Garðarr Svavarsson (
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
: ;
Modern Icelandic
Icelandic ( ; , ) is a North Germanic language from the Indo-European language family spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Since it is a West Scandinavian language, it ...
: ;
Modern Swedish
Modern Swedish () is the linguistic term used for the Swedish language from the Bible translation of 1526 to the development of a common national language around 1880. The period can further be divided into ''Early Modern Swedish'' (1526–1750 ...
: ) was a Swede who briefly resided in Iceland, according to the Sagas. He is said to be the second Scandinavian to reach the island of Iceland after
Naddodd. He and his family appear in the
Icelandic Sagas with the principal source from
Haukr Erlendsson's edition of
Landnámabók.
Biography
Svavarsson is described as a Swedish Viking who owned land in
Zealand
Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...
(in modern
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
). He was married to a woman from the
Hebrides
The Hebrides ( ; , ; ) are the largest archipelago in the United Kingdom, off the west coast of the Scotland, Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Ou ...
. During the 860s, he needed to claim his inheritance from his father-in-law. During a voyage to these isles, he sailed into a storm at
Pentland Firth. This storm pushed his ship far to the north until he reached the eastern coast of Iceland. He circumnavigated the island, becoming the first known person to do so and thus establishing that the landmass was an
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
. He went ashore at
Skjálfandi where he built himself a house and stayed for the winter. Since then, the place located in North Eastern Iceland has been called
Húsavík.
Having returned, he praised the new land and called it after his
own name ''Garðarshólmi'' (see
names of Iceland). Nothing is known of his fate thereafter, but his son, Uni danski (Uni the Dane), later emigrated to Iceland. He made a feeble attempt to win it for the Norwegian king with himself as earl. He had discussed this with the king but when the local farmers knew his intent, they would help him in no way and soon he was killed.
Uni danski had a son, Hróar Tungugoði, who inherited the entire estate. In the
Sagas of Icelanders
The sagas of Icelanders (, ), also known as family sagas, are a subgenre, or text group, of Icelandic Saga, sagas. They are prose narratives primarily based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and earl ...
, Hróar quarreled with other men and was twice challenged to a hill battle and won both times. He killed his opponents but was eventually murdered but then avenged by his son. Hróar's wife was Arngunnur, sister of
Gunnar Hámundarson, who is one of the main characters in ''
Njáls saga'', the longest and generally considered the greatest of the Icelandic Sagas.
See also
*
Náttfari
References
Other sources
*Sigurðsson, Jón (1968) ''Garðar og náttfari'' (Reykjavík: Leiftur)
External links
Garðarshólmi project
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardar Svavarsson
Swedish explorers
Viking explorers
9th-century Icelandic people
9th-century Swedish people
9th-century Vikings