VIKING SOCIETY FOR NORTHERN RESEARCHTEXT SERIESGENERAL EDITORS

Anthony Faulkes and Alison Finlay

VOLUME XVIIIÍSLENDINGABÓK — KRISTNI SAGA
THE BOOK OF THE ICELANDERS — THE STORY OF THE
CONVERSION

For Sunniva and BenjaminÍSLENDINGABÓKKRISTNI SAGA
THE BOOK OF THE ICELANDERSTHE STORY OF THE CONVERSION

TRANSLATED BYSIÂN GRØNLIE

VIKING SOCIETY FOR NORTHERN RESEARCH
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

2006

© Siân Grønlie 2006
ISBN-10: 0-903521-71-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-903521-71-0

The illustration on the cover is a detail from the aerial photograph of ﬁingvelliron the reverse of the map of ﬁingvellir published by Landmælingar Íslands in
1969, © National Land Survey of Iceland, Licence no. L06080007. The figures
relate to the sites of booths (shelters used to accommodate chieftains who
attended the Alﬂingi each summer and their followers). Many of these only datefrom the 18th or 19th centuries, and the identifications of the medieval booths are
guesses from about 1700; there is no contemporary evidence for them. The
supposed owners are listed below.
6
8
11
12
13
17
19
23
24
25
26
28

Gestr Oddleifsson
30 Gizurr hvíti (the White)
Snorri go›i ﬁorgrímsson
31 Valgar›r grái (the Grey)
Víga-Skúta
32 Egill Skalla-Grímsson
ﬁorgeirr flatnefr ﬁórisson
33 Ásgrímr Elli›a-Grímsson, ﬁórhallr
Hjalti SkeggjasonÁsgrímssonGu›mundr ríki (the Powerful)
34 Mƒr›r gígja, Mƒr›r Valgar›sson
Skagfir›ingar
35 Njálsbú›
Vatnsdœlingar
37 Flosi ﬁór›arson
Langdœlingar
38 Eyjólfr Bƒlverksson
Vatnsfir›ingar
39 Skapti ﬁóroddssonHƒskuldr Dala-Kollsson
40 Sæmundr fró›i
Geirr go›i
41 Snorri Sturluson
42 ﬁorgeirr Ljósvetningago›i

Printed by Short Run Press Limited, Exeter

CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................ vi
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... vii
CONVERSION AND HISTORY-WRITING .................................. vii
ARI’S ÍSLENDINGABÓK ................................................................. ix
Ari’s Life and Work ...................................................................... xÍslendingabók as Family History ................................................ xiv
Íslendingabók as Ecclesiastical History .................................. xviii
History and Myth-Making ........................................................ xxiv
A Note on Íslendingabók, Prose Style and the Family Saga .... xxviii
KRISTNI SAGA ............................................................................... xxx
Date, Authorship and Sources ............................................... xxxii
Kristni saga and Iceland’s History ......................................... xxxv
Kristni saga as Missionary History ....................................... xxxvii
Conversion and Politics ............................................................. xlii
CONCLUSION ................................................................................ xlv
NOTE ON THE TRANSLATIONS ............................................... xlvi
DATES IN THE HISTORY OF EARLY ICELAND .................. xlvii
LAWSPEAKERS OF THE EARLY COMMONWEALTH .......... xlvii
MAP OF ICELAND .................................................................... xlviii

THE BOOK OF THE ICELANDERS ....................................... 3
NOTES TO THE BOOK OF THE ICELANDERS .......................... 15

THE STORY OF THE CONVERSION .................................. 35
NOTES TO THE STORY OF THE CONVERSION ....................... 57

BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................... 75
INDEX OF PERSONAL NAMES ............................................ 86
INDEX OF PLACES AND PEOPLES .................................... 94

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
During the years that I have been working on this book, I have received
help and advice from many people. In particular, I would like to thankThomas Charles-Edward, David Clark, Richard Dance, Alison Finlay,
Judith Jesch and Carolyne Larrington (who first suggested this project tome), Sally Mapstone, Heather O’Donoghue, Ólafur Halldórsson, John
McKinnell, Carl Phelpstead, Matthew Townend, and many others ﬂó ateigi sé rita›ir. Thanks are also due to my colleagues at St Anne’s, Matthew
Reynolds and Ann Pasternak-Slater, for their encouragement and support.
Finally, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Anthony Faulkes for his
many helpful suggestions, meticulous corrections and editorial expertise.
Any errors that remain are my own and, as Ari said about possible
inaccuracies in his work, ﬂá es skylt at hafa ﬂat heldr, es sannara reynisk.
Siân Grønlie
OxfordSt Michael and All Angels, 2006

INTRODUCTIONCONVERSION AND HISTORY-WRITING
Christianity, it has been said, is ‘a religion of historians’, both because
its sacred books are works of history and because it provides a historicalframework—between creation and judgement—within which all humanhistory unfolds.1 For the Icelanders, as for the other Germanic peoples of
early medieval Europe, Christianity was also a religion that made possible,
for the first time, the writing down of oral history: it was the advent of
Christianity to Iceland in the year 999/1000 which brought writing tothat country and perhaps it is not surprising that, when the Icelanders
began to write themselves, one of the first subjects they chose was theirown conversion to Christianity. Ari’s Íslendingabók is the oldest andmost famous account of the moment of conversion in Iceland, accompanied by a brief description of the much longer process of Christianisationthat followed it.2 But the story of the conversion is retold in a number oflater Icelandic texts written between the end of the twelfth and thefourteenth century, as well as being included in Norwegian synoptic
histories, principally Theodoricus’ Historia de Antiquitate Regum
Norwagiensium and Historia Norwegie.3 As is typical with conversion
narratives, it appears in different contexts and genres and therefore indifferent guises: as a key moment in the history in the Icelandic people(in Íslendingabók), as a successful missionary effort on the part of theNorwegian king Óláfr Tryggvason (in both Oddr Snorrason’s and Snorri
Sturluson’s Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar and in Óláfs saga Tryggvasonarin mesta) and as a focus for the ‘historical fiction’ of many of the familysagas, most famously Njáls saga.4 Kristni saga is the only work in which
1 Bloch 1992: 4.
2 The terms ‘conversion’ and ‘Christianisation’ can be used in different ways,
but the practice I follow here is to use ‘conversion’ for the ‘moment and act’
whereby a decision in favour of Christianity is made, and ‘Christianisation’ forthe longer process of institutional change which follows it (Abrams 1996: 15);
for uses that distinguish between the ‘conversion’ of an individual and the societal
process of Christianisation/acculturation, see Sawyer, Sawyer and Wood 1987:
21–2; Russell 1994: 26–31; Muldoon 1997: 1–4.
3 Theodoricus 1998: 15–16; HN 21.
4 Íslendingabók, pp. 7–9 below (ch. 7); Oddr Snorrason 1932: 122–30; ÍF
XXVI 319–20, 328–33, 347; ÓTM I 149–50, 168, 280–301, 308–11, 358–76, II
145–66, 177–98, 305; ÍF XII 255–72.

viii

Introduction

the missions to Iceland form the main subject of the narrative and theorganisational principle of the whole; it shares with Bede’s Ecclesiastical
History the distinction of being one of the few works in the Middle Ages
which can justly be described as ‘missionary’ history.5
Conversion had a central place in historical writing in the early Middle
Ages, as the newly converted Germanic peoples sought to fit themselves
into the new Christian world and to ‘reinvent’ their pasts on the model ofbiblical history, divided into two by the coming of Christ.6 Bede, as iswell known, modelled the pagan Anglo-Saxons on the Israelites of the
Old Testament, God’s chosen people with their own ‘Promised Land’,
and it has been argued that Ari does the same for the Icelanders.7 Yet
what continues to astonish about early Icelandic histories is less theiraffinity with Latin European Christian literature than their resilient
secularism, witness surely to a strong oral tradition which survived theconversion and passed into a new literate world, giving rise to literary
genres not found elsewhere in medieval Europe. Although conversion to
Christianity comes at the centre of Ari’s Íslendingabók and is treated atmost length, it is continuity rather than change which Ari emphasises as
he describes the key stages in the development of a new and uniquepolitical system by the Icelanders. His avoidance of miracle, religious
rhetoric and moral exempla can be contrasted with Kristni saga’s greater
dependence on hagiography in its account of the early missionaries, andyet Ari’s distinctive style and methods are still, arguably, the greatest
inspiration for the author/editor/compiler of Kristni saga and possibly
also a model for the larger historical compendium of which Kristni saga
may have been part.8 In this introduction, I would like to address thedifficult question of what kinds of history Íslendingabók and Kristni saga
represent, an issue often tied, rightly or wrongly, to their disputed
reliability as historical sources. To what extent are they influenced by
5 On the rarity of missionary histories in the Middle Ages, see Sawyer, Sawyer

and Wood 1987: 17–18 and Wood 2001: 25, 42–3; on Bede, see especially
Rollason 2001: 15–23.
6 Smalley 1974: 55; Weber 1987: 98–100.
7 See p. xxi below. On the Anglo-Saxon myth of origins, see Howe 1989. For
Ari’s adoption of the same migration myth, see Sverrir Tómasson 1988: 282–3.
8 Because of the lack of consensus over whether Kristni saga is an original
work or a compilation (on which, see pp. xxxi–xxxv), it is difficult to know whatterm to use for its author/editor/compiler. In what follows, I will use the term ‘author’with the proviso that the exact nature of his ‘authorship’ remains in doubt and that
editing or compiling may in fact be a more appropriate description of his activity.

The Book of the Icelandersix

histories along European lines, shaped by biblical and hagiographical models,or do they rather bear witness to a well-formed oral tradition and to thedeterminedly secular outlook of medieval Icelandic intellectuals? Ari’sÍslendingabók is, undoubtedly, a unique source for early Icelandic history,
both because of its closeness to the events it describes and because of
Ari’s careful citing of his sources, but the author of Kristni saga—I willargue—deserves more credit than he has hitherto been given. Together,
the two works give us an insight into different modes of historical writing
in medieval Iceland and allow us to trace the development over time ofdifferent ways of thinking about Iceland’s conversion to Christianity.

ARI’S ÍSLENDINGABÓK
It has become common in accounts of Ari’s work to describe him as the‘father’ of Icelandic history, a pioneer and innovator (brautry›jandi ok
byrjandi), whose work was a ‘guiding star’ (lei›arstjarna) in the historyof the nation and laid the basis for Icelandic literature as a whole.9 Ari’sÍslendingabók is the first surviving written history of the Icelanders andthe first work to be written in the vernacular. It contains one of the earliest
uses of the term ‘Icelanders’, the earliest dating of the settlement andconversion, even the earliest occurrence in Old Norse of the term
‘Vínland’. That Ari was as highly regarded by his contemporaries andsuccessors as he is by contemporary scholars is clear from two witnesses,
one from the mid-twelfth century and the other from the first half of thethirteenth: the First Grammatical Treatise, probably dating from c.1130–
40, speaks of ﬂau in spakligu frœ›i, er Ari ﬁorgilsson hefir á bœkr sett af
skynsamligu viti ‘those wise historical records, which Ari ﬁorgilsson has
written down in books with his perceptive intellect’, and Snorri Sturluson,
in his prologue to Heimskringla, dated to c.1230, not only describes Ari
as the first person to record frœ›i in the Norse tongue, but praises him
highly as sannfró›r at fornum tí›endum bæ›i hér ok útan lands . . .
námgjarn ok minnigr ‘truly learned about past events both here and abroad. . . eager to learn and having a good memory’.10
At the same time, many scholars have perceived a disparity between
Ari’s high reputation—the breadth of the writings attributed to him in
9 Einar Arnórsson 1942: 166; Björn Sigfússon 1944: 9; Einar Ól. Sveinsson
1948a: 48; Halldór Hermannsson 1948: 20, 29; Turville-Petre 1953: 88.
10 Haugen 1972: 12–13, 32–3; ÍF XXVI 5–7.

