other · Scandinavia and the Baltic

Norse Greenland

985 CE – 1450 CE (approx.) · capital Garðar

Europe's most remote medieval society, the Norse farming settlements in south-west Greenland that lasted almost five centuries and then vanished.

Origins

Erik the Red, outlawed from Iceland, led settlers to Greenland around 985, founding the Eastern Settlement near modern Qaqortoq and a smaller Western Settlement near Nuuk. His son Leif Erikson sailed from Greenland to North America around 1000 and is credited with bringing Christianity.

Rule and society

The colonists raised cattle, sheep and goats and hunted seals and caribou. Their key export was walrus ivory, sent to Europe through Norway. They held their own assembly, and from 1126 a bishop lived at Garðar. In 1261 the Greenlanders accepted the overlordship of the Norwegian king, joining the Kingdom of Norway.

Decline and legacy

The Western Settlement was abandoned in the mid-14th century, and the last written record from the Eastern Settlement is a wedding at Hvalsey church in 1408. By about 1450 the Norse had disappeared, probably owing to colder climate, falling ivory prices, isolation and emigration. Inuit, who had arrived from the 13th century, remained.

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Norse Greenland. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/norse-greenland
MLA
“Norse Greenland.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/norse-greenland. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Norse Greenland.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/norse-greenland.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Norse Greenland’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/norse-greenland (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