User:Prioryman/Landnámabók

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A page from a vellum manuscript of Landnáma in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Reykjavík, Iceland

Landnámabók (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈlantnaumaˌpouk], “The Book of Settlement”), often shortened to Landnáma, is a medieval Icelandic written work describing in considerable detail the settlement (landnám) of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries AD.

Landnáma[edit]

Landnámabók is divided into five parts and over 100 chapters. The first part tells of how the land was found and the absolute first settlers but the later parts count settlers quarter by quarter beginning with west and ending with south. It traces important events and family history into the 12th century. More than 3,000 people and 1,400 settlements are described. For each settler it is said where they settled and a brief genealogy is provided, and sometimes short anecdote-like stories are also included. Landnámabók lists 435 men as the initial settlers, the majority of them settling in the northern and south-western parts of the island. It remains an invaluable source on both the history and genealogy of the Icelandic people. Some have suggested a single author while others have believed it put together when people met at things.

Surviving versions[edit]

The surviving versions of Landnámabók date from the second half of the 13th century or a little later, though it has been suggested that it was composed in an early form by Ari Þorgilsson (1068–1148). The initial settlement of Iceland largely took place during the Viking Age between 870 and 930, but Landnámabók definitely mentions descendants significantly later than the actual settlement period, at least into the 11th century.

There are five surviving medieval versions of Landnámabók.

Individuals described in the book[edit]

Landnámabók is divided into a series of short chapters, each describing of the lives, personalities, deeds and family ties of many of Iceland's early settlers. As was common in Scandinavian societies at the time, many of the settlers had colourfully descriptive personal names. A few examples:

Arnor Hairy-Nose is recorded as the son of a man named Thorrodd who lived at Hrútafjörður in north-west Iceland. He married Gerd, daughter of Bodvar of Bodvarshills. They had two sons, Thorbjorn, who was killed by another man named Grettir, and Thorodd Poem-Piece, whose daughter Valgerd married Skeggi Short-Hand.[1]

Eystein Foul-Fart makes two appearances in the book, first as the settler of the eastern side of Hrútafjörður. He was the son of Alf of Osta and married Thorhild, daughter of Thorstein the Red. The couple moved west to the Dales area at the head of Breiðafjörður, where they had four sons: Alf of the Dales, Thord, Thorolf Fox and Hrapp.[1] Alf married a woman named Halldis and had one son, Snorri, and two daughters, Thorgerd and Thorelf. Thorolf Fox was killed in battle at an assembly at Thorsness when he took the side of Thord Gellir against Tongue-Odd.[2]

Hergils Knob-Buttocks was the son of Thrand Slender-Leg and Gils Ship-Nose. He lived on his own island, Hergils' Island, with his wife Thorarna, the daughter of Ketil Broad-Sole. They had a son, Ingjald, who lived on the island but fell foul of Bork the Stout after allying himself with the outlaw Gisli Sursson. Bork expelled Ingjald from his father's island in reprisal.[3] Hergils Knob-Buttocks also had a daughter, Thorkatla, who married Mar of Reykahills. Their son Ari drifted westwards to "White Men's Land" or "Greater Ireland" – thought to be Greenland – and was stranded there for a while, during which time he was baptised into Christianity. Ari eventually made it home and married Thorgerd, the grand-daughter of Eystein Foul-Fart.[4]

Herjolf Bent-Arse attracted fame for killing a brown bear at the age of eight, an event which was recorded in a poem composed in his honour:

The bear with a burnt arse
bit Herjolf's goat
Herjolf with the bent arse
paid the bear back.

He went on to become a great fighter, avenging the death of his father Sigurd Hog's-Head at the age of only 12 years old. He emigrated to Iceland in his old age, where he settled land around Kirkjufjord and fathered Thorstein Coal-Beard.[5]

Olvir the Child-Sparer was a famous Viking from Norway who obtained his nickname from his relatively merciful treatment of children. When raiding, he refused to allow them to be tossed onto spear-points as was the custom of the time. His own children and relatives married into Icelandic settler society; he had three sons, Steinolf, Einar and Steinmod,[6] and his sister Ondott married a chieftain, Hrolf of Agder.[7]

Other notables mentioned in the book include Aud the Deep-Minded, Bersi the Godless, Erik the Red (who founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland and whose son Leif Ericsson was possibly the first European to reach North America), Geimund Hell-Skin, Ljot the Unwashed, Odd the Showy, Stein the Hard-Sailing, Thorir Troll-Burster and Ulf the Squint-Eyed.[8]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Pálsson, Hermann; Edwards, Paul (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok. University of Manitoba Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780887556982.
  2. ^ Pálsson, Hermann; Edwards, Paul (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok. University of Manitoba Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9780887556982.
  3. ^ Pálsson, Hermann; Edwards, Paul (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok. University of Manitoba Press. p. 58. ISBN 9780887556982.
  4. ^ Pálsson, Hermann; Edwards, Paul (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok. University of Manitoba Press. p. 61. ISBN 9780887556982.
  5. ^ Pálsson, Hermann; Edwards, Paul (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok. University of Manitoba Press. p. 43. ISBN 9780887556982.
  6. ^ Pálsson, Hermann; Edwards, Paul (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok. University of Manitoba Press. pp. 141–2. ISBN 9780887556982.
  7. ^ Pálsson, Hermann; Edwards, Paul (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok. University of Manitoba Press. p. 57. ISBN 9780887556982.
  8. ^ Pálsson, Hermann; Edwards, Paul (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok. University of Manitoba Press. pp. 155–59. ISBN 9780887556982.
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