Introductionx

the Middle Ages—and the comparatively narrow focus of the small history
that is all we now possess. Eva Hagnell has suggested that the seventeenthcentury copyist of his work, by labelling it as schedae, expressed en viss
besvikelse (‘a certain disappointment’) about the meagre contents ofÍslendingabók and, if so, he would have been the first but not the only
person to do so.11 Einar Arnórsson criticises Ari’s style as ónákvæmt (‘imprecise’) and objects to his inclusion of óﬂarft innskot (‘unnecessaryinterpolation’) instead of vital information about, for example, thediscovery and exploration of Iceland. He describes Ari’s book as safn
minnisgreina (‘a collection of notes’) rather than samfelld saga Íslandse›a Íslendinga (‘a continuous history of Iceland or the Icelanders’).12
Likewise, Gabriel Turville-Petre complains about how Ari ‘selected hismaterial so arbitrarily and treated it so disproportionately’; he concludes
that Íslendingabók ‘does not account for the great fame which Ari enjoyedamong the scholars and saga-writers of the later Middle Ages’.13
The alleged ‘narrowness’ of Ari’s extant work can be understood in
different ways. On the one hand, it could be evidence of his meticulous
gathering and careful recording of reliable information from truthful andwell-informed individuals; on the other, his extreme ‘selectivity’ may
demonstrate a bias towards the traditions of a small number of families
and express a clear ideological stance.14 In what follows, I wish to give
particular attention to the ideological basis that lies behind Ari’s representation of the history and conversion of his country.
Ari’s Life and Work
Most of what we know about Ari’s life comes from Íslendingabók (ch. 9,
pp. 10–11 below) itself. Here he tells us that he was sent to live withHallr ﬁórarinsson in Haukadalr one year after the death of his grandfather,
Gellir ﬁorkelsson, when he was seven years old, and that he lived there
for fourteen years. He says that he was present at the burial of Iceland’s
first bishop, Ísleifr, when he was twelve years old, and describes Ísleifr’sson, Teitr, who was also brought up by Hallr, as his ‘foster-father’ (which
probably includes the meaning ‘tutor’).15 From the date of Ísleifr’s death(1080), we can work out that Ari was born in 1068 (although his date of
11 Hagnell 1938: 71. On the meaning of schedae, see note 34 below.
12 Einar Arnórsson 1942: 24, 84, 170, 177, 183.
13 Turville-Petre 1953: 91–2.
14 Lindow 1997b: 460.
15 Sverrir Tómasson 1988: 20.

The Book of the Icelandersxi

birth is elsewhere given as 1067) and moved to Haukadalr in 1074/5,
where he stayed until 1088/9.16 At the end of his book (p. 14), he includes
an account of his male ancestors, traced back through the kings of Norway
and the legendary kings of Sweden to their mythical progenitor, Yngvi,
king of the Turks. Some of the more recent members of his family line
(for example, ﬁór›r gellir and Gellir ﬁorkelsson) are mentioned elsewherein the book, either as participants in events or as Ari’s informants.
From other sources we can fill in some of the blanks. Ari was descended
from Eyvindr the Easterner, Au›r the Deep-Minded and Ósvífr the Wiseon his father’s side and from Hrollaugr and Hallr on Sí›a on his mother’sside.17 Ari’s grandfather, Gellir ﬁorkelsson, lived at Helgafell in the westof Iceland and died in Denmark in 1073 on his return from a pilgrimage
to Rome. Ari’s father, ﬁorgils, had drowned at a young age in Brei›afjör›ur and Ari’s uncle ﬁorkell took over the estate at Helgafell after his
death.18 Ari was probably sent to Haukadalr because Teitr’s wife, Jórunn,
was his mother’s second cousin, and he was a pupil at the small school
Teitr ran there—one of only four in Iceland at the time (the others wereat Skálaholt, Oddi and Hólar).19 Kristni saga tells us that he was ordained
as a priest (ch. 17, p. 53). His son, ﬁorgils (d. 1170), also a priest, lived atSta›asta›r on Snæfellsnes in the west of Iceland and his grandson, Ari
the Strong, was a chieftain there.20 It therefore seems likely that Ari lived
in the west after his education at Haukadalr, and perhaps also held achieftaincy. Alternatively, it has been suggested that he remained in thesouth in the service of Bishop Gizurr, and perhaps even travelled aroundthe country with him on episcopal visitations.21 He died, according to
Icelandic annals, on 9th November 1148.
Íslendingabók is Ari’s only extant work, and the issue of what else he
may have written has been much debated. The main problem is how tounderstand the wording of his prologue to the present Íslendingabók,
16 All but two of the Icelandic annals give Ari’s date of birth as 1067. This pro-bably derives from the prologue to Heimskringla, where Snorri states that he wasborn ‘the year after the fall of King Haraldr Sigur›arson’ (in 1066; see ÍF XXVI 6).
17 See Íslendingabók ch. 2, the genealogy on p. 14 and notes 22, 39, 61, 123–6.
Eyvindr the Easterner’s daughter was married to ﬁorsteinn the Red, Au›r was
married to Óleifr the White and Ósvífr the Wise’s daughter, Gu›rún, was Ari’s
great-grandmother (her fourth husband was Gellir ﬁorkelsson).
18 See Íslendingabók ch. 9 and notes 86 and 126.
19 Jón Jóhannesson 1974: 158.
20 DI I 186, 191; Sturl I 229–31, 241.
21 ÍF I v–vii; Einar Arnórsson 1942: 7–13; Halldór Hermannsson 1948: 7.

xii

Introduction

where he states that he showed an earlier version to the Icelandic bishops
and then reworked it: ‘I wrote this on the same subject besides (fyr útan)the genealogies and regnal years of kings, and I added what has since
become better known to me and is now more fully reported in this bookthan the other’ (p. 3). It was not an uncommon procedure in the Middle
Ages to submit one’s work to a superior for correction, and Bede’s Preface
to his Life of St Cuthbert provides a close parallel.22 The relationshipbetween the two versions of Ari’s Íslendingabók, however, is unclear.
Some scholars have argued that Ari’s first version contained genealogies
of Icelanders and notices on the reigns of kings, and that these were
excluded from his second version, perhaps to give it a more Icelandicemphasis.23 On the other hand, it has been suggested that Ari wrote thegenealogies and notices after his first version and appended them to his
second, from which they were later separated.24 Whichever is the case, it
seems unlikely that Ari’s first version, if it was ever more than just a
draft, would have been copied for circulation after the composition of
the second, corrected version. It has even been suggested that Ari’s
mention of two versions is nothing more than a literary cliché to emphasise
his humility and subservience to a higher authority.25 There is no goodreason, then, to assume that there was ever a ‘Book of the Icelanders’substantially different from the one we have now.
However, it is clear from references to Ari elsewhere that he did write
more than just the extant Íslendingabók: several sources mention his‘books’ (in the plural) and he is quoted widely in Old Icelandic literature
as an authority on the kings of Norway and on the lives of early Icelanders,
including his own ancestors and those of Icelandic bishops.26 The most
22 Sverrir Tómasson 1988: 155–7; Colgrave 1940: 142–7. Many critics havenoted the similarity between Bede’s prologue and Ari’s own (ÍF I xxiv; Björn
Sigfússon 1944: 78–80; Ellehøj 1965: 67).
23 Hagnell 1938: 102–9; Turville-Petre 1953: 93–9 (where he calls the firstversion liber ‘book’ and the second libellus ‘little book’). A full history of thediffering views on Ari’s literary output is given by Konrad Maurer (1870 and
1891), Halldór Hermannsson (1930: 26–36) and Eva Hagnell (1938: 5–26).
24 This was first suggested by Árni Magnússon (1663–1730) in his unfinishedwork on Ari (1930 II 1, 85–8) and later revived by Johan Schreiner (1927: 60–65;
further references can be found in Halldór Hermannsson 1930: 32–3 and Hagnell
1938: 5, 12–14, 23–25, 89–102). It was most recently argued by Else Mundal (1984).
25 Sverrir Tómasson 1975: 268; 1988: 157.
26 Haugen 1972: 12–13; Flb I 568; ÍF XXVI 5. Full lists of the places where
Ari is cited are included in Hagnell (1938: 114–30, 142–44), Einar Arnórsson(1942: 36–39, 57–61), Björn Sigfússon (1944: 60–74), and Ellehøj (1965: 44–62).

The Book of the Icelandersxiii

important witness is Snorri Sturluson, who, after describing the contentsof Íslendingabók, says that Ari also supplied ‘many other facts, both
lives of kings in Norway and Denmark, and also in England, and moreover
important events that had taken place in this country’.27 Snorri probably
had his own reasons for wanting to set up Ari as an authority on the livesof Norwegian kings, not least as authentication for his own work in
Heimskringla, but there is also reason to believe that he had first-handaccess to Ari’s works: he took over the farm at Reykholt in the west of
Iceland from Magnús Pálsson, who was married to Ari’s granddaughter
Hallfrí›r, and they lived with him there for a number of years.28 It therefore
seems likely that Ari wrote some kind of account of the kings of Norway,
which Snorri at least had seen, and also that he had a hand in thecompilation of the first Landnámabók (‘The Book of Settlements’), as
Haukr states in the epilogue to his later version.29 Whether these werecomplete works or simply minnisgreinir (‘collections of notes’) willprobably never be clear. Possibly the genealogy of Haraldr the FineHaired inserted before ch. 1 (p. 3) and the genealogy of Icelandic bishops
and of Ari at the end of Íslendingabók (pp. 13–14) are extracts from
Ari’s other writings; they are certainly by Ari, whether or not they wereinserted by a later copyist as parchment fillers.30 A short life of Snorrigo›i (Ævi Snorra go›a) and a list of priests from 1143 printed in
Diplomatarium Islandicum are sometimes also attributed to Ari.31
Ari’s Íslendingabók can be dated to 1122–33 because of the references
to Bishops ﬁorlákr (1118–33) and Ketill (1122–45) in the prologue (p. 3).

The most important are: Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 239, XXVII 326, 410, 431),
Landnámabók (ÍF I 133), Sturl (I 57–58), Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 7), Eyrbyggja
saga (ÍF IV 12) and Páls saga biskups (ÍF XVI 328). The use of Ari’s name in
Jómsvíkinga ﬂáttr (Flb I 213), Fríssbók (1871: 3) and one manuscript of Gunnlaugssaga Ormstungu (ÍF III 51, note) probably only serves to lend credibility to thenarrative.
27 ÍF XXVI 6.
28 Sverrir Tómasson 1975: 280–85; 1988: 279–80; Sturl I 241–2.
29 ÍF I 395. Ari’s works on the settlement of Iceland and on the lives of kings
are usually considered to have been independent books or chapters appended to
one of his versions of Íslendingabók (Hagnell 1938: 134, 149–58; Ellehøj 1965:
34–5, 53; ÍF I x–xiii, cix). Turville-Petre (1953: 98–102), among others, held
the alternative view that the lives of kings and genealogies were scattered throughout the work, though he did believe that Ari had written a separate Landnámabók.
30 ÍF I xv–vi; Hagnell 1938: 81, 84–86.
31 DI I 180–94; ÍF I xiv; Hagnell 1938: 160–63, 165; ÍF IV 185–6.

xiv

Introduction

It was probably written towards the beginning of this period, since itdoes not mention any events after 1118 (like the death of Bishop Jón in1121), and the presence of Go›mundr ﬁorgeirsson (in ch. 10), who waslawspeaker 1123–34, is best interpreted as a later interpolation.32 It ispreserved in two paper manuscripts from the seventeenth century, AM
113 a fol. (B) and AM 113 b fol. (A), which has been used as the basis
for all editions. They were copied by Jón Erlendsson in Villingaholt fromthe same exemplar, a medieval manuscript dating from c.1200, and B isdated 1651.33 Both contain the heading Schedæ Ara prests fröda, and thistitle, which is probably neither authorial nor medieval, may suggest thatÍslendingabók was written on loose leaves that had become separated
from the rest of the manuscript, or it may refer just to the genealogies
that follow it.34 Two chapters of Íslendingabók are found elsewhere andwere probably copied from an older manuscript than that used by Jón:
ch. 4 is in GKS 1812 4to, this part of which dates from c.1200, and ch. 5
is in most manuscripts of Hœnsa-ﬁóris saga.35
Íslendingabók as Family History
What is immediately striking about the known details of Ari’s life is how
closely he is related to many of the main actors in his book. This isparticularly evident in the section on the Conversion and the early Church,
in which Ari is self-avowedly dependent on the report of his foster-father
and tutor, Teitr, but it can be seen throughout his short book. His mostimportant relationship is with the Haukdœlir family, which provided
Iceland with its first two bishops, Ísleifr and Gizurr, donated its family
estate at Skálaholt to be the first episcopal see and influenced the choiceof subsequent bishops until the mid-twelfth century: Jón ¯gmundarson
32 ÍF I xvii–viii. Ari’s second version is sometimes dated to 1134 because of

the inclusion of Go›mundr (Hagnell 1938: 57–62; Einar Arnórsson 1942: 29–30;
Sveinbjörn Rafnsson 2001: 158–59). However, the likelihood that this is a laterinterpolation (probably from a marginal note) is strengthened by its absencefrom sections based on ch. 10 elsewhere (Sturl I 59; Kristni saga, p. 53).
33 Holtsmark 1967: 5, 8–9; Finnur Jónsson 1930: 59–60.
34 Hagnell 1938: 69–71; Halldór Hermannsson 1948: 20–22; ÍF I xxviii;
Mundal 1984: 267–8. A scheda is ‘a piece of parchment on which were written
notes or memoranda in preparation of a book’ (Halldór Hermannsson 1930: 41–2).
However, it seems that it could sometimes be used for whole works, as thediminutive schedula is used in Theodoricus (1998: 57, note 13).
35 Íslendingabók, notes 41 and 51.

