Ingólfr Arnarson, in some sources named Bjǫrnólfsson, ( – ) is commonly recognized as the first permanent Norse settler of Iceland, together with his wife and foster brother

Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson Hjǫrleifr Hróðmarsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; Modern Norwegian: ) was an early settler in Iceland. The story of the early settlement of Iceland is told in the compilation known as ''Landnámabók.'' Hjörleifr was the blood brother o ...

. According to tradition, they settled in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

in 874.

Biography

Ingólfr Arnarson was from the valley of Rivedal in Sunnfjord in western Norway. According to the Icelandic Book of Settlements, he built his homestead in and gave name to Reykjavík in 874. However, archaeological finds in Iceland suggest settlement may have started somewhat earlier. The medieval chronicler

Ari Þorgilsson Ari Þorgilsson (1067–1148 AD; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; also anglicized Ari Thorgilsson) was Iceland's most prominent medieval chronicler. He was the author of ''Íslendingabók'', which details the histories of the various familie ...

said Ingólfr was the first Nordic settler in Iceland, but mentioned that

Irish monks The Hiberno-Scottish mission was a series of expeditions in the 6th and 7th centuries by Gaelic missionaries originating from Ireland that spread Celtic Christianity in Scotland, Wales, England and Merovingian France. Celtic Christianity sp ...

had been in the country before the Norsemen. He wrote that they left because they did not want to live among the newly arrived Norse pagans. The Book of Settlements (written two to three centuries after the settlement) contains a story about Ingólfr's arrival. The book claims he left Norway after becoming involved in a

blood feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one pa ...

. He had heard about a new island which

Garðar Svavarsson Garðarr Svavarsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; Modern Swedish: ) 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 Naddod. He and his family ...

, Hrafna-Flóki and others had found in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. With his

blood brother Blood brother can refer to two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, hand or ...

, he sailed for Iceland. When land was in sight, he threw his high seat pillars overboard and promised to settle where the gods decided to bring them ashore. Two of his slaves then searched the coasts for three years before finding the pillars in the small bay which eventually became the site of

. In the meantime, Hjörleifr had been murdered by his Irish slaves. Ingólfr hunted them down and killed them in the

Westman Islands Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyj ...

. The islands got their name from that event, with ''westmen'' (Old Norse: ''vestmenn'') being a name that the Norsemen used for the Irish. Ingólfr was said to have settled a large part of southwestern Iceland, although after his settlement nothing more was known of him. His son, Þorsteinn Ingólfsson, was a major chieftain and was said to have founded the , the first

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...

, or parliament, in Iceland. It was a forerunner of the Althingi.

Legacy

In 1924, a statue of Ingólfr Arnarson, designed by Icelandic sculptor

Einar Jónsson Einar Jónsson (11 May 1874 – 18 October 1954) was an Icelandic sculptor, born in ''Galtafell'', a farm in southern Iceland. Biography At a young age Einar proved himself to be an unusual child with an artistic bent. At that time there was li ...

(1874–1954), was erected in Reykjavík. A copy of the statue was erected at Rivedal in 1961.

Notes

References

External links

Statue of Ingolfur Arnarson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingolfr Arnarson Viking explorers 9th-century Norwegian people 9th-century Icelandic people 9th-century explorers 910 deaths 9th-century Vikings

Biography

Legacy

See also

Notes

References

External links