User:TheBigGorilla/Erik the Red/Bibliography

= Bibliography =

The Viking Heart: How Scandinavian's Conquered The World
This source is from a reliable publication (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and it is a book published by the author Arthur Herman, a philosophy professor and senior fellow at Hudson Institute of whom has published several historically focused books throughout the years. The source is verifiable and easy to find through online book stores. The source is independent of the subject as the author is writing about ancient history and has no personal connection to the topic. The source is a secondary source.

-Rhetorical Notation - Genre: History and Philosophy. Purpose: To give historical information regarding major events of Scandinavian history and their worldwide travels leading to how they have influenced modern day; as well as explaining the Christianization of Scandinavia as the novel drives home a philosophical concept called "The Viking Heart". Audience: The novel gives lots of context and explanation regarding historical events, mainly focusing on the travels and exploits of historically significant characters, however the novel is geared towards an audience of those who already have pre-existing knowledge regarding Scandinavian history, culture, and religion.

-Summary/Evaluation - This novel covers widespread Scandinavian history and culture through a chronological order of events, starting with the culture and religion of medieval Scandinavia, before delving into major historical events such as travel, trade, battles, significant figures, and eventual Christianization of Scandinavia. The novel also brings forth many ideas and insights by the author into the mindset of the Norse people, of which the author has grouped his thoughts into a phenomena of which he calls the "Viking Heart". Regarding the historical figure of Erik the Red, the novel briefly touches on the figure and his accomplishments of colonizing Greenland.

-Wikipedia Citation Application - Given that the section regarding Erik the Red briefly focuses on his accomplishments within Greenland, I may add citations from the novel within the "Discoveries" section of the Wikipedia article to further back up historical claims, however I do not think I will add any actual text from this novel as any historical facts already have been covered by the Wiki article. There may not be anything to add from this article to the Wikipedia article as it more serves as a way to see informational discrepancies between my sources. Edit: Decided that there is nothing noteworthy to add from this source, nor any citation as all information has been covered, and cited within the Wikipedia article for Erik the Red.

The Vikings
The source is from a reliable publication (Pegasus Books LLC), and it is a book published by the author Neil Oliver, a television presenter, as well as a writer for several historical documentary series on archeology and history; and an author of several historically focused books. The source is verifiable and easy to find through online book stores. The source is independent of the subject as the author is writing about ancient history and has no personal connection to the topic. The source is a secondary source.

-Rhetorical Notation - Genre: History. Purpose: To inform and give historical context regarding medieval Scandinavian history, legends, and mythology (mainly focusing within the sphere of Europe). Audience: Great for beginner audiences as the novel gives much background, explanation, and context when explaining the broad strokes of Scandinavian history.

-Summary/Evaluation - This novel covers the broad strokes of well known Scandinavian history. This novel acts as a beginner level introductory novel regarding medieval Scandinavia, covering specific aspects of local culture and history within the sphere of Northern Europe. Regarding Erik the Red, the novel provides a detailed account of Erik's life past his exile of Iceland as it goes into detail regarding Erik's expeditions and colonization of Greenland. The novel goes into much depth of Erik's colonization, such as specific names of settlements and regions, as well as how the Greenland settlements fared economically.

-Wikipedia Citation Application - The novel includes much well known information about Erik and his exile from Iceland leading to his colonization of Greenland. The novel does speak on how after Erik was exiled, he spent one winter on a remote set of islands off the coast of Iceland, the islands of Breithafjordur, whilst planning and gathering men and materials for his voyage to scout out Greenland for the next three years. This is not included in the Wikipedia article, so it could be of some value. Furthermore, there is a section in Erik's Wiki article that speaks on Snæbjörn Galti and his failed expedition to Greenland, to which there are no sources confirming this in the Wiki article (as his Saga was lost to time), and I can use this novel to back up info on that section as it contains information related to Galti.