The Book of the Icelandersxv

was educated by Ísleifr at Skálaholt; ﬁorlákr Runólfsson, the great-nephewof Hallr in Haukadalr, was nominated by Gizurr as his successor and
Ketill ﬁorsteinsson was married to Gizurr’s daughter.36 In addition to his
relationship with Teitr, Ari clearly knew Gizurr personally (see p. 11).
He gives Teitr as his direct source for the date of Iceland’s settlement,
for the establishment of Úlfljótr’s law, for his lengthy account of theconversion (on which Teitr had information from eyewitnesses), for theforeign bishops in Iceland and for the events of Ísleifr’s episcopate, someof which Ari himself had also witnessed (pp. 3, 4, 9–11). Gizurr must be
the source for the events of his own life, and Ari speaks glowingly of hisachievements, especially the enforcement of the tithe law, which had
caused many problems elsewhere in Scandinavia (pp. 11–12 and note94). In his account of the conversion and the early Church, Ari is relatinga family tradition and ‘success’ story, linking the first bishops of the
Icelandic Church directly back to the men who converted Iceland, Gizurr
the White and his son-in-law Hjalti Skeggjason.
Other central information can be traced back to Ari’s own ancestors.
Ari traced his lineage back to three of the four main settlers in ch. 2 aswell as tracing Ísleifr and Gizurr directly back to Ketilbjƒrn at Mosfell.37
Other than Teitr, Ari’s two sources for the date of Iceland’s settlement
were his uncle ﬁorkell Gellisson and ﬁurí›r, daughter of Snorri go›i andcousin to Ari’s paternal grandmother Valger›r.38 ﬁorkell is also the sourceof Ari’s information on the origins of land-dues (which probably camefrom his father Gellir) and the settlement of Greenland (which he himself
had visited); and Ósvífr the Wise, who interprets ﬁorsteinn’s dream about
the changes to the Icelandic calendar, was Gellir ﬁorkelsson’s maternal
grandfather.39 Likewise, the chapter on the division into Quarters revolves
around a speech made by ﬁór›r gellir, Gellir’s great-grandfather and fifth
in a direct line above Ari (pp. 6–7). Hallr on Sí›a, from whom Ari wasalso directly descended, was one of the first Icelanders to be converted
and, through his agreement with the lawspeaker ﬁorgeirr, key to the final
successful outcome of the missions (pp. 7–9). Finally, Ari was third cousin
once-removed to the lawspeaker Markús Skeggjason, who is his main
36 Íslendingabók, pp. 10, 12 and notes 1 and 101. On the domination of theearly Icelandic church by the Haukdœlir, see Orri Vésteinsson 2000: 19–24,
146–47. The power of the Haukdœlir in both the secular sphere and the Church
is also discussed by Gísli Sigur›sson (2004: 60–66).
37 Íslendingabók, pp. 4, 13 (and note 22).
38 Íslendingabók, p. 3; Einar Arnórsson 1942: 5.
39 Íslendingabók, pp. 4 , 6, 7 (and notes 21, 39 and 58).

xvi

Introduction

source of information on Iceland’s lawspeakers, and Markús was himself
related to one of the greatest of these, Skapti ﬁoróddsson.40
This web of family relationships is vital to an understanding of thenature of Ari’s work, with regard both to his well-deserved reputation
for reliability and to accusations of bias. There can be little doubt thatAri drew on a strong oral tradition in composing his history, and thetransparency with which he lays bare his channels of information makes
his work quite unique. His short biography of Hallr in Haukadalr isbreathtaking in the direct link it gives us between the events of the pastand Ari’s present: ‘And Hallr, who both had a reliable memory and wastruthful, and remembered himself being baptised, told us that ﬁangbrandr
had baptised him when he was three years old’ (p. 11). Hallr died aged
ninety-four. One could take other examples: ﬁurí›r, for example, whom
Ari describes as ‘wise in many things and reliably informed’ (p. 3) andwhose father, Snorri, appears as a literary character in Eyrbyggja saga as
well as a historical figure here. According to Kristni saga, he was present
at the conversion and ﬁurí›r herself was born only twenty-five or twentysix years later; she lived to be eighty-eight.41 Ari not only emphasises
repeatedly where he and his informants have derived their information
from, but also frequently comments on the desired qualities of thoseindividuals acting as informants: ‘wise’ (spakr, margspakr), ‘reliably
informed’ (óljúgfró›r), ‘having a reliable memory’ (minnigr), ‘truthful’(ólyginn). This has inspired many to believe in his absolute reliability, tothe extent that some have even described him as a ‘modern’ historian.42
Since the distance between events around the year 1000 and Ari’s own time

40 On Markús Skeggjason, who was third cousin to Ari’s father ﬁorgils, seeÍslendingabók, p. 11 (and note 93). Ari’s other named informants are the lawspeaker Úlfhe›inn Gunnarson and Hallr Órœkjuson (see p. 5 and notes 32 and33). Snorri Sturluson (ÍF XXVI 6) also mentions Oddr Kolsson, son of Hallr on
Sí›a, but he is not known from elsewhere.
41 ÍF XXVI 7. According to Snorri Sturluson, Snorri go›i was ‘about thirtyfive’ at the time of the conversion and both Kristni saga and Eyrbyggja saga
mention his involvement (see p. 50 and note 88). ﬁurí›r’s age at her death (in1112/13) is recorded in many Icelandic annals.
42 See Íslendingabók, pp. 3, 5, 11. Halldór Hermannsson (1948: 15) claims
that Hún fullnægir eiginlega vísindalegum kröfum nútímans til sagnaritunar (‘Itactually satisfies the scholarly demands of the present with regard to historywriting’). Peter Foote (1993b: 107) concludes that it has ‘unassailable authority’and Jón Hnefill A›alsteinsson (1999: 55–57, 178) describes it as a ‘first-classhistorical source’.

The Book of the Icelanders

xvii

of writing could be covered by two generations, there is good reason tobelieve that some, at least, of Ari’s information was accurate. It certainly
seems to be no accident that he moves into fuller and more detailed
narrative from the year 1000 on, as his sources expand.
At the same time, there is a strongly personal note throughout the work
which raises questions about Ari’s alleged objectivity: Ari begins his
work with a personal statement of authorship (‘I first wrote the book of
the Icelanders’, p. 3) and ends the last genealogy with his own name:‘and I am called Ari’ (p. 14). He reserves his highest personal praise forhis tutor Teitr (‘the wisest man I have known’, p. 3) and for Hallr inHaukadalr, who brought him up (‘the most generous layman in the country
and most eminent in good qualities’); indeed, the details about Hallr’s
household in Haukadalr included in ch. 9 (pp. 10–11) are surely there inpart for personal reasons, since Ari never quotes Hallr directly as a source.
All this marks out Ari’s approach as unlike that of many later sagas,
including Kristni saga, which present themselves more as records of a
traditional knowledge that is common property. Ari, in fact, refers tocommonly held views rather rarely, and then often uses them as a coverfor subjective comments, on the quality of Gizurr and Hjalti’s preaching, forexample: ‘it is said that it was extraordinary how well they spoke’ (p. 8).43
In contrast to Landnámabók, he draws only to a limited extent on placenames (like Ingólfshƒf›i or Kolsgjá) or on features of the landscape (or,in the case of the papar and Skrælingar, archaeological remains) as
witnesses to events.
Although it is possible that the short and extremely selective nature of
his work is the result of a cautious desire for accuracy, it seems better
explained by his narrow interest in a small number of leading families,
including his own and that of Iceland’s first bishops. Ari must have had
more information than he tells us about events like the settlement andthe conversion: it is clear from comparison of his work with the existing versions of Landnámábók and Kristni saga that lengthier traditions
were available, although some may, of course, have originated muchlater. It is therefore hard to know exactly how to judge Ari’s many omissions: he mentions the place-name Minﬂakseyrr, but did he know thetale in Landnámabók about the Irish slaves belonging to Ingólfr’s travelling companion Hjƒrleifr, who threw their mouldy menadach (minﬂak)
43 Another example is his comment on Hallr: ‘a man whom everybody
described (sá ma›r es ﬂat vas almælt) as the most generous layman in the country’(p. 10).

xviiiIntroduction

overboard there?44 Even if Ari avoided this particular anecdote becauseof its strongly apocryphal and even parodic flavour, it is striking that henever mentions Hjƒrleifr, nor the presence of any Irish settlers in Iceland.
Kristni saga offers us much fuller information about the missions to
Iceland prior to the conversion; Ari mentions only Fri›rekr ‘who camehere during the heathen period’, but as early as c.1200, Hungrvaka tells
us that stories (sƒgur) were current about Fri›rekr, in oral if not in written
form. Ari not only gives us no additional details about foreign bishops in
Iceland—who would, like Ísleifr, have been missionary bishops without
fixed sees—but actually creates the impression, through treating themseparately before his chapter on Ísleifr, that they were not contemporary
with the Icelandic bishop. It is clear from Hungrvaka that some of themwere, and one suspects that Ari’s apparent ignorance of this derives froma desire not to obscure the direct correspondence between Gizurr theWhite’s prominent role in the conversion and his son Ísleifr’s prominence
as the Icelanders’ first bishop.45 This early history is as much family
history as it is ecclesiastical history or national history: it provides an
explanation of how the leading families of Ari’s own day had got towhere they were.46
Íslendingabók as Ecclesiastical History
As the first to compose a history of the Icelanders in the vernacular, Ari
had no native models for how to put together a written work, and theextent to which he was dependent on foreign models for his endeavour
has been the object of much scrutiny. Perhaps in reaction to the faithplaced by some scholars in his ‘unique’ reliability, others have emphasised
his dependence on European hagiographical and historical writing. Sverrir
Tómasson, for example, describes him as writing í anda gu›fræ›ilegrar
sagnaritunar mi›alda (‘in the spirit of the religious history-writing of
the Middle Ages’) and stresses that áhrif evrópskrar helgisagnaritunar áhana eru augljós (‘the influence of European hagiography on it is obvious’).47
44 Íslendingabók, p. 4 and note 15. The story reads like a parody of the throwing
overboard of high seat pillars undertaken by so many more prominent settlers(with thanks to Heather O’Donoghue for this suggestion).
45 On Fri›rekr and the later bishops, see Íslendingabók, p. 10 and note 77(which includes the reference to Hungrvaka).
46 For the idea that missionary history is often family history, see Wood 2001:
91–2.
47 Sverrir Tómasson 1988: 282–3.

The Book of the Icelanders

xix

Both Bede’s Ecclesiastical History and Adam of Bremen’s History of
the Archbishops of Hamburg–Bremen have been suggested as models
for Íslendingabók, and Ari’s practice of regularly citing his informants
has been compared with that of Bede in his Ecclesiastical History andhis Life of Saint Cuthbert. It has even been suggested that Ari’s frequent
use of fró›r (‘learned’) or spakr (‘wise’) to characterise his informants
does not necessarily reflect a strong native oral tradition at all, but that
this corresponds closely to the medieval European custom of describing
informants as doctus or sapiens.48 Ari thus creates Icelandic (oral) equivalents of European auctores—one of which he himself becomes for the
Icelanders of the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Clearly aspects of Ari’s work are based on Latin models. His prologue
and the division of his work into chapters with headings are obvious
borrowings and various Latinisms, as one might expect at such an earlystage, mark his vernacular style. Occasionally, he even uses a word in
Latin like obiit (died) or rex (king), though these may just be used in the
manuscript as abbreviations for Icelandic words.49 What is most striking,given that Ari must have used some Latin sources, is the elusiveness ofwhat these were: there are no library catalogues this early, and the First
Grammatical Treatise mentions only that ﬂ‡›ingar helgar (literally ‘holytranslations’, presumably homilies and perhaps also saints’ lives) werein circulation.50 We are dependent, therefore, on what Ari himself tells
us, which is very little: he mentions a saga (probably a Latin life) ofSaint Edmund, which has not been definitely identified,51 and though
Bede and Adam of Bremen seem obvious candidates for influence, it has
proved hard to show for certain that Ari knew either of them. Concrete
evidence that Ari knew Bede’s Ecclesiastical History comes down to his
reference at the end of the book to Pope Gregory’s death in the second
48 ÍF I xxii; Einar Arnórsson 1942: 167; Björn Sigfússon 1944: 77–80; Ellehøj

1965: 66–8; Benedikz 1976: 334–5; Sverrir Tómasson 1975: 278–80; 1988:
222–7; Mundal 1994; Würth 2005: 158. In fact, Bede cites oral informants mostoften to verify his miracle stories and emphasises their status as religious men,
capable of understanding the true significance of events, rather than as detachedobservers (Ward 1976: 72). This is quite different from what Ari is doing.
49 Bekker–Nielsen 1972. On Ari’s Latinisms, see Hagnell 1938: 72–5; Björn
Sigfússon 1944: 83–4; ÍF I xxvi.
50 Haugen 1972: 12–13; Hermann Pálsson 1965: 164. For references to various
kinds of books and their production in Iceland, see Jóns saga helga (ÍF XV
205–6, 219, 233) and Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI 26, 34).
51 Íslendingabók, p. 3 and note 12.

