Origin of Icelanders and the Icelandic Language

Origin of Icelanders and the Icelandic Language

Iceland was first populated in the 9th century by Norse settlers, a number of whom took Celtic slaves and wives from Ireland and Scotland along the way. There is evidence to suggest that the island’s existence had been known for centuries, and Irish monks may have come here to meditate and worship in solitude.

There are several recorded discoveries of Iceland, and the first one was by the Viking Naddoður, who drifted to the east coast of Iceland after getting lost, and named it Snæland (Snowland).

Hrafna-Flóki was the first Scandinavian who deliberately sailed here, and gave the island its current name after spotting some drift ice in the fjords during his winter-long stay. Subsequently the first permanent settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, left the shores of Norway with his family, slaves and livestock and made his home in Reykjavík. The rest is history as they say, presented in worldclass exhibits in the National Museum of Iceland, the Settlement Exhibition.

During the Viking Age, the North-Germanic language, Old Norse, was spoken by Scandinavians in their homelands and overseas settlements. Regional differences increased up to the 13th century and accelerated in the 14th century. Changes appeared in the Icelandic pronunciation that were not heard in the other Scandinavian languages, and the grammar became considerably simpler outside Iceland.

Due to the similarity between modern and ancient grammar and writing, most Icelanders are still able to read and understand the original Sagas, although most texts have been somewhat simplified.

South Iceland

Icelandic seafarers discovered America around the year 1000, sailing on open ships with one sail. They conquered the waves of the Atlantic by primitive means of navigating, sailing mostly by the sun and stars and the flight of seabirds.

The story surrounding this is in part a family drama. It begins with Eiríkur Rauði (Eric-the-Red), a troublesome man who was exiled from both Iceland and Norway “because of some killings”. He settled Greenland in 985, followed by several hundred Icelanders. That same year, an Icelandic merchant named Bjarni Herjólfsson was sailing for Greenland, but got blown off-course and reported seeing land to the west.

In the year 1000, Leifur Heppni (Leifur-the-Lucky), son of Eiríkur Rauði, went to explore the land that Bjarni had sighted. He discovered an area he named Vínland, “a land of mild climate, self sown wheat and grapes”. Leifur was the first European to set foot on the continent of North America.

Leifur’s brother, Þorsteinn, attempted to go there with his wife Guðríður Þorbjarnadóttir, without succeeding. After Þorsteinns’ death, Guðríður and her new husband, Þorfinnur Karlsefni, returned to Vínland to form a settlement.

Their son Snorri was the first European born in America. Initially the Vikings conducted peaceful trade with the native American tribes, but eventually conflict broke out. This drove the Icelanders back to Greenland, and successful voyages to Vínland are not reported after that.

In the year 1477, a young Italian sailor visited Iceland. Scholars believe he heard rumours of Vínland, giving him a daring idea of his own to pursue. The name of this man was Christopher Columbus, and the rest, as they say, is history.