His stories of lands to the west encouraged others to explore the region including the

son of Erik the Red, Leif Erikson. Around 1000 AD, Leif retraced Herjólfsson’s
journey and successfully found his way to North America, standing on America soil
some five centuries before Christopher Columbus would. His exploration led to the
Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, the first known attempt
at settlement by Europeans on the Americas.
The Vikings called this newfound land Vinland although their presence there would
be short-lived. Unlike Greenland and Iceland, North America was already occupied.
Conflict between the Viking settlers and the Native American’s escalated to the point
that Vinland was no longer a viable place for the Vikings to live. They packed their
bags and returned to Greenland.
By the 11th century, united kingdoms had been established in Denmark, Norway and
Sweden. This, combined with the spread of Christianity across the Scandinavian
region, brought the Viking Age to a close. Historians often attribute 1066 as the
symbolic year it all ended.
After the demise of Danelaw in England, the Vikings retreated but were not done
with England just yet and successfully conquered the country in the early 11th
century. In 1013, Sweyn Forkbeard became the first Danish King of England. His
son, Cnut the Great, held the throne until his death in 1035. The Viking presence in
England was finally ended in 1066 when an English army under King Harold
defeated the last great Viking king, Harald Hardrada of Norway, at the Battle of
Stamford Bridge, near York.

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Ásgard and the nine worlds of Norse mythology