The Origin of the Book of Settlement and Celtic Christianity in Iceland
Almost all we know about the first settlers in Iceland comes from two manuscripts, the Book of Icelanders (Íslendingabók) written in 1122/1133 by Ari fróði Þorgilsson (1067-1148), and the Book of Settlements (Landnámabók). The Norse settlement of Iceland took place in Landnám period 870- 930, but th...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Morcelliana
2016
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| In: |
Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni
Year: 2016, Volume: 82, Issue: 2, Pages: 887-915 |
| Further subjects: | B
Chiefdoms
B History of manuscripts B Genealogy B The Book of Settlements (Landnámabók) B Book of Settlements, The (Book) B Icelandic Land Registers B Il registro islandese delle terre B History B Bressay Stone B Pietra di Bressay B Ari fróði Þorgilsson B Celtic Church B Cristianesimo celtico in Islanda B Celtic Christianity in Iceland |
| Summary: | Almost all we know about the first settlers in Iceland comes from two manuscripts, the Book of Icelanders (Íslendingabók) written in 1122/1133 by Ari fróði Þorgilsson (1067-1148), and the Book of Settlements (Landnámabók). The Norse settlement of Iceland took place in Landnám period 870- 930, but the accounts of this process in the texts appear to be mythical. The information about the settlers in the free-state period 930-1000 seems more reliable. In the 14th century, the compilers of the three extant versions introduced numerous interpolations, in particular by expanding the text with information about later descendants. In contrast to Íslendingabók's 3,800 farmers, the Landnámabók mentions 430 settlers, of which about one hundred may come from the earliest layer of the text. Of 3,500 descendants, I have entered 2,500 into a computerized genealogy program, which proves that the data is statistically reliable. The Landnámabók mentions 1,500 settlement farmsteads, which proved verifiable, when comparing the farmsteads of the unrelated settlers with the same farms mentioned in the land registers from the 17th and 18th century. The assessments of the farms showed that most farms belonged to the largest categories. Several of the earliest settlers in Iceland had previously lived in the British Islands. The relatively smooth transition to Christianity by law in 999/1000 may be the result of the importation of Celtic Christianity to Iceland by these immigrants. The Celtic Christianity may have influenced the descendants of the chieftains Björn buna and Ketill flatnefr to become Christian. The religion of most of the other settlers from Britain cannot be ascertained. These settlers lived on the south coast of Iceland, in the Dalir district in the West, and in Skagafjörður and Eyjafjörður in the North, in particular. At first, the Icelandic Church resembled the Irish, having an ordained chieftain-priesthood and bishops elected from the leading chieftain families. In the twelfth century, the reform archbishops in Trondheim, who had authority over Iceland, vigorously opposed lay influence over the Church. By the mid thirteenth century, the archbishops succeeded in abolishing the ordained chieftain-clergy in Iceland. (English) |
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| ISSN: | 2611-8742 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni
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