26.4.2010


Discovery


Age of Settlement (874-930)

Main article: Settlement of Iceland

 Discovery

http://netsaga.is/media/files/Purple%20people%20going%20into%20white.mp3

A page from a skin manuscript of Landnámabók in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Reykjavík, Iceland

According to Landnámabók, Iceland was discovered by Naddoddr, one of the first settlers on the Faroe Islands, who was sailing from Norway to the Faroe Islands, but got lost and drifted to the east coast of Iceland. Naddoddr named the country Snćland (Snowland). Swedish sailor Garđar Svavarsson also accidentally drifted to the coast of Iceland. He discovered that the country was an island and named it Garđarshólmi (literally Garđar's Islet) and stayed for the winter at Húsavík. The first Scandinavian who deliberately sailed to Garđarshólmi was Flóki Vilgerđarson, also known as Hrafna-Flóki (Raven-Flóki). Flóki settled for one winter at Barđaströnd. It was a cold winter, and when he spotted some drift ice in the fjords he gave the island its current name, Ísland (Iceland).