Viking Settlement of Iceland

Ingólfur Arnarson and Hjörleif Hródmarsson - Iceland's Founders

Ingólfur Arnarson and Hjörleif Hródmarsson are known as Iceland's founding fathers.

These two men were foster brothers. Around 870, they were forced to give up their land in Norway after being involved in some vicious killings.

A drunken young man had sworn that he would marry Ingólfur's sister and no other woman.

Because Ingólfur's sister was already betrothed to Hjörleif (who at the time was known simply as Leif), this vow cost the young man his life. Within a year, the young man's brother had also been killed.

Forced to flee the country, Ingólfur and Leif decided to go to visit Iceland. They explored the Alptafjord area of Austurland (Austfirthir). After wintering in Iceland, they went home to Norway, with plans to return and settle in the land.

Ingólfur stayed in Norway to raise money and to interest people in going to Iceland with him. Leif went off on a Viking expedition to Ireland to capture booty and slaves.

During this expedition, Leif allegedly entered an underground house or chamber which became filled with light from a sword held in a man's hand. He killed the man and then took the sword and other riches. Because of this Leif became known as Hjörleif, or "Sword Leif"

Hjörleif continued plundering in Ireland, and eventually joined Ingólfur in Norway, taking ten slaves with him.

Around 874, the two men returned to Iceland. Each took his family, retainers and slaves with him.

On sighting the coast of Iceland, Ingólfur cast overboard the high-seat pillars (ornately carved poles) from his homestead in Norway. These were richly carved with sacred images and dedicated to the god

Thor. Ingólfur vowed that wherever they drifted ashore, there he would make his home.

In the meantime, as winter was drawing near, he spent the cold months at a place still called Ingolfshofdi, on the south coast below Vatnajökull.

Hjörleif traveled another 60 miles west and landed at Myrdalssandur, a coastal stretch of marsh and sand. He built two great houses at a site known as Hjörleifshofdi.

In the spring, Hjörleif was killed by his Irish slaves.

It is said that when Hjörleif decided to sow corn, he hitched his slaves to the plow, along with the one ox that he owned. He had only one ox, and therefore hitched his Irish slaves to the plow as well.
While Hjörleif was in his house, one of the slaves suggested to the other that they should kill the ox and say that a bear had slain it. As Hjörleif and his men scattered in search of the bear, the slaves attacked and killed them.

Then the slaves collected all the small belongings, seized the women, stole one of the boats, and made their way to some islands in the southwest of Iceland.

Meanwhile, Ingólfur sent two of his slaves westward along the shore to look for his pillars. When they came to Hjörleifshofdi and saw what had happened, they returned to Ingólfur and told him about it.
Ingólfur sought out the killers, slew them, and reclaimed the women.

He then returned to Hjörleifshofdi, where his party spent their second winter.

The islands to which the slaves fled became known as Vestmannaeyjar - the islands of the Westmen, the Viking name for the Irish.

Ingólfur's third winter in Iceland was spent on the Ölfusá River. During this time, he found his high-seat pillars again.

He settled there and called the place Reykjavik (smoky bay) because of the steam from the hot springs in the area.

Ingólfur's party settled in the land between the Ölfusá River and Hjalfjord, north of Reykjavik. This was the first permanent community in Iceland.

Early Settlements

During the late 8oo's, Harold Fairhair became Norway's first king. Norway had previously been divided into districts governed by jarls (petty chiefs).

Harold was a local chieftain who warred against the jarls both on the land and from the sea. He vowed he would not cut his hair or bathe until he had conquered all his enemies. When he finally trimmed his hair and washed it, having presumably achieved his aim, his followers began calling him Fairhair.

Many of the men whose lands Harold usurped saw him as a tyrant and escaped to Iceland.

Soon, so many Norwegians began leaving for Iceland that Harold eventually placed a ban on emigrating there because he was worried that all of Norway would be abandoned.

In Iceland, a man named Thorolf Mostrarskogg settled Breidhafjördhur, the place where Floki Vilgerdarson landed. He built a temple dedicated to Thor on Helgafell (Holy Mountain). The mountain was made sacred - a place where no man or beast should be harmed.

Aud the Deep-Minded was the widow of a Viking who had been killed in battle in Ireland shortly after he had proclaimed himself king of Dublin. She settled around Hvammsfjord at the head of Breidhafjördhur.

Her son Thorstein settled in the Hebrides, and her granddaughters founded a noble lineage on the Faroe Island.

Aud was Christian and set up crosses and an altar on her land. However, after she died, her followers reverted to paganism.

The early pioneers found good grazing for their cattle and grew a modest supply of grain. Eider ducks and many other types of birds bred on Iceland. The lakes and rivers were full of trout and salmon; the seas were rich in herring and seal. Sometimes whales washed ashore, providing the islanders with food and oil.

By the 930s, within 50 years of its discovery, Iceland was fully occupied.

The Landnámabók, which tells of Iceland's settlement, mentions the names of 400 families, the elite of the settlers, many of whom had been Vikings or were of noble blood.

About one seventh of the settlers were of Irish origin or had Irish connections.

The majority came from southwest Norway, the others by way of Scotland, the Orkneys, the Shetlands and the Faeroes.

The communities of Iceland took their law, language, and religion from Norway. Some of the settlers were already Christians, but others were less committed to Christianity.

By the early 1000s, Iceland was officially Christian and under the pope's jurisdiction.