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Viking settlement of Iceland

Type Event Region Europe Time 874–930

Around 874, Norwegian Vikings including Ingólfr Arnarson landed and settled in southwestern Iceland, launching the large-scale Landnám migration wave.

Timeline

  1. 874Reykjavík Bay · SouthwestAccording to the Icelandic Book of Settlements, Ingólfr Arnarson left his homeland due to oppression under Norwegian royal authority, landing in southwestern Iceland in 874; he named Reykjavík after the landing point of his thrown pillars and established a farmstead.
  2. 875–900All of Iceland · IcelandOver the following decades, large numbers of Norwegian, Scottish, and Irish descendants of Vikings crossed the sea, dividing farmland along coasts and river valleys; Iceland's population grew rapidly, forming a dispersed pattern of chieftain territories.
  3. 900–930Þingvellir · IcelandThe settled society gradually developed legal compilations and local assembly traditions, laying the foundation for the establishment of the Alþingi in 930; Iceland became an experimental ground for a republican community without royal authority.

Sources