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga
The source is from a reliable publication (Smithsonian Institution Press), and it is a book edited and published by William W. Fitzhugh and Elisabeth I. Ward, of which the entire book is compiled of hundreds of different authors and texts regarding Scandinavian history. The source is verifiable and easy to find through online book stores. The source is independent of the subject as it is a compilation of hundreds of different historians accounts, records, translations, and interpretations of Scandinavian history. The source is a secondary source.

-Rhetorical Notation - Genre: History. Purpose: To inform and give historical evidence and context regarding all aspects of Scandinavian history, culture, travel, religion, and archeology. Audience: Was created as part of a Scandinavian museum exhibit, directed towards all audiences both newcomers and knowledgeable veteran's alike.

-Summary/Evaluation - This novel focuses on widespread Scandinavian history, culture, religion, and travel and includes many archeological records, items, and excerpts in order to support the information provided. Regarding the coverage of Erik the Red within this novel, it includes a few excerpts from his Saga, as well as provides brief information about Erik's life as the novel focuses on Erik's accomplishments of colonizing Greenland.

-Wikipedia Citation Application - There is a single section where there is a discrepancy that I noticed, and it is Pg.19 of the novel where it speaks on Erik getting exiled from Iceland due to a murder of his neighbor over cattle and a set of wallboards, rather than Erik's thralls causing a landslide leading to their murder by Erik's neighbor to which Erik murdered him and his brother of which is stated in the Saga's. I might add a citation with this information to the Wiki article as it provides a potential different account of how Erik had gotten exiled from Iceland. Edit: ''Nevermind, it was already listed within the Wiki article and Saga, Erik murders people over thralls getting killed, and then later murders due to some conflicts over special ornamental pillars ("wallboards" as translated in the novel). Novel also only lists Erik getting exiled for murders over pillars, no mentions to thralls like literally every other primary and secondary source in existence talking about Erik.''

Eiríks Saga Rauða - The Saga of Erik the Red
The source is from a reliable publication as it is from a database dedicated to the publication, preservation, and translation of medieval Icelandic literature. The source is verifiable, however somewhat difficult to find if you do not have the direct link to this specific translation as you will have to dig through the database's index. The source is a primary source as it is an 1880 English translation of The Saga of Erik the Red, thus the source is independent of the subject as it is an English translation of a 13th century medieval Saga.

-Rhetorical Notation - Genre : Historical Epic. Purpose: To preserve and recount the life and story of Eirik the Red. Audience: Unknown.

-Summary/Evaluation - This Saga is one of two primary sources that have survived from medieval Scandinavia that recounts the life and accomplishments of Erik the Red, the first man to successfully colonize Greenland. However, the main focus of the Saga is of Thorfinn Karlsefni and his life and expeditions of North America, similarly recounted in The Saga of the Greenlanders.

-Wikipedia Citation Application - Throughout Erik's Wikipedia article there is much information pertaining to Erik's life that is missing citations and can be found in the original Saga, information that is summarized from a secondary source drawing upon the Saga, or information that is stated however has no citations to support the claim. Given that there are only two primary sources for Erik's life to go off of, I believe adding citations of the original primary source will prove valuable to upholding the legitimacy of certain claims regarding Erik's life, especially as many of the secondary sources cited draw upon these two primary sources themselves, and sometimes details are lost in translation.

Grænlendinga Saga - The Saga of the Greenlanders
The source is from a reliable publication as it is from a database dedicated to the publication, preservation, and translation of medieval Icelandic literature. The source is verifiable, however somewhat difficult to find if you do not have the direct link to this specific translation as you will have to dig through the database's index. The source is a primary source as it is a modern Icelandic translation of the Saga of the Greenlanders, thus the source is independent of the subject as it is a modern Icelandic translation of a 14th century medieval Saga. Currently there is no English translation of the Saga on the database.

-Rhetorical Notation - Genre : Historical Epic. Purpose: To preserve and recount the lives and stories of the first men to discover and settle in Northern America. Audience: Unknown.

