Landnám

Landnám, meaning land-taking or settlement, refers to the Norse settlement of Iceland during the late 9th and early 10th centuries. Beginning around 874 CE, settlers from Norway and the British Isles established farms along Iceland’s coasts, eventually forming a society based on farming, family lineage, and common law. The settlement process continued for several decades, with most settlement concentrated in the southwest and west of the island. The era is traditionally considered to have ended by about 930 CE when the Althing, Iceland’s general assembly, was established at Þingvellir.

Source and record: The principal source on landnám is Landnámabók (The Book of Settlements), a medieval Icelandic text compiled in the 12th–13th centuries drawing on earlier traditions. It lists settlers, their homelands, and the locations of their farms and sometimes brief biographical details. Other contemporary sources include Íslendingabók. The story of the settlement begins with legendary figures like Ingólfr Arnarson, who is commonly regarded as the first permanent settler in Reykjavík, and his wife Hallveig Fróðadóttir.

Impact and legacy: The landnám era established Icelandic social and legal structures, including the foundation of common law and later the Alþingi (parliament) at Þingvellir in 930. The population remained predominantly Norse with some Celtic influence, and settlement shaped the development of the Old Norse language and Icelandic identity. Christianization occurred around 1000 CE under the influence of the Alþingi and church authorities. The Landnámabók remains a key source for historians and literary scholars studying this formative period.