigate to Greenland, doing so in 978 CE.
His voyage followed the accidental discovery of lands west of Iceland by ...
around 978 and soon after by Erik the Red who also explored the main island of Greenland, and soon established a settlement.
Waldemar Lehn (1911–2005), professor emeritus at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.superior mirage. Such phenomena were not unknown to the Norse, who called them ''hillingar''.