-Summary/Evaluation - This Saga is one of two primary sources that have survived from medieval Scandinavia and it recounts the lives and expeditions of Erik the Red of whom was the first man to successfully colonize Greenland; as well as the first six expeditions of North America led by Greenlanders Bjarni, Leif, Thorvald, Thorstein and his wife Gudrid, Karlsefni, and Freydís.

-Wikipedia Citation Application - There is much debate over what was the cause of Erik the Red's death, and there are two leading theories in that he died due to an epidemic in Greenland over a winter, or died due to sustained injuries from falling off of a horse. I have gone through and roughly translated the Greenland Saga's and found an excerpt where it speaks on Erik's death, and given the debate around his death (as well as no citations being present in the article), I am going to add a citation to the section talking about his death and explain what is stated within The Saga of the Greenlanders. I believe a citation such as this will prove valuable to ending discourse regarding Erik's death, especially as many do not read the article given that it is hard to find full English translations of the Saga that aren't just summaries.

= References =

= Outline of proposed changes =

Bullet Point List of Possible Changes:
-Lead Section Changes: The lead section would benefit from including a brief rundown of the articles main sections, such as Early Life (name, epithet speculation, birthplace), brief rundown of his marriage and children (speak on Leif Erikson), Erik's exile from Iceland leading into achievement of being the first man to colonize Greenland, and date of death.

-Article Neutrality: Examples of sentences that could be seen in a biased tone: “As a method of conflict resolution that subsequently became something of a family custom,”, “Even though popular history credits”, “Erik deliberately”, "which ended in disaster". These sentences may need a change of wording choice.

-Fact check citations/evidence through using "The Saga of Erik the Red" English translation and add extra citations throughout.

-Add extra images (Found here) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Erik_the_Red.

-Change all mentions of "Erik" to "Eirik" as that is the English translation found in the Sagas, as well as his name in Old Norse/Icelandic is "Eiríks", "Eiríkur", or "Eiríkr". Edit: Decided against this change, a bit too pedantic.

Specific Section Changes (From Article Evaluation Assignment):
-“While Erik's wife took heartily to Christianity, even commissioning Greenland's first church, Erik greatly disliked it and stuck to his Norse gods—which, the sagas relate, led Þjódhild to withhold intercourse from her husband.[ additional citation(s) needed]”

(This information is actually explicitly stated in Chapter 5, Paragraph 7 of the SETR, add additional citation to original Saga, add chapter # in citation).

-''“These are likely to have been Thorgest's setstokkr, although the sagas are unclear at this point. Thorgest gave chase, and in the ensuing fight Erik slew both Thorgest's sons and "a few other men.”''

(Unclear speculation? L ook over Saga translation and add citation if needed, change sentence wording).

-“Erik later died in an epidemic that killed many of the colonists in the winter after his son's departure.”

(Add citation from Greenland Saga, Chapter 4 https://sagadb.org/graenlendinga_saga.is, add chapter # in citation).

''-“According to records[ which?] from the time, Galti headed the first Norse attempt to colonize Greenland, which ended in disaster. However, Erik the Red was the first permanent European settler.[ citation needed]”''

(Could change final sentence to “Erik is widely believed to be the first permanent European settler”, then cite from introduction from this informational archive https://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/erik-the-red/ (Citation is already in references in article, just used elsewhere)).(Pg. 212-213 of "The Vikings" speak on Galti and his failed colonization attempt of Greenland, allegedly once a Saga about their attempt but has been lost to time and was only preserved through oral accounts, no actual records whatsoever exist, add page # in citation).

-“His salesmanshiundefinedp proved successful, as many people—especially "those Vikings living on poor land in Iceland" and those that had suffered a "recent famine"—became convinced that Greenland undefinedheld great opportunity.[ citation needed]”

(Both Saga’s explicitly state that Erik named it Greenland due to it attracting people so a settlement could prosper (in article already), but never the specific quotes stated above. Paragraph 8/9 of https://sagadb.org/graenlendinga_saga.is state that once Erik returned to Iceland and told of Greenland, ships left with him the following summer as he had success convincing many Icelanders. Change sentence structure and wording, and add citation to support, add chapter # in citation).