Who are Ingólfr Arnarson and Hallveig Frodesdatter?
Q: Who are Ingólfr Arnarson and Hallveig Frodesdatter?
A: Ingólfr Arnarson and Hallveig Frodesdatter are commonly said to be the first permanent Nordic settlers of Iceland. They are traditionally credited with founding Reykjavík in 874.
Q: What is the Landnámabók?
A: The Landnámabók is a book which describes the settlement of Iceland by the Norsemen. It claims that Arnarson left modern-day Norway after becoming involved in a blood feud, and built his house in modern-day Reykjavík, naming it as well.
Q: Who were Garðar Svavarsson, Flóki Vilgerðarson and others?
A: Garðar Svavarsson, Flóki Vilgerðarson and others were sailors who found an island while sailing in the Atlantic ocean. According to tradition, this was where Ingolfr Arnarson settled when he arrived in Iceland.
Q: What happened to Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson?
A: Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson was Ingolf's step-brother who sailed with him for Iceland. He was murdered by his Irish slaves because of how badly he was treating them, so Ingolf hunted them down and killed them in Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands). This event gave the islands their name - vestmenn (west men) being a name that Norsemen at this time sometimes used for Irishmen.
Q: What happened to Ingolf after settling?
A: After settling in southwestern Iceland, nothing is known about what happened to him afterwards. His son Torstein (Þorsteinn Ingólfsson) is said to have founded the first parliament in Iceland which later became known as Althingi.
Q: Who claimed that Arnarson was the first Nordic settler of Iceland?
A: Medieval historian Ari Þorgilsson claimed that Arnarson was the first Nordic settler of Iceland but acknowledged that Irish monks and hermits lived there before he arrived.
Q: How did they decide where they would settle when land came into sight?
A: When land came into sight during their voyage across the Atlantic ocean, Ingolf threw his high seat pillars overboard and promised to settle wherever gods decided to bring them ashore. Two of his slaves then searched coasts for three years before finding pillars at small bay which eventually became Reykjavík city