xxIntroduction

year of Emperor Phocas’ reign (604), which he could equally well havebeen taken from a life of St Gregory.52 Attempts to show that Ari took
the date of Óláfr Tryggvason’s fall (1000) from Adam of Bremen havebeen equally inconclusive, and the difficulty of showing that Adam was
known at all in Iceland in Ari’s time led one scholar to the belief that Ari
must have read it on a hypothetical trip to Lund.53 If Ari did know Bede’s
works, one wonders why he did not in his account of the papar mention
Bede’s reference in De temporum ratione to travels between Thile andBritain, as Landnámabók does.54 If he knew Adam’s work, one is left
with the problem of why he does not mention the account there of Ísleifr’s
consecration at the hands of Archbishop Adaldag.55
Ari’s main debt to European learning must be in the area of chronology, and he would certainly have learned about European time-reckoning
through the works of Bede. One of Ari’s greatest achievements in his work
is to set the events of Icelandic history within a coherent chronologicalframework, which is one of the pre-requisites for writing European-stylehistory at all. The way in which Ari achieves this, using absolute and relative
dating, has been much studied.56 His first and one of his three central
dates is that of Iceland’s settlement, which he connects, intriguingly, with a
key event in English religious history, the killing of St Edmund of East
Anglia at the hands of the Vikings in 870 (869 by modern reckoning; seeÍslendingabók, p. 3 and note 11). With this established, he is able to calculate
later developments in Iceland in relation to this date—‘sixty years after
the killing of St Edmund’, ‘130 years after the killing of St Edmund’, ‘250
years after the killing of Edmund’ (pp. 5, 9, 13). He also gives absolutedates for the fall of Óláfr Tryggvason in the year 1000 (p. 9) and for thechange of lunar cycle in 1120, two years after Gizurr’s death. At the end
52 Íslendingabók, p. 13; ÍF I xxiv; Ólafia Einarsdóttir 1964: 24–29; Ellehøj

1965: 76–77; Louis-Jensen 1976. There was an Icelandic translation of John the
Deacon’s life of St Gregory from c.1200 (see Kristni saga, p. 72, note 115).
53 Íslendingabók, p. 9; ÍF I xxiv–v; Ólafia Einarsdóttir 1964: 22–3, 73–4;
Ellehøj 1965: 66–7, 78, 80; Christiansen 1975. Ari’s own wording (‘according
to Sæmundr’) implies that he used Sæmundr’s dating.
54 Íslendingabók, p. 4 (and references in note 18).
55 Íslendingabók, p. 10 (and reference in note 82). One theory is that Ari wasdeliberately countering Adam’s line on Iceland’s conversion: the difference
between the two men’s views of Óláfr Tryggvason and Óláfr Haraldsson is quite
striking (Sveinbjörn Rafnsson 1999).
56 The most thorough study is still Ólafia Einarsdóttir 1964: 37–90, but see
also ÍF I xxix–xlii and Ellehøj 1965: 68–80. On Ari’s probable use of an Easter
table, see note 105 to Íslendingabók (p. 30 below).

The Book of the Icelandersxxi

of his book, he brings all these dates together in one great sweep alongwith with his final absolute date, 604, for the death of Pope Gregory I(p. 13). This chronological framework is cleverly integrated with others,
principally the terms of office of the Icelandic lawspeakers, but occasionally also the reigns of Norwegian kings. Ingólfr’s first trip to
Iceland, for example, takes place when King Haraldr is sixteen years old(p. 4). The practical value of Ari’s three round numbers (870, 1000, 1120)
should not be underestimated in an age that still used Roman numerals
for calculation; but the ideological value of dates for the settlement andconversion is also important and will be discussed below (pp. xxiv–xxvii).
Some scholars have also brought forward evidence that Ari’s Íslendingabók was conceived as an ecclesiastical history or even as a chronicle ofthe bishops of Skálaholt, not least the facts that it was submitted to—if
not commissioned by—Bishops ﬁorlákr and Ketill and corrected bySæmundr, the most learned cleric of his day. It has been suggested that,like Bede, Ari envisaged the pre-Christian history of his people as parallelto that of the Israelites: Iceland, wooded and fertile, is the promised land,consecrated by the presence of Christian people there—the papar—before
the arrival of the Norsemen.57 As Ari himself does not conceal, the main
settler in each Quarter of the land provides an ancestor for each of thefirst four Icelandic bishops, making these appropriate representatives forthe whole country.58 The mythical role of Úlfljótr as the first law-giver
has been connected with that of Moses in the Old Testament, and thechapter on the calendar is of obvious interest to the Church, as the accurate
calculation of time was crucial for the correct dating of Easter as well as
for the celebration of other feasts central to Christian worship.59 The
discovery of Greenland, which may have been under the jurisdiction of
the Icelandic bishops in Ari’s time, had opened up an arena for missionary
work, and Ari’s long account of Iceland’s conversion, as has often been
noted, is the thematic centre of his book.60 Ari certainly uses the biographical form suitable for a bishops’ chronicle for his last two chapters,
which give brief accounts of the lives of Bishops Ísleifr and Gizurr, with57 Clunies Ross 1997: 21–2; Lindow 1997b: 456; Mundal 1994: 71; cf. p. viii
above.
58 Íslendingabók, p. 4 and 13. Halldór Hermannsson (1930: 75) claimed that
‘nothing shows more clearly the clerical bent of Ari’s book’.
59 Halldór Hermannsson 1930: 81; Líndal 1969: 21–3; Mundal 1994: 70.
60 Halldór Hermannsson 1930: 82–3; Lindow 1997b: 460; Mundal 1994: 68.
The likelihood that settlers in Greenland were under the jurisdiction of the
Icelandic bishops is based on Adam IV.xxxvi, xxxvii (2002: 216–18).

xxii

Introduction

a particular emphasis on Gizurr’s role in establishing tithe laws andintegrating Iceland into the diocesan structure of the wider Church.
However, if Ari is writing a Church history, he does not—as Bede does—
see his own Church as a localised component of the Universal Church:
the absence of information about events in the Church outside of Icelandis quite striking.61 Although Ari mentions the popes at the time of Ísleifr’sand Gizurr’s consecration and gives a list of international fatalities to markthe occasion of Gizurr’s death (pp. 10, 11, 13), there is very little sense
in his book of how the Icelandic Church is part of a wider international
community. He tells us nothing about the role of Hamburg–Bremen in
missions to the north, despite the fact that Ísleifr was consecrated in Bremen;nor does he say anything about the investiture conflict, which led to Gizurr
travelling to Rome to receive orders from the Pope, because the archbishop
of Hamburg–Bremen, Liemar, had been excommunicated.62 While somescholars have interpreted his silence about Hamburg–Bremen as a signof hostility (Hamburg–Bremen and Lund were in competition for archiepiscopal jurisdiction over Scandinavia in the early twelfth century), it isequally true that Ari says nothing about the establishment of a Nordicarchiepiscopal see in Lund in 1102–3, where Bishops Jón, ﬁorlákr and Ketill
were consecrated.63 The fact that Ari is silent about events relevant notjust to the international Church but specifically to the Church in Scandinavia (and events which are considered worthy of inclusion in other Icelandic chronicles/lives of bishops) suggests that his interest in Church history
derives from the importance of the Church as a secular institution within
Icelandic society rather than as an autonomous entity. Indeed, it is noteworthy that the qualities Ari admires in his bishops are social rather thanreligious: he praises Gizurr for his popularity and persuasiveness, but
tells us nothing about his piety and humility.64 As Orri Vésteinsson has
shown, the Icelandic Church at this early date had no ‘corporate identity’.
Dominated by secular interests, it was a cohesive part of the social fabric,
61 On the genre of ecclesiastical history and Bede’s distinctive contribution toit, see Barnard 1976, Markus 1975 and Tugéne 1982.
62 See notes 82 and 91 to Íslendingabók, and note 102 to Kristni saga. On thewider history of the Church in Scandinavia, see Orrman 2003.
63 Orrman 2003, 429–30. The first archbishop, Asser, received the pallium in
1104, but the see was abolished for a brief period in the 1130s and again in 1150.
See notes 100 and 101 to Íslendingabók and, on the conflict between Hamburg–
Bremen and Lund, Sveinbjörn Rafnsson 1997: 130–32; 1999: 113; 2001: 157–60.
64 On the image of the Icelandic bishop as an ideal chieftain, see Orri Vésteinsson 2000: 161–6.

The Book of the Icelandersxxiii

and not until the episcopates of St ﬁorlákr (1178–93) and Bishop Gu›mundr(1203–37) was there any attempt to create a separation between secularand ecclesiastical power.65 It seems unlikely, then, that Ari would havedistinguished the history of the Church from the history of secular Icelandic institutions. They were too closely enmeshed to be separated fromone another. Even for a historian like Bede, who was explicitly committed
to writing ‘ecclesiastical’ history on the model of Eusebius, the separationof ecclesiastical from secular history was not always easy to enforce.66
This brings us to perhaps the most remarkable difference between Ari’s
work and European historiography and hagiography, which is Ari’s
consistently secular attitude towards the events he describes, even whenthese are of a religious or spiritual nature. His interest in conversion isclearly focussed on the process of Christianisation in its legal and institutional aspects; he is not interested in it as a change of religious belief. Ari
tells us nothing about Icelandic heathenism, although he does throw in atantalising reference to temples in ch. 2 (p. 5) and quotes Hjalti’s verse attack
on Freyja to explain why he was outlawed (p. 8). This is our one glimpseof any religious conflict other than the aborted battle at the Althing. Indeed,Ari begins to use the word ‘heathen’ only when he tells us in ch. 9 about
Gizurr and Hjalti’s mission to Iceland, which effectively divides the Icelanders
into two separate groups under separate laws. It is the very real danger ofcivil war posed by this division, rather than the spiritual danger of heathenism, which forms the centre-piece of the speech by which ﬁorgeirr, himself
a heathen, persuades the Icelanders to accept conversion to Christianity.
He gives a warning to those on both sides—heathens and Christians—
who are prone to religious extremism (‘do not let those who most wish to
oppose each other prevail’; p. 9 ) and proposes a solution that will be in
the interest of the Icelanders’ unity as a people rather than specificallyfor the benefit of their souls. Ari does not even describe the baptism of
the Icelanders following the legal assembly, but tells us only that ‘it wasthen proclaimed in the laws that all people should be Christian and thatthose in this country who had not yet been baptised should receive baptism’(my emphasis). Despite various attempts to draw a parallel between Ari
and the well-known conversion narratives of European literature—Bede’s
account of King Edwin for example—Ari’s depiction of the conversion
as a legal compromise between two parties is surely highly unusual, and
it is not surprising that later writers felt the need to ‘embroider’ the received
65 Orri Vésteinsson 2000: 3–4, 167–78.
66 See Smalley 1974: 55; Markus 1975: 8–10; Brooks 1999: 2.

xxiv

Introduction

story with the religious rhetoric and miracles so noticeably lacking from
Ari’s version.67 Perhaps the only place where Ari gives any sense of a
spiritual dimension is ﬁorgeirr’s long meditation under the cloak before
addressing the Althing, but even this may indicate only the complete
concentration required for the formulation of such an important speech.68
History and Myth-Making
Central to an understanding of what lies behind Ari’s composition of ahistory for the Icelanders is the emergent sense of Icelandic identity inthe early twelfth-century.69 The title of Ari’s Íslendingabók, as noted
above (p. ix), includes one of the earliest recorded uses of the term
‘Icelander’ and other twelfth-century writings show a similar consciousness of a separate Icelandic identity: it was in 1117–18, as Ari tells us,that the laws were first written down, and the First Grammatical Treatise
speaks of providing oss Íslendingum ‘us Icelanders’ with a written
language, something especially important, of course, to the correctunderstanding and interpretation of the written law.70 Like the author of
the First Grammatical Treatise, Ari clearly addresses an Icelandic
audience and assumes an Icelandic perspective: he talks about ‘ourbishops’, ‘our reckoning’, ‘our countrymen’ in Norway and describes
movement between Norway and Iceland as ‘out here’ (to Iceland) and‘from out here’ (to Norway).71 Indeed, his decision to write in Icelandic
rather than in Latin, which was probably not obvious at the time, restricted
his audience to Icelanders—and perhaps to a lesser extent Norwegians—
rather than opening it to a more international audience of Latinists.
The necessary conditions for the development of ethnic identity—now
understood not as a biological but as a historical and cultural construct—
have been much studied of late. Chief among them are the identification
67 For the conversion of King Edwin, see Bede’s Ecclesiastical History 1969:

182–7. For parallels with European literature, see Sveinbjörn Rafnsson 1979;
Pizarro 1985: 822–3; and Weber 1987: 115–23. Contrast these with the emphasis
on Ari’s unconventionality and strong political concerns in Foote 1984a: 62–4;
1993b: 107; and Jochens 1999: 649–52. Knirk (1981: 33) stresses that ﬁorgeirr’s
speech is not a ‘religious sermon intended to convert the heathen but an addressof political deliberative nature’.
68 On the different interpretations of this event, see Íslendingabók, p. 25, note 72.
69 For an anthropological study of this phenomenon, see Hastrup 1990: 69–82,
83–102, 123–5.
70 Íslendingabók, p. 12 and note 98. Haugen 1972: 12–13.
71 Íslendingabók, pp. 3, 4, 6, 8 and notes 13 and 63.

