The settlement of Iceland began in the second half of the 9th century AD, when Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic. Landnámabók (meaning "The Book of Settlement" often shortened to Landnáma) is a medieval Icelandic manuscript describing in considerable detail the The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies ( Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum) is an institute of the Ministry of Education Science and Culture For the Greater Reykjavík Area see the Greater Reykjavík Area. The 9th century is the period from 801 to 900 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language Their reasons for migrating may be traced to a shortage of arable land in Scandinavia, and civil strife brought about by the ambitions of the Norse king Harald the Fair-haired. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair ( Old Norse: Haraldr hárfagri, Norwegian: Harald Hårfagre) (c Unlike Britain and Ireland, Iceland was unsettled land, and could be claimed without warring on the inhabitants. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Historians typically refer to the year 874 as the first year of settlement, and the Icelandic Age of Settlement (Icelandic: Landnámsöld) is considered to have lasted from 874 to 930, at which point most of the island had been claimed and Alþingi Althingi, the assembly of the Icelandic Commonwealth, was founded in Þingvellir Thingvellir. Events By Place Europe Ingólfur Arnarson arrives as the first permanent Viking settler in Iceland, settling Events By Place Europe Ingólfur Arnarson arrives as the first permanent Viking settler in Iceland, settling Events By Place Europe With the establishment of the Althing, now the world's oldest Parliament, the Icelandic Commonwealth The Alþingi, Anglicized variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national Parliament —literally “(the all- thing ”—of The Icelandic Commonwealth or the Icelandic Free State (Þjóðveldið was the state existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in is '''''Þingvellir''''' ( Þing: 'parliament' is ''vellir'' 'meadows'(sometimes transliterated Thingvellir) is a place in Bláskógarbyggð in southwestern Almost everything known about the first settlers comes from Íslendingabók by Ari Thorgilsson, and Landnámabók, two historical records preserved in skin manuscripts. Íslendingabók, Libellus Islandorum or The Book of Icelanders is an historical work dealing with early Icelandic history. Ari Þorgilsson (1067-1148 AD was Iceland 's most prominent medieval chronicler Landnámabók (meaning "The Book of Settlement" often shortened to Landnáma) is a medieval Icelandic manuscript describing in considerable detail the Landnámabók lists 435 men as the initial settlers, the majority of them settling in the northern and south-western parts of the island. Landnámabók (meaning "The Book of Settlement" often shortened to Landnáma) is a medieval Icelandic manuscript describing in considerable detail the
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The First Explorers/Settlers
Irish monks
The Íslendingabók of Ari Thorgilsson claims that the Norse settlers encountered Irish monks -- the Papar -- when they first arrived in Iceland. Íslendingabók, Libellus Islandorum or The Book of Icelanders is an historical work dealing with early Icelandic history. Ari Þorgilsson (1067-1148 AD was Iceland 's most prominent medieval chronicler The Papar (from Irish pap, father or Pope) were according to early Icelandic historical sources, a group The oldest known source which mentions the name "Iceland" is an 11th century Gothic rune carving, while the oldest archeological finds indicating settlement date back to the 9th century. The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s The 9th century is the period from 801 to 900 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. The first written source to mention the existence of Iceland is a book by the Irish monk Dicuil, De mensura orbis terrae, which dates back to 825. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Dicuil was an Irish monk and geographer born in the second half of the 8th century; date of death unknown Dicuilus claimed to have met some Irish monks who had lived on the island of Thule. Thule (ˈθuːli; Greek Θούλη Thoulē; also called Thile, Tile, Tilla, Toolee, or Tylen) is in They said that darkness reigned during winter but that the summers were bright enough to pick lice from one's clothing. While the veracity of this source may be questioned, there is little doubt that the inhabitants of both Ireland and Britain were aware of a sizeable land mass far up north -- they may have deduced this from the flight patterns of migrating birds or the cloud formations over Vatnajökull, which can be seen from great distances. Vatnajökull ( English: Glacier of Rivers (ˈvahtnaˌjœːkʏtl ̥ is the largest glacier in Iceland. Additionally, Iceland is only about 450 kilometers from the Faroes which had been visited by Irish monks in the 500s, and settled by the Norse around 650. The Faroe Islands or Faeroe Islands or simply Faroe(s or Faeroes (Føroyar meaning " Sheep Islands" Færøerne Old Norse
Naddoddr and Garðar
The Landnámabók claims that the first Norseman to rest his feet on Icelandic soil was a viking by the name of Naddoddr. Landnámabók (meaning "The Book of Settlement" often shortened to Landnáma) is a medieval Icelandic manuscript describing in considerable detail the A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Naddoddr ( Icelandic: Naddoður Faroese: Naddoddur was a Viking credited with the discovery of Iceland. Naddoddr stayed for only a short period of time, but gave the country a name: Snæland (Land of Snow). He was followed by the Swede Garðar Svavarsson, who was the first to stay over winter. Garðarr Svavarsson ( modern Icelandic Garðar Svavarsson, sometimes anglicized as Gardar Svavarsson) was a Swedish man who is considered by many At some time around 860 A. This article is about the year 860 For the area code see Area code 860. D. , a storm pushed his ship far to the north until he reached the eastern coast of Iceland. Garðar approached the island from the east, sailed westward along the coast and then up north, building a house in Húsavík. Húsavík Iceland He completed a full circle, circumnavigating the island and establishing that the landmass in question was indeed an island. He departed the following summer, never to return, but not before giving the island a new name -- Garðarshólmur (literally, Garðar's Island). One of his men, Náttfari, decided to stay behind along with two slaves. Náttfari (nightwalker escaped from Garðar Svavarsson with a slave and a woman when Garðar set sail to the Hebrides from his new found land which he named Garðarshólmi Náttfari settled in what is now known as Náttfaravík close to Skjálfandi. Skjálfandi, geologically more a bay than a Fjord, is located in the North of Iceland. Landnámabók, however, maintains that Náttfari was not a permanent settler. Landnámabók (meaning "The Book of Settlement" often shortened to Landnáma) is a medieval Icelandic manuscript describing in considerable detail the
Raven-Floki
"There was a man by the name Flóki Vilgerðarson. He was a great Viking. He left to find Garðarshólmur" -- Landnámabók
The second Norseman to arrive in Iceland was named Flóki Vilgerðarson, but the precise year of his arrival is not clear. Landnámabók (meaning "The Book of Settlement" often shortened to Landnáma) is a medieval Icelandic manuscript describing in considerable detail the Eyjafjallajökull 'eijaˌfjatlaˌjœkʏtl is one of the smaller Glaciers of Iceland. Flóki Vilgerðarson ( Floki son of Vilgerdur) was amongst the first Norsemen to find Iceland. According to the story told in Landnámabók, he took three ravens to help him find his way. Landnámabók (meaning "The Book of Settlement" often shortened to Landnáma) is a medieval Icelandic manuscript describing in considerable detail the Thus, he was nicknamed Raven-Floki (Icelandic: Hrafna-Flóki). Flóki set his ravens free near the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands or Faeroe Islands or simply Faroe(s or Faeroes (Føroyar meaning " Sheep Islands" Færøerne Old Norse The first raven flew back on board. The second flew up in the air and then returned to the ship. However, the third flew in front of the ship and they followed its direction to Iceland.
