Ingólfr Arnarson

Ingólfr Arnarson, in some sources named Bjǫrnólfsson,[lower-alpha 1] (c. 849 – c. 910) is commonly recognized as the first permanent Norse settler of Iceland, together with his wife Hallveig Fróðadóttir and foster brother Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson. According to tradition, they settled in Reykjavík in 874.[1][2]

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Ingólfr.
Ingólfur Arnarson
Ingolf tager Island i besiddelse by Johan Peter Raadsig (1850)
Bornc. 849
Rivedal, Sunnfjord, Kingdom of Fjordane
Diedc. 910
Reykjarvík, pre-Commonwealth Iceland
NationalityNorse
OccupationIcelandic
Known forFirst permanent Norse settler in Iceland
ChildrenÞorsteinn Ingólfsson (son)
RelativesÖrn Björnólfsson (father); Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson (blood brother)
The famous statue by Einar Jónsson, up on Arnarhóll in Reykjavík
Monument at Ingólfshöfði, the site where Ingólfur is said to have passed his first winter in Iceland

Biography

Ingólfur Arnarson was from the valley of Rivedal in Sunnfjord in western Norway. According to the Icelandic Book of Settlements, he built his homestead in and gave name to Reykjavík in 874. However, archaeological finds in Iceland suggest settlement may have started somewhat earlier. The medieval chronicler Ari Þorgilsson said Ingólfur was the first Nordic settler in Iceland, but mentioned that Irish monks had been in the country before the Norsemen. He wrote that they left because they did not want to live among the newly arrived Norse pagans.[3]

The Book of Settlements (written two to three centuries after the settlement) contains a story about Ingólf's arrival. The book claims he left Norway after becoming involved in a blood feud. He had heard about a new island which Garðar Svavarsson, Hrafna-Flóki and others had found in the Atlantic Ocean. With his blood brother Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson, he sailed for Iceland. When land was in sight, he threw his high seat pillars overboard and promised to settle where the gods decided to bring them ashore. Two of his slaves then searched the coasts for three years before finding the pillars in the small bay which eventually became the site of Reykjavík.[4]

In the meantime, Hjörleifr had been murdered by his Irish slaves. Ingólfur hunted them down and killed them in the Westman Islands. The islands got their name from that event, with westmen (Old Norse: vestmenn) being a name that the Norsemen used for the Irish. Ingólfur was said to have settled a large part of southwestern Iceland, although after his settlement nothing more was known of him. His son, Þorsteinn Ingólfsson, was a major chieftain and was said to have founded the Kjalarnesþing, the first thing, or parliament, in Iceland. It was a forerunner of the Althingi.[5]

Legacy
Statue of Ingólfur Arnarson at Rivedal in Sogn og Fjordane

In 1924, a statue of Ingólfur Arnarson, designed by Icelandic sculptor Einar Jónsson (1874–1954), was erected in Reykjavík. A copy of the statue was erected at Rivedal in 1961.[6]

See also

Notes
  1. Old Norse pronunciation: [ˈiŋɡˌoːlvz̠ ˈɑrnˌɑrsˌson], [ˈbjɔrnˌoːlvsˌson].
    In Modern Icelandic: Ingólfur Arnarson [ˈiŋkˌoulvʏr ˈa(r)tnˌar̥sˌsɔːn], Björnólfsson [ˈpjœ(r)tnˌoul(f)sˌsɔːn].
    In Modern Norwegian the first name is spelled either Ingolf or Ingolv; patronym variously as Arnarson, Arnarsson, Arneson, Arnesson or Ørnsson.

References
  1. "Ingólfur Arnarson - The First Icelander". sagamuseum.is. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  2. "Ingólfr Arnarson Bjǫrnólfsson Ingolv Ørnsson". nbl.snl.no. Norsk biografisk leksikon. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  3. "Ingolfur Arnarson". nrk.no. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  4. Jon Gunnar Jørgensen. "Ingólfr Arnarson Bjǫrnólfsson Ingolv Ørnss". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  5. "Ingólfur Arnarson". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  6. "Statue of Ingolfur Arnarson (Reykjavik, Iceland)". International Travel News. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
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