The Book of the Icelanders

xxv

of a particular group of people with a territory or homeland, the acceptancefor a whole people of a common history or ‘myth of origin’ which isoften that of the dominant group or family, the adoption of a common
language or other ‘cultural’ symbols (in the case of the Normans, it was
hairstyle) and, interestingly, a ‘collective amnesia’ concerning variant
traditions or older/subject peoples.72 History-writing, it is clear, can playa central role in this process and the contribution of Bede’s Ecclesiastical
History to the formation of the concept of a single ‘English’ people is awell-known example. As Brooks has shown, Bede’s work ‘not only
recorded a history of that people, but was also helping to create it’: heprovided the English with an ethnic terminology, a shared history narrated
within a single chronological sequence and also, in his treatment of the
Britons, an ‘other’ against whom the English could define themselves.73
This idea that the creation of ethnic identity involves interaction withother peoples and ultimately the creation of ‘outsiders’ through ‘ethnic
closure’ is an important one.74
Like the so-called ‘historians of barbarian peoples’—Bede, Gregory ofTours, Jordanes and Paul the Lombard—Ari creates a myth of origins
for the Icelanders involving migration over the sea and settlement in a‘promised’ land. It is important to note that he emphasises the Norwegianancestry of the Icelanders over and above any other possible provenances(Swedish or Celtic, for example). His reiteration of the Icelanders’ Norwegianorigins is striking in comparison with the more disparate origins of thesettlers in Landnámabók. After giving a genealogy for the Norwegianking Haraldr the Fine-Haired, Ari states that Iceland was ‘first settled from
Norway’, mentions only the journeys of ‘a Norwegian named Ingólfr’(Landnámabók also tells of two earlier voyages, one by a Swede), andspecifies that ‘a great many people began to move out here from Norway’(pp. 3–4). In the case of all four of his main settlers, he specifies Norwegiandescent: Hrollaugr is the son of Rƒgnvaldr ‘earl in Mœrr’ (in western
Norway), Ketilbjƒrn is ‘a Norwegian’, Au›r is the daughter of Ketill Flatnose‘a Norwegian lord’, and Helgi the Lean, again, is ‘a Norwegian’ (p. 4).
This is particularly noteworthy given that Ari’s own ancestor, Au›r,
travelled in Scotland, Ireland and the Hebrides before coming to Norway,
something which Ari must have known from his mention of ﬁorsteinn
the Red (see notes 22 and 124). The first laws are brought ‘from Norway’
72 Davis 1976: 19–69; Heather 1996: 3–6; Pohl 1997: 7–10; Brooks 1999: 5.
73 Brooks 1999: 22; see also Wormald 1983; Foot 1996; Howe 1989: 49–71,
108–25.
74 Moreland 2000: 40.

xxvi

Introduction

and Christianity is introduced by a Norwegian king (pp. 4, 7). There is no
hint of any continuity with Celtic Christianity and the papar conveniently
leave when the Norwegians arrive, even though Landnámabók and Kristni
saga say that there had been Christians at Kirkjubœr in the south continuously from the time of settlement (pp. 41–2 and note 47). In the main,
however, Ari’s disregard of Celtic Christians colours all later sources:
when Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta introduces the Icelandic missionary
Stefnir, a descendant of Helgi bjóla, it assumes that he was converted
abroad, despite that the fact that Helgi was a Celtic Christian (p. 39 andnote 36). Ari’s silence about the mass of conflicting traditions recordedin Landnámabók suggests that he is deliberately simplifying and streamlining to provide a distinct people with a distinct geographical origin—
Norway. The privileging of this particular origin is likely to reflect contemporary power relationships and Iceland’s dependence on a political
relationship with Norway; it may also reflect the ancestry of the Haukdœlir
family, since Bishop Ísleifr’s father, Gizurr, was second cousin to Óláfr
Tryggvason (see p. 46 and note 69).
At several points, we see Ari negotiating the Icelanders’ relationshipwith other countries, principally Norway, but also Greenland. The firstoccurs during his account of the migration from Norway, which is initiallyforbidden by Haraldr the Fine-Haired and finally permitted upon thepayment of land-dues. This reflects contemporary agreements about thestatus of Icelanders in Norway and the rights of the king of Norway over
Icelanders, the most recent of which had been witnessed by Bishop Gizurr
as well as by the lawspeaker Markús Skeggjason (see p. 4 and note 21).
The account of Greenland’s settlement, which has striking verbal parallels
with the settlement of Iceland (including the archaeological signs of earlier
habitation) establishes Iceland as no longer a periphery of Norway (‘outhere’), but a centre for migration elsewhere: Eiríkr the Red travels ‘out
there from here’ (p. 7 and note 57). The most important moment, however,is the conversion itself, when ﬁangbrandr returns to Norway to report toÓláfr Tryggvason that ‘it was beyond all expectation that Christianity
might yet be accepted here’ (p. 8). Óláfr’s angry and violent reaction
towards ‘our countrymen who were there in the east’ (‘our’ countrymen
is, in the context, strongly partisan) is averted only by the diplomacy ofGizurr and Hjalti, who themselves agree to plead the cause of Christianity
on his behalf. From this point on, Óláfr disappears from the narrative andthere is little sense of his agency in the scenes at the Althing. The last wehear is that he ‘fell the same summer’ that Christianity was proclaimed in thelaws (p. 9). This contrasts with, for example, the account of the A-text ofThe Book of the Icelanders

xxvii

Oddr Snorrason’s Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar, where Óláfr’s physical absenceat the conversion of Iceland is amply compensated for by the sense of his
spiritual presence there.
Ari’s attitude towards the kings of Norway is conveyed even more clearlyin the speech in which ﬁorgeirr persuades the Icelanders to accept his
judgement on which religion Iceland is to observe: he gives an exemplum
about how the kings of Norway and Denmark had ‘kept up warfare andbattles against each other for a long time, until the peoples of thosecountries (landsmenn) had made peace between them, even though they
did not wish it’. There is a telling contrast between the unreasonablekings, who resist peace at their peoples’ cost, and the wise landsmenn,
who are able to impose peace in spite of them; the term landsmenn isused repeatedly of the Icelanders in Íslendingabók. Attention is drawn to
Iceland’s own unique position as a kingless state, upheld and legitimisedby the way in which its people peacefully accept conversion, not throughroyal power, but through the legal process of arbitrated resolution.75
In the absence of an executive power, the law is central to Ari’s understanding of Icelandic identity. In Njáls saga, Njáll famously declares that‘by laws shall our country be built up and by lawlessness laid waste’, andit may be partly thanks to the ideology of Ari’s short history that such astatement rings true.76 Ari describes the stages by which a new society iscreated in a virgin land and the process, for him, is primarily a legal one.
The first event after the settlement is the bringing of laws or law (theIcelandic lƒg is plural) from Norway, laws which are carefully adjusted
to meet the demands of a new situation. After the land has been explored,
the Althing is established and, in a mythical patterning, held on the confiscated land of a murderer: order is imposed against a background oflawlessness and feud. The ever-present danger of social disintegration isaverted again and again through the counsel of spakir menn ‘wise men’with the cooperation of landsmenn ‘countrymen’: the disorder of theseasons results in an improved reckoning of time, fighting at the Althingleads to the division of the country into Quarters and, in each case,speeches at the Althing are decisive. At the climax of ﬁorgeirr’s speech,
he identifies the law as the single most important source of social unity:‘It will prove true that if we tear apart the law, we will also tear apart thepeace’ (p. 9). The hint of the numinous in his night under the cloak,rather like ﬁorsteinn Black’s mysterious dream about the calendar, serves
75 Jochens 1999: 647–54.
76 Njáls saga, ÍF XII 172: ‘Me› lƒgum skal land várt byggja, en me› ólƒgum ey›a’.

xxviii

Introductionas ‘mythical underpinning’ for the entire system.77 Christianity is proclaimed‘in the laws’, and brings with it the dissolution of old laws and the passingof new ones. Ari depicts bishops, clerics, lawspeakers and chieftains asworking together on this: Gizurr, Markús and Sæmundr on the tithe law,and Gizurr, Hafli›i and Bergﬂórr on the first written law code. Ari emphasises how strong leaders, wise men and social consensus preserve thelaws of the land, hold back feuds and strengthen social order for the good ofall; if he was writing, as is sometimes suggested, against the backgroundof the feud between Hafli›i and ﬁorgils (which also involved fighting at
the Althing), this message—a call for law and unity to prevail—would
have been particularly apt.78
Perhaps the best way to understand Ari’s history is as a new literary
genre, created to meet the needs of a new people with a distinctive politicalsystem unrivalled in early medieval Europe. His book of ‘the Icelanders’is not quite Church history or national history, though it includes both: it
is a history of the Icelandic constitution, which Ari and subsequent
Icelanders closely identified with the law, and changes to this constitution
form its main structuring device, alongside the biographies of bishops inchs 9 and 10.79 As Bede does for the English, Ari provides for the
Icelanders a shared history based on the key moments of settlement andconversion but, despite his loans from European Latin literature, his
freedom from religious ideology and rhetoric and his emphasis on social,legal and political processes make his work unique among early medieval
histories. As Snorri Sturluson declared in the prologue to Heimskringla,
though perhaps for different reasons, ﬂykkir mér hans sƒgn ƒll merkiligust‘all his account seems to me most remarkable’.80
A Note on Íslendingabók, Prose Style and the Family Saga
As far as we know, Ari was the first Icelander to write an original prose
composition in Icelandic: according to the First Grammatical Treatise,
only lƒg (laws), frœ›i (historical information, probably genealogies) andﬂ‡›ingar helgar (see p. xix) had previously been written down.81 As one
might expect, the innovatory character of his work inevitably results in
77 On the mythic undercurrent in Íslendingabók, see further Lindow 1997b.
78 Björn Sigfússon 1944: 40; Ellehøj 1965: 82–4.
79 On the importance of settlement and a sense of ‘standing at the beginning’
for the origins of written literature in Iceland, see further Schier 1975 and Clunies
Ross 1997.
80 ÍF XXVI 6.
81 Haugen 1972: 12–13, 32–3.

The Book of the Icelanders

xxix

some clumsiness of style: Ari has trouble with complex subordination(in the first sentences of chs 1 and 4, for example) and includes in his
work various Latinisms, as noted on p. xix). Although both temporal andcausal subordination are found, long stretches of prose are mainlyparatactic with ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘then’ as the most frequent connectives.
Among the stylistic devices used, the most important are repetition andparallelism, in the account of Ingólfr’s exploration in ch. 1, for example(‘for the first time . . . for the second time . . . The place to the east . . . theplace to the west’) or in the genealogies of ch. 2 (‘settled in the east . . .
settled in the south . . . settled in the west . . . settled in the north’).
Sometimes, verbal parallels create deliberate symmetries between chapters,
as for the paired accounts of the settlement of Iceland and Greenland, or
the mini-biographies of Ísleifr and Gizurr. Many of Ari’s sentences include
carefully balanced clauses: ‘where things should be added, or removed,or set up differently’ (p. 4), ‘and tithes paid on it, and laws laid down’ (p.
12, with alliteration in the etymologically related words lƒg á lƒg›). Ari
also frequently uses word-pairs and parallel phrases: ‘according to thebelief and reckoning’ (p. 3), ‘for killings or injuries’ (p. 6), ‘their kinsmen
and friends’ (p. 8), ‘the same law and the same religion’ (p. 9), ‘killings
or fighting’, ‘authority and governance’ (p. 10). In ch. 4, there is a niceexample of chiasmus with the repetition of different forms of the sametwo verbs: ‘awake . . . asleep . . . asleep . . . wake up’. The awakening ofﬁorsteinn’s dream audience is connected with the approval from his realaudience through a play on the literal and metaphorical meanings of theverb phrases vakna and vakna vi› ‘to wake up’ and ‘to recognise’ (thesecond translated on p. 6 as ‘welcomed’). As well as these more ‘learned’
features, Ari makes some use of alliteration, most noticeably in ﬁorgeirr’s
speech to the Althing.82
Although Ari’s Íslendingabók is not a saga and differs from this genre
by, among other things, its relatively frequent use of the first-person
singular referring to the author, it does presage in some interesting ways
aspects of later saga tradition. In a few cases, it seems clear enough thatthe saga-writers have inherited traditions from Ari: the close connection
between migration to Iceland and King Haraldr Fine-Haired, for example(compare Egils saga chs 1–27), or the depiction of the conversion as alegal and political process (compare Njáls saga chs 100–05). In othercases, however, shared similarities perhaps go back to an oral traditionof prose narrative which pre-existed the conversion: Ari and the family
82 On Ari’s prose style, see further Björn Sigfússon 1944: 84 and ﬁórirÓskarsson 2005: 363.

xxx

Introductionsagas both adopt a secular outlook and style most striking for its
detachment from Christian ideology and rhetoric and both use oral
tradition, based around genealogy and topography, as a source.83 Above
all, many of the stories which Ari tells read like miniature versions oflater saga narrative: the feuds, burnings and battles in chs 3 and 5, thedream which heralds ﬁorsteinn Black’s success in ch. 4 and the citationof a skaldic strophe in ch. 9 are all motifs which can be easily paralleledin the best-known family sagas. In his account of Iceland’s conversion,
Ari shows himself more than capable of masterful narrative: events in
Norway are deftly drawn, with ﬁangbrandr’s complaint, Óláfr’s anger
and Gizurr and Hjalti’s hasty reassurances tersely expressed in indirectspeech. As the scene moves to Iceland, the tension builds: Hjalti, left
behind because of his recent outlawry, comes ‘riding’ (this is also a present
participle in the Icelandic) to join Gizurr at the Assembly and it comes soclose to fighting, Ari tells us, that ‘no one could foresee which way it
would go’ (eigi of sá á milli). In the midst of the tumult caused by theabandonment of legal procedure, Ari describes a period of tense silence:
the lawspeaker ﬁorgeirr lies under his cloak ‘all that day and followingnight, and did not speak a word’. The speech he makes upon awakening
is carefully structured and shows a concentration of the stylistic devices
described above, while the move from indirect to direct discourse at its
climax is characteristic of saga style: it gains impact from being the only
direct speech in the whole book.84 Ari’s skill and the ‘strong saga flavour’of the scene suggest that native models were available to him for thecomposition of narrative prose; if so, these models must have been oral.

KRISTNI SAGA
Kristni saga (‘The Story of the Conversion’) offers the possibility of directcomparison with Ari when it comes to those sections of his work concernedwith Iceland’s conversion and the growth of the early Church, just as Landnámabók offers comparable material on the settlement. Both Landnámabók and Kristni saga were, in fact, connected with Íslendingabók from anearly date in the study of the sagas: one of the first theories about their
origin was that Landnámabók was compiled from the first version of Íslendingabók, and that the material left over was fashioned into a Kristni saga.85
83 Foote 1974.
84 Knirk 1981: 32–5.
85 Brenner 1878: 7–10, 156; Maurer 1870: 318–9; 1891: 86–96.

Kristni saga

xxxi

The author of Kristni saga clearly had Ari’s Íslendingabók in mind (if not infront of him) when he wrote chs 14 to 16 on Ísleifr and Gizurr, and he stateshimself in ch. 14 that Ari ‘has said most about the events written down
here’ (p. 52). He may also have used Íslendingabók for his account of thelegal prodecure of conversion, which is in places very close to Ari, and heappears to cite Ari as his authority for Stefnir’s death (p. 51, but see note 97).
Even the longer account of Fri›rekr’s mission probably has its origins in
Ari’s mention of ‘Fri›rekr, who came here during the heathen period’ (p. 10).
One’s immediate impression upon reading the two together, however,is that Kristni saga is a very different sort of work. On the one hand, it ismore like the family sagas than Íslendingabók: it is anonymous, with aself-effacing narrator, and presents itself as an account of shared,
traditional, knowledge. Although it may have some basis in the reports
of individual oral informants, it rarely cites its oral sources other than inimpersonal formulas (‘it is said’ in ch. 1, p. 35, ‘as far as is known’ in ch.
2, p. 37). Apart from one reference to a saga of Óláfr Tryggvason, it isequally reticent about any written sources. Like the kings’ sagas, it
includes a number of skaldic verses as substantiation for the narrative
and the slight differences between verse and prose suggest that the former
do pre-date the saga and that some may even be contemporary with theevents described. On the other hand, Kristni saga is more in tune with
the Latin European hagiographical tradition than either Íslendingabók or
the family sagas, and provides more of what one expects from a‘missionary’ history: fierce conflict between heathens and Christians,
miracles, exempla and Christian symbolism. This has resulted in different
attitudes towards what kind of text it is and therefore towards its historicalreliability: while early scholars praised its basis in historiske principer(‘historical principles’) and its stræng kronologisk tendens (‘strong
chronological tendency’), it has more recently been described as a ‘religious
tract’, more concerned with undri og stórmerkjum en raunverulegum
atbur›um (‘marvels and miracles than real events’), drawing on táknmáli
kirkjunnar og frásögnum Biblíunnar e›a annarra helgirita sem á henni
byggja (‘the symbolism of the Church and stories from the Bible or otherreligious texts based on it’).86 In the following analysis, I want to look at
different theories about the origins of Kristni saga and evaluate its
relationship to Íslendingabók and its status as a medieval history.
86 These quotations are from the following works (in this order): Ólsen
1893:332–33; Finnur Jónsson 1920–24, II 570; Jón Hnefill A›alsteinsson 1999:
59–60; Líndal 1974: 248; ÍF XV cxli–ii.

xxxiiIntroduction

Date, Authorship and Sources
Kristni saga is preserved in one medieval manuscript, Hauksbók, dated
to c.1306–10, where it is written in Haukr’s own hand immediately after
his version of Landnámabók (also known as Hauksbók). The part of themanuscript that contains the two works (AM 371 4to) is fragmentary,comprising only eighteen leaves, and the text of Kristni saga runs from‘shortly afterwards’ (sí›arr) in ch. 5 to ‘the lawspeaker Markús and’(Markúss lƒgsƒgumanns ok) in ch. 15. For the beginning and end of thesaga, we are dependent on a copy made by Jón Erlendsson in the midseventeenth century (AM 105 fol.).87
Most attempts to establish the authorship and date of Kristni saga have
involved some sort of interpretation of the relationship between Landnámabók and Kristni saga in the only surviving medieval manuscript. At
some stage, the two have clearly become linked, as is clear from a comparison of Kristni saga with two (related) versions of Landnámabók:
Sturlubók, which is associated with Sturla ﬁór›arson (d. 1284) and Hauksbók, which is associated with Haukr Erlendsson (1260–1334). Sturlubók
and Hauksbók both end with an account of how Iceland ‘was completely
heathen for about one hundred years’ and Kristni saga begins with ‘Now[the story of] how Christianity came to Iceland begins . . . ’ (p. 35, myemphasis).88 Sturlubók and Hauksbók date the settlement to 874 andKristni saga says that, upon the arrival of Fri›rekr and ﬁorvaldr, ‘theland had been inhabited for one hundred and seven years’. This assumes
that a date for the settlement has already been given and coincides with thedating of Landnámabók if we agree, on the basis of the internal sequenceof events in the saga, that the missionaries arrived in 981 (cf. p. 35 and note5). The same goes for the saga’s later, more approximate, statement that,upon Gizurr’s death in 1118, Iceland had been inhabited for ‘two hundredand forty years, the first half in heathendom and the second in Christianity’(p. 53). Finally, Sturlubók and Hauksbók both contain lists of the mostimportant settlers for each quarter of Iceland and, at the end, a list of themost important chieftains in 930. Kristni saga contains related lists ofthe most important chieftains in 981 and 1118, as well as including a listof chieftains who were priests in ch. 17 (see p. 35 and note 6; pp. 53–4).
On the basis of these connections, some of the earliest editors and critics
of Kristni saga assumed that it was written by Haukr Erlendsson in theearly fourteenth century, and Gu›brandur Vigfússon was the first to challenge
87 Hauksbók 1960: xii, xxviii–xxix, xxxiii.
88 ÍF I 396.

Kristni saga

xxxiiithis view: he showed that the saga must predate Haukr’s copy and concluded that it was present in one of Haukr’s sources, probably Styrmir
Kárason’s (lost) version of Landnámabók, known as Styrmisbók. He alsosuggested, however, that it may have been written even earlier, perhaps
by Oddr Snorrason in the second half of the twelfth century, which is when
the genealogies in ch. 18 end.89 Later scholars agreed that the saga predated
Haukr’s version, but disagreed on the originality of the link with Landnámabók: whereas Maurer and Brenner saw both works as one in scope andpurpose, originating in Ari’s older Íslendingabók, Björn M. Ólsen argued
persuasively that Kristni saga represented an original work appended toLandnámabók only in Haukr’s version. He dated it to the mid-thirteenth
century on the basis of its reference in ch. 3 to Bishop Bótólfr, who left
Iceland in 1243 and died in 1246 (see p. 37 and note 25).90 Finnur Jónsson
and Bernhard Kahle, on the other hand, thought that Sturla ﬁór›arson
had first appended the saga to Landnámabók and that he had interpolated
some of the genealogies and chronological notices. They conjectured
that he had reworked the saga to provide a bridge between his version ofLandnámabók and the collection of sagas of contemporaries included in
Sturlunga saga.91 In his Ger›ir Landnámabókar, Jón Jóhannesson took
this argument further: he suggested that Kristni saga had never existed
in independent form, but was composed by Sturla from different sources
as a continuation to his Landnámabók. It formed one link in a chain ofsagas documenting the history of Iceland from its beginnings to Sturla’s
own day, perhaps on the model of what Snorri Sturluson had done for
Norway in Heimskringla.92 However, although many scholars have accepted
Jón Jóhannesson’s attribution of the saga to Sturla, this has not goneunquestioned, and the most recent editor of the saga, Sigurgeir Steingrímsson, is content to label its author óﬂekktur (‘unknown’)—he thinks that it
dates from c.1237–50 on the basis of its relationship to other sagas. Other
scholars (including one within the same volume) disagree with his viewon these relationships, but there seems to be a tentative agreement that
Kristni saga does date from the mid-thirteenth century.93
89 Kristni-saga 1773, ‘Ad lectorem’; BS I xix–xxiii; see also Brenner 1878: 3–5.
90 Ólsen 1893: 263–349.
91 Hauksbók 1892–6: lxv–lxxiv; Finnur Jónsson 1920–24, II 571–2; Kahle
1905: ix–x. Sturla’s involvement was first suggested by Brenner 1878: 10, 155.
92 Jón Jóhannesson 1941: 16–19, 69–72, 224–5.
93 ÍF XV cliv–clv. Ólafur Halldórsson (1990: 461–4) and Sveinbjörn Rafnsson(2001: 25–32, 154, 164) have both questioned Sturla’s authorship of Kristni
saga, but on different (and mutually incompatible) grounds; Sveinbjörn’s view

xxxiv

Introduction

In the absence of any final consensus as to date and authorship, it ishard to say much about the written sources of the saga: other than Ari,
only the ‘saga’ of Óláfr Tryggvason is explicitly referred to, and this
could be either that of Oddr Snorrason or the lost saga of Gunnlaugr
Leifsson (it is not Snorri Sturluson’s; see p. 39 and note 34). There is a
close relationship between chs 1–13 of Kristni saga and a series of shortstories about the missions to Iceland in Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta(known as Kristni ﬂættir), and Ólsen suggested that the common source
for these was Gunnlaugr’s lost Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar—Gunnlaugr, amonk at ﬁingeyrar who died in 1218, is explicitly cited as a source ofﬁorvalds ﬂáttr ví›fƒrla in Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta.94 Ólsen’sviews are accepted with a few reservations by the most recent editor of
Kristni ﬂættir, but rejected by Sigurgeir Steingrímsson in the same volume:
he asserts instead that Kristni saga was an original work and a source forthe stories in Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta.95 The same lack ofconsensus prevails with regard to other sources: Jón Jóhannesson suggested Vatnsdœla saga, Laxdœla saga and ‘various annals’ and I myself
think it likely that Heimskringla was also a source—but Sigurgeir
Steingrímsson rejects all of these except Heimskringla, while Óláfur
Halldórsson accepts Vatnsdœla saga and (in places) Heimskringla, but
thinks that Gunnlaugr’s lost saga is the source of the material that Kristni
saga and Laxdœla saga have in common.96 Chs 14 to 18 of Kristni saga
contain passages also shared by Hungrvaka and Jóns saga helga, which
may go back to a different redaction of Ari’s Íslendingabók, although
not necessarily the ‘first’ one mentioned by Ari.97 Ch. 18, which has
verbal parallels with the longer account of the same events in ﬁorgils
saga ok Hafli›a, is also found in the appendix to the version of Landnámabók in Skar›sárbók, where it is copied from a different (and probably
more original) text of Kristni saga than that of Hauksbók (see p. 72, note109). Sources other than written include skaldic verse (Brandr’s verse inof its sources differs from Sigurgeir’s, but he dates it to a similar time-period on
the basis of its reference to Bishop Bótólfr.
94 ÓTM I 290; Ólsen 1893: 309–33.
95 ÍF XV cxxix–xxxi, clxiii–iv.
96 Jón Jóhannesson 1941: 70–71; Óláfur Halldórsson 1978: 382–89; Duke
[Grønlie] 1998–2001; ÍF XV lxxix, cxv, cxxx, clxxv, cci–ccii.
97 Sveinbjörn Rafnsson 2001: 148–54; ÍF XV ccxliv–v. The view that otherredactions of Íslendingabók were in circulation may be supported by Knirk’s observation (1981: 129) that the versions of ﬁorgeirr’s speech in Oddr’s Óláfs saga
Tryggvasonar and Kristni saga share variants which suggest a ‘mutual relationship’ between their originals against the preserved redaction of Íslendingabók.

Kristni sagaxxxv

ch. 13 is not found elsewhere) and oral traditions surrounding placenames and physical features of the landscape. These are most prominent
in the saga’s account of ﬁangbrandr’s enforced stay in the west of Iceland(p. 43 and note 55), which must be based on local tradition.
Kristni saga and Iceland’s History
The idea that Kristni saga may have been part of a projected history of
Iceland from settlement down to the time of the sagas of contemporaries
is suggestive, and would explain some of the peculiarities in the form of
the extant saga, not only its abrupt beginning, chronological notices andits inclusion of lists of chieftains, but also its more puzzling conclusion
with the offspring of Hafli›i Másson. These are listed after a brief retellingof the conflict between Hafli›i and ﬁorgils, which follows a chronologicalsummary at the end of ch. 17 and a list of chieftains halfway through ch. 18,
either of which would seem to be a more fitting conclusion for the saga.
The second part of ch. 18, although clearly leading on from the natural catastrophes that follow Gizurr’s death, shifts markedly from a fairly narrowfocus on ecclesiastical history (the author omits most of Ari’s commentson lawspeakers and events unrelated to the Church in previous chapters)
to secular history (the feud between ﬁorgils and Hafli›i) with only asprinkling of ecclesiastical history (the death of Bishop Jón and the electionof Ketill ﬁorsteinsson as bishop). Another church history, Hungrvaka,which mentions the feud between ﬁorgils and Hafli›i only in a list of
secular events within the episcopate of Bishop ﬁorlákr, provides a telling
contrast.98 The end of Kristni saga is best understood, therefore, to mymind, as a transitional episode leading on to the sagas of contemporaries,
or at the least as a ‘miscellany’ following the saga proper; that the wholeof ch. 18 was considered separable from the saga by some early scholars
is clear from its inclusion on its own in the appendix to Skar›sárbók.
If Kristni saga was intended as part of a projected history of Iceland,
this would explain both its dependence on Ari’s Íslendingabók (which isa more appropriate model for such a history than Heimskringla) and someof the ways in which it diverges from it. Whereas Ari’s account of theconversion is based on family history and focuses primarily on the southof Iceland, Kristni saga deliberately widens its focus to embrace the wholecountry: Fri›rekr and ﬁorvaldr’s mission to the north and Stefnir’s mission
to the west are added to those of ﬁangbrandr, Gizurr and Hjalti, and ﬁangbrandr travels almost the whole way around the country, to Skjálfanda98 ÍF XVI 27.

xxxviIntroduction

fljót in the north-east and as far as Bar›astrƒnd in the west. In place ofAri’s narrow focus on Gizurr and Hjalti, there is a host of different
missionaries and converts: ﬁorvaldr the Far-Traveller, the German bishopFri›rekr, Stefnir ﬁorgilsson (who, like ﬁangbrandr, is an envoy of Óláfr
Tryggvason), Ko›rán, Sí›u-Hallr and Kjartan. Even in the case of Gizurr
and Hjalti there is a different emphasis, showing much more interest in
stories about Hjalti than Ari does: the fact that the two crosses at theAlthing mark the height of Óláfr and Hjalti respectively (p. 48) suggeststhat in some traditions about the conversion he—rather than Gizurr—
was the main Icelandic figure.99 It seems likely that some of these
traditions were local and originated in different areas of Iceland. They
are certainly closely attached to the landscape and to place-names,
especially in the north and west. The church built by ﬁorvar›r ‘was still
standing’ in the first half of the thirteenth century (p. 37), and the burial
cairns of Skeggbjƒrn and his men ‘can still be clearly seen’ (p. 43). Someof the stories about ﬁorvaldr and Stefnir in particular may have beenmodelled on earlier traditions about ﬁangbrandr. The events of ﬁorvaldr’s
mission recall those of ﬁangbrandr’s (battles with berserks, libel, killings)
and Stefnir’s shipwreck may also be in imitation of ﬁangbrandr’s.
Occasionally, the joining of these disparate traditions is still visible: when
Stefnir arrives in Iceland, we are told that ‘all people were then heathen
in this country’ (p. 39), yet we have just heard of the many converts madeduring the mission of ﬁorvaldr and Fri›rekr.100
As well as bringing together traditions from different parts of thecountry, Kristni saga also makes an effort to show the cooperation ofeach of the four Quarters of Iceland in its legal conversion.101 This once
again suggests a link between Kristni saga and Sturlubók/Hauksbók, bothof which trace the settlement in each of Iceland’s four Quarters andprovide Christian settlers for each one (Helgi the Lean for the north,Jƒrundr, Helgi bjóla and ¯rlygr for the south, Au›r the Deep-Minded forthe west, and Ketill the Foolish for the east).102 As well as listing chieftains
99 Sveinbjörn Rafnsson 2001: 139; ÍF XV cxxxiii. Hjalti’s greater prominencein Kristni saga was first recognised by Vigfússon and Powell (1905: I 370–71,375), who were also first to point out that his comments to Narfi and Runólfr
could be construed as verse (see chs 10 and 12 and notes 62 and 87). Together
with his famous verse from the Law-Rock, these may have formed the nucleusof later stories about Hjalti.
100 Sveinbjörn Rafnsson 1977; ÍF XV cxxxii.
101 ÍF XV cxxxiii; Sveinbjörn Rafnsson 2001: 139.
102 ÍF I 396.

Kristni saga

xxxviifrom each Quarter, Kristni saga records missions to each Quarter andconversions within each Quarter. When King Óláfr takes hostages in
Norway, he takes one from each Quarter: Kjartan from the west, Halldórr
from the north, Kolbeinn from the east, and Svertingr from the south (p. 47
and note 70). Most interesting is the little anecdote about what happenedat the Althing among the Christians while ﬁorgeirr was lying under his
cloak. In order to counter the pagans’ sacrifice, Gizurr and Hjalti request‘victory offerings’ of two men from each Quarter of Iceland: they
themselves step forward for the south, Sí›u-Hallr and ﬁorleifr for theeast, Hlenni the Old and ﬁorvar›r Spak-Bƒ›varsson for the north, andGestr and Ormr Ko›ránsson from the west (p. 49). This neatly recalls to
our minds the key converts from each Quarter, and Ormr’s on-the-spot
baptism, so as to participate on behalf of his absent brother ﬁorvaldr the
Far-Traveller, completes the circle of countrywide conversion. Afterﬁorgeirr has proclaimed the Christian laws, we are told that the peoplesof the Northern and Southern Quarters were baptised in Reykjalaug in
Laugardalr on their way home; the ‘whole assembly was baptised’, and‘most of the westerners were baptised in Reykjalaug in southern Reykjadalr’ (p. 50). This is a history that consciously involves Icelanders fromall parts of the country, with a particular emphasis on the north and west,
which perhaps indicates the author’s own provenance.
Kristni saga as Missionary History
Apart from the occasional reservation, most scholars would agree that
Kristni saga is missionary history or Church history—and it certainly has
more claim than Íslendingabók to be considered as such.103 The missions
to Iceland form the organisational principle of the whole work which, as
Sigurgeir Steingrímsson has shown, is threefold: first, the three missions
to Iceland of ﬁorvaldr, Stefnir and ﬁangbrandr, then the story of the legal
conversion, covering events in Norway and Iceland, and finally the historyof the early church from Ísleifr’s consecration to the events following
Gizurr’s death.104 Kristni saga is the only source to join these three strands
together: Ari lacks a full account of the missions and Kristni ﬂættir inÓláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta lack the history of the early Church.
103 Brenner (1878: 8, 14) argued on the basis of various omissions (specifically,
its failure to mention the names of foreign priests in Iceland) that Kristni saga
was not conceived as a Church history but as an appendix of miscellaneous
information relating to Landnámabók.
104 ÍF XV lx–lxii.

xxxviii

Introduction

In contrast to the continuity in Icelandic history that marks Ari’s work,
this saga clearly divides Icelandic history into two, ‘the first half inheathendom and the second in Christianity’ (p. 53). It is explicitly statedin the opening sentence that the work will focus on the mission andconversion that brought about this momentous change. Against the background of the Icelanders’ heathenism, this is the story of ‘how Christianity
came to Iceland’ (p. 35).
In many ways, this story is told in a manner closer to European hagiography than Ari’s narrowly legal and political focus permits. Most noticeable are the signs of Christian rhetoric so lacking in Ari: ﬁorvaldr accepts‘the true faith’ and preaches ‘God’s message’, Fri›rekr is ‘truly a saint’,
Stefnir travels ‘boldly’, ﬁangbrandr preaches ‘outstandingly’, as do Gizurr
and Hjalti (pp. 35, 38, 40, 42). The missionaries’ opponents, on the other
hand, are derided: He›inn opposes ﬁorvaldr ‘with many evil words’, many
people at the Assembly where Hjalti is prosecuted ‘blasphemed greatly’,
and Runólfr shows ‘his tyranny and intransigence more than justice’ (pp.
37, 44–5). The heathens are often treated as an indiscriminate group:‘those people who were heathen’ dislike the church Arngeirr has built,‘the heathens’ attack the missionaries at Hegranes, ‘the heathens’ are‘displeased’ when Kjartan accepts a gift from King Óláfr (pp. 37–8, 46).
The conflict between heathens and Christians is much more sharply drawn
than in Íslendingabók and considerably more violent: there is a total ofeighteen killings, two attempted killings and several other threats—ahigher body count than in any other source. Stefnir and ﬁangbrandr both
meet resistance as soon as it is known that they are Christians, and families
are divided by the new faith: Klaufi enlists Arngeirr’s own brother tohelp destroy his church and Stefnir is outlawed by his own kinsmen (pp.
37, 39–40). This is all very different from Ari’s account of the conversion,
where the only potential battle is avoided and the imagined dangers of
religious violence form the keynote of ﬁorgeirr’s speech.
Like European lives of missionaries, Kristni saga also includes miracles
that fall into two main types: those connected with the conversion ofindividuals and those that show God’s protection of his messengers.105
ﬁorvaldr’s father, Ko›rán, is converted after Fri›rekr drives the guardian
spirit away from his farm; the rock in which it dwells bursts apart afterFri›rekr chants over it, convincing Ko›rán that ‘the spirit had been
overcome’ (p. 36). Both Fri›rekr and ﬁangbrandr bring about conversions
by defeating pagan berserks: by consecrating the fire they stride through,105 Wood 2001: 262–4.

Kristni saga

xxxix

they destroy the berserks’ immunity to it, and ﬁangbrandr also uses thesign of the cross (pp. 36, 44). The illusion of fire and supernatural arrows
protect the church at Áss from the attacks of pagans, and ﬁorvaldr andFri›rekr are kept safe from an ambush by the miraculous flight of a flockof birds, which scares away the pagans’ horses (pp. 37–8). The incense
at the Althing is smelt upwind as well as down and the pagans are unable
to reply to Gizurr and Hjalti’s speech there on account of the ‘great fear’
that ‘came with their words’ (p. 48). It is striking how many of thesemiracles are centred on the power of Christian rites—ecclesiastical chant,
the sign of the cross and the use of incense. This connection between riteand conversion is implied in the case of Kjartan’s conversion in Norway
and made explicit in the case of Sí›u-Hallr’s. Both are converted following
the services for Michaelmas, and Hallr’s household are particularly
impressed by the external trappings of Christian worship, ‘the sound ofbells’, ‘the scent of incense’ and ‘men clothed in costly material and finecloth’ (p. 41 and note 45). The saga also specifies that ﬁormó›r sangmass before the meeting at the Althing with other men ‘wearing vestments’, an event not mentioned by Ari despite the fact that he was apriest himself (p. 48). The sign of the cross is important throughout: it ismarked on ﬁangbrandr’s shield, which first arouses King Óláfr’s interestin Christianity, ﬁangbrandr raises crosses during his mission, and thetwo crosses later raised at the Althing measure the ‘height’, either literally
or metaphorically, of King Óláfr and Hjalti (p. 48 and note 80).
In places, it is clear that there is a moral and spiritual dimension to thenarrative lacking in Ari’s terse account. Hallr responds deeply to ﬁangbrandr’s sermon about ‘the glory of God’s angels’ and ﬁangbrandr
describes his conversion explicitly as the result of divine revelation: ‘God
has given you this understanding’ (p. 41). Kjartan’s swimming competition with Óláfr involves three dips in the sea followed by the gift of acloak and it is likely that this is figural: it presages the threefold immersionof baptism and the donning of baptismal garments (pp. 45–6).106 Likewise,
the church built by Gizurr and Hjalti on the site of ‘heathen places ofworship’ symbolises the conversion of the landscape: like Fri›rekr’s
driving out of Ko›rán’s spirit, it shows the physical cleansing of the land
and its re-consecration to Christianity (pp. 47–8).107 The scene among
106 See note 66 to Kristni saga and, on the extensive symbolism of water,

cloak and ships, see Lindow’s excellent study (1997a) of the related account ofHallfre›r’s conversion in Hallfre›ar saga.
107 On the conversion of non-Christian sacred space, see Howe 1997.

xl

Introduction

the Christians at the Althing is carefully designed to draw out the differences between pagan sacrifice and the meaning of sacrifice in a Christian context. It is one of the few places in the Icelandic conversion
narratives where an emphasis is placed on moral living (‘we must therefore
live better lives and be more careful to avoid sin than before’, p. 49), atheme which is much more central in European histories and lives of
missionaries.108
Most interesting are those exemplary passages dealing with revenge andforgiveness which involve Hjalti and the enemies who outlaw him, andin which Runólfr’s ‘tyranny and intransigence’ are contrasted with Hjalti’s
forgiveness of the man who tries to murder him, Narfi (p. 45). Narfi iscommissioned by Runólfr to kill Hjalti ‘to free himself from outlawry’and, when Hjalti suggests ‘a better plan’ (betra rá›) for his reprieve, heperhaps implies spiritual release from sin, as well as temporal releasefrom the status of outlaw; he offers Narfi not only a different means ofreprieve, but a whole new way of life (cf. at betra rá› sitt ‘to amend
one’s way of life’).109 At the court of King Óláfr in Norway, Hjalti speaks
up on behalf of Runólfr’s son, Svertingr, and this is explicitly commended
by ﬁangbrandr; he contrasts Hjalti’s behaviour with that of men ‘given
to passionate anger’ and emphasises, in an echo of Romans xii, that Hjalti
and Gizurr ‘often repay evil with good’ (p. 47). This is made manifest
again when Hjalti stands sponsor to Runólfr at his baptism, though hisverse about ‘teaching the old chieftain to nibble on the salt’ is not
unaffected by a sense of personal vindictiveness (p. 50). Hjalti issignificantly different in his approach to opposition from ﬁorvaldr,
described by Fri›rekr as ‘eager to take revenge’ (p. 38), and from ﬁangbrandr, notorious for his revenge killings; in the midst of the insults,
killings and outlawries, Hjalti provides a reminder of the spirit of theChristian faith. At the same time, there is an echo of the moral ofÍslendingabók in the condemnation of ‘passionate anger’ among bothparties, a reminder of ﬁorgeirr’s warning against ‘those who most wish
to oppose each other’ (p. 9; Kristni saga adds ‘with most vehemence’,
p. 50). Christian virtue, in this saga, joins seamlessly with social morality.
There is one aspect of Kristni saga that is distinctly different from
European conversion narratives, however: the presence of pagan verses
embedded in the Christian prose. While the prose tends to deal with pagans
as a force to be overcome, giving very few details about the specifics of
108 See, for example, Bede’s Ecclesiastical History 1969: 76–7.
109 See also the symbolic interpretation of this scene in ÍF XVI cxlviii–cxlix.

Kristni saga

xlipaganism (even the existence of Ko›rán’s ‘guardian spirit’ is neverendorsed by the author), the poetry offers a counterpoint to the prevailing
Christian ideology: we find complex kennings based on pagan mythology
and strong attacks on Christ and the Christian God, highly unusual in a
missionary history and, if they are authentic, unparalleled in European
literature. The verse about Stefnir triumphantly proclaims that the powerof the ‘bonds’ or Æsir lies behind his shipwreck, and the idea of the ‘bonds’
as a cohesive force in the cosmos contrasts nicely with their effective
dissolution of Stefnir’s ‘hollow’ ship (p. 40). Steinunn’s verses on ﬁangbrandr’s shipwreck are particularly accomplished: she makes ﬁórr theactive, dominating force—drawing, shaking, hitting, hurling, hewing into
splinters—while ‘the bell’s keeper’, ﬁangbrandr, watches helpless, andGod and Christ fail to intervene (pp. 43–4). The contrast between her
assertion that Christ ‘was not watching’ and the emphasis in the prose
narrative on how God miraculously protects his messengers is striking.
Finally, the ní› verses provide an insight into possible contemporary
perspectives on Christianity: the perceived ‘effeminacy’ of the missionaries,
the misunderstanding of baptism in the verse about Fri›rekr ‘bearing
children’ (the apostle Paul describes himself as ‘in the pains of childbirth’in Galatians iv), the description of ﬁangbrandr as a ‘spineless wolf ofGod’, whom the warrior-poet, the ‘wielder of steel’, must drive from theland (p. 38 and note 27, p. 42 and note 51). While Steinunn calls on ﬁórr,two other verses connect the poets with the god Ó›inn through his role inpoetry’s myth of origins: Úlfr addresses ﬁorvaldr as ‘a well-tried swimmer| in Hárbar›r’s (Ó›inn’s) sanctuary’s fjord’, by which he means the meadof poetry, and the same image is found in the verse about Gu›leifr, which
describes the poet Vetrli›i’s breast as ‘the smithy of the vessel of poetry’(pp. 42–3, notes 52 and 54). These verses are forceful enough to needwatering down within the Christian prose: when describing the shipwrecks,
the author feels compelled to add that the Stefnir’s ship was ‘not muchdamaged’ and that ﬁangbrandr’s was later ‘repaired’ (pp. 40, 44). The
voice given to paganism here, perhaps even its own voice, is unique to
Old Icelandic literature. The relative sympathy it implies is found to agreater extent in secular genres like the family saga and in Snorri’s Edda,
especially Gylfaginning and the Prologue (cf. Snorri Sturluson 2005).
Conversion and Politics
Although Kristni saga is evidently more influenced by hagiography thanAri’s Íslendingabók, it would be wrong to describe it in a derogatory
fashion as a ‘religious tract’ or as ‘uncritical history writing’—as wrong,xlii

Introduction

perhaps, as to assume uncritically that missionary hagiography isunconcerned with history or politics.110 Kristni saga is different fromsaints’ lives in several ways, not least in giving a voice to the pagans it
represents, and although it proclaims of Fri›rekr that he ‘is truly a saint’(sannheilagr), it does not show any particular interest in sanctity. Indeed,
the author is clearly ambivalent about any claim to sainthood on ﬁorvaldr’s
part (he cautiously asserts that ‘they call him a saint’ without specifying
who ‘they’ are) and the death of Stefnir at the hands of Earl Sigvaldi,
about whom he has composed an insulting verse, is hardly a martyrdom.111
When Kristni saga is compared with the more explicitly exemplary stories
about conversion in Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta, it becomes clearthat the author consistently passes over opportunities to point up the moral
and spiritual dimensions of events. In good saga style, he avoids homiletic
speeches and interpretive comments, and even seems to attenuate thepresence of the supernatural, which is in any case, with a few exceptions,mainly confined to ﬁorvaldr’s mission. As Peter Foote has shown, not all
the author’s anecdotes can be considered edifying in a Christian sense:
Snorri go›i’s quip when the heathens attribute a volcanic eruption to thegods (p. 49: ‘What were the gods enraged by when the lava we are standingon here and now was burning?’) inclines towards scepticism rather thanbelief.112 What, likewise, are we meant to make of the fact that DigrKetill dropped his religiously inspired lawsuit against ﬁorleifr in exchange
for some good food and a warm fire?—or the comment that some Icelanders chose to be baptised in warm springs ‘because they did not want
to be immersed in cold water’ (pp. 49–50)? Even the polarisation of
Christian and heathen noted above is not consistent throughout: there are‘good men’ among the heathens, who rejoice when ﬁangbrandr kills a
berserk (a social menace more than a representative of heathenism) andat the Althing, battle is avoided because some ‘wished to prevent trouble,
even though they were not Christians’ (pp. 44, 48). Perhaps we are notso far from Ari’s ‘secular’ attitudes after all.
Also in line with Ari is the emphasis throughout the saga on legal andpolitical processes, both in the early missions to Iceland and in thoseparts of the saga based directly on Íslendingabók. Unlike Óláfs saga
110 It is a common misconception that hagiography is a homogenous genre
characterised by a total disregard for historical facts; it is in reality much more
flexible and wide-ranging. On the various ‘agenda’ that can lie behind missionary
hagiography in particular, see Wood 1999 and 2001: 248–50.
111 ÍF XV cxxxiv; see also Kristni saga, note 36 (p. 62).
112 Foote 1993a: 142–3; Grønlie 2005: 151–4.

Kristni saga

xliii

Tryggvasonar in mesta, Kristni saga presents the conflict between
heathens and Christians as a legal battle rather than as evil and unmotivatedpersecution: ﬁorvaldr and ﬁangbrandr are libelled, kill in response tothat libel (a legally justifiable, if not ‘Christian’, response) and are
outlawed not because of their faith, but because of these killings. Attacks
on the missionaries occur after their outlawry rather than before it, andboth are forced to go abroad as a result. Stefnir and Hjalti, on the other
hand, are both outlawed for blasphemy: Stefnir ‘for being a Christian’(but more probably for his destruction of shrines and temples) and Hjalti
for his insulting verse about the goddess Freyja.113 Indeed, the law passed
during Stefnir’s mission, which designates Christianity as ‘a disgrace to
one’s family’ (frændaskƒmm) may be included in part to explain the
grounds on which Stefnir and Hjalti were sentenced: it seems unlikely infact that paganism, which was neither a universal nor an institutionalreligion, had any monopoly on what people should believe. In the passage
on Kolr, who refuses food to ﬁangbrandr, the author’s sympathies seem
divided: on the one hand Kolr has no good reason for his refusal (he has‘so much food he hardly knew what to do with it’), but on the otherﬁangbrandr ‘flatly’ refuses a legal request for compensation. In the second
half of the saga, the author focuses, as does Ari, on early Christianlegislation, with an additional emphasis on the ‘Golden Age’ during
Gizurr’s episcopate: Gizurr, he tells us, ‘made the land so peaceful thatno great conflicts arose between chieftains and the carrying of weapons
almost ceased’ (p. 53). As well as preparing for the conflict and litigationsof the sagas of contemporaries, this emphasises the role of the bishops inpeace-making, something which is also a concern of the version of ch.
18 preserved in Skar›sárbók: Ketill’s election as bishop is here a direct
result of his successful resolution of the feud between Hafli›i andﬁorgils.114 The social unrest at the end of the saga ties in with the author’s
earlier preoccupation with violence and killings during the missions
themselves: it is a preoccupation with the law’s frequent failure to regulate
violence both before and after the conversion.
It would have been no revelation to a medieval Christian, hagiographer
or not, that conversion had political consequences and, if anything, theauthor of Kristni saga is more alert than Ari to the difficulties posed by
Norway’s role in Iceland’s conversion to Christianity. The tension is
113 Foote (1984a: 62) suggests that Kristni saga has misunderstood the grounds

for Stefnir’s outlawy. On the concept of blasphemy in pagan times, see p. 24, note 68.
114 See p. 73 note 118 and, on the role of clerics as peacemakers, Orri Vésteinsson
2000: 219–34.

xliv

Introduction

palpable in the scenes that depict Kjartan’s conversion in Norway andﬁangbrandr’s return from Iceland, where pagan and Christian Icelanders
come face to face with the Norwegian king Óláfr Tryggvason. Kjartan’s
response to Óláfr’s offer of baptism is interesting: although predisposed
towards Christianity, he demands ‘no less honour here than I can expectin Iceland’ (p. 46), protecting himself against any loss of face associatedwith submission to the Norwegian king. ﬁangbrandr’s return from Icelandleads to a more sinister turn of events: Óláfr immediately seizes the Icelanders in Norway (it is not specified that the Christians are spared) andthreatens to repay them ‘for how disrespectfully their fathers in Iceland
had received his communications’. It takes Gizurr and Hjalti to remind
him of the ‘pardon’ or ‘peace’ promised to those who accept baptism and,even then, hostages (including Christians) are taken ‘until it is found out
which way this matter will go’ (p. 47). Óláfr’s royal power, as much as
the souls of the Icelanders, hangs in the balance. Likewise, Gizurr and Hjalti’s
criticism of ﬁangbrandr betrays deep-seated concerns about Icelandic
identity and foreign intervention: ‘he killed several men there’, they tellÓláfr, ‘and people thought it hard to take that from a foreigner’ (p. 46).
This anxiety about Norwegian intervention may explain why the authorof Kristni saga has chosen to dissociate the missions to Iceland from thelife of King Óláfr Tryggvason, starting