He landed in Vatnsfjörður in the Westfjords after passing what is now Reykjavík. Vatnsfjordur is a Nature reserve located north-west of Breiðafjörður on the Hjarðarnes coast of north-western Iceland. The Westfjords ( Icelandic: Vestfirðir, ISO 3166-2IS: IS-4) is a Peninsula in northwestern Iceland. For the Greater Reykjavík Area see the Greater Reykjavík Area. One of his men, Faxi, remarked that they seemed to have found great land -- the bay facing Reykjavík is therefore known as Faxaflói. Faxaflói is a bay in Southwest- Iceland between the peninsulas of Snæfellsnes and Reykjanes. A harsh winter caused all of Flóki's cattle to die -- he cursed this cold country, and when he spotted a drift ice in the fjord he decided to name it "Ísland" (Iceland). Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( Despite difficulties in finding food, he and his men stayed another year, this time in Borgarfjörður, but they finally headed back to Norway the following summer. Borgarfjörður is a fjord in the west of Iceland near the town of Borgarnes. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Flóki would return much later and settle in what is now known as Flókadalur.
Ingólfur Arnarson
"There was a man of the North [Norway], Ingólfr, who is truly said to be the first leave it for Iceland, in the time when Haraldr the Fair-Haired was sixteen winters of age [. The 9th century is the period from 801 to 900 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. . . ], he settled south in Reykjavík" -- Íslendingabók
Another Norseman, by the name of Ingólfur Arnarson, had instigated a blood feud in his homeland, Norway. Íslendingabók, Libellus Islandorum or The Book of Icelanders is an historical work dealing with early Icelandic history. He and his foster-brother Hjörleifur first went on an exploratory expedition to Iceland, and stayed over winter in what is now Álftafjörður. A few years later, they returned to settle the land with their men. When they approached the island, Ingólfur cast his high seat pillars overboard and swore that he would settle where they drifted to shore. He then sent his slaves Vífill and Karli to search for the pillars. They found his foster-brother Hjörleifur murdered, and all his men gone. Ingólfur gave his foster-brother a heathen funeral in the Norse style and slew the murderers, who had fled to the Westman Islands. Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language
As winter approached, Ingólfur's slaves found the pillars by Arnarhvol. When summer came, he built a farmstead in Reykjavík and claimed all the land west of the rivers of Ölfusá, Öxará and Brynjudalsá. For the Greater Reykjavík Area see the Greater Reykjavík Area. The Ölfusá is a River in Iceland. It is formed when the rivers Hvítá and Sog combine just north of the town of Selfoss and flows Öxará ( Icelandic: Axe River) is a River in Iceland in Þingvellir National Park. His slave Karli did not care for the location, and said to Ingólfur: "How ill that we should pass good land, to settle in this remote peninsula".
The Age of Settlement Begins
The Age of Settlement in Iceland is considered to have begun with Ingólfur's settlement, for he was the first to sail to Iceland with the express purpose of settling the land. He was followed by many others -- within about sixty years, all the usable land had been taken. Landnámabók manuscripts mention 1500 farm and place names as well as more than 3500 people. Landnámabók (meaning "The Book of Settlement" often shortened to Landnáma) is a medieval Icelandic manuscript describing in considerable detail the The material is arranged in a geographical fashion and seems to give a relatively complete picture of how the country was settled. It is difficult to estimate with any great precision the number of the migrants to the country during the Age of Settlement, but scholars estimate that it was between 15000 and 20000 people.
The Age of Settlement Ends
The Age of Settlement is considered to have ended in the year 930 with the establishment of Alþingi, when almost all land in the country had been claimed by settlers. Events By Place Europe With the establishment of the Althing, now the world's oldest Parliament, the Icelandic Commonwealth The Alþingi, Anglicized variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national Parliament —literally “(the all- thing ”—of
See also
References
- Árni Daníel Júlíusson, Jón Ólafur Ísberg, Helgi Skúli Kjartansson Íslenskur sögu atlas: 1. 9th Century 825: Dicuil, an Irish Monk refers to fellow bindi: Frá öndverðu til 18. aldar Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík 1989
- Byock, Jesse [1]; "Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas and Power" University of California Press (1988) ISBN 0-520-06954-4 ISBN 0-226-52680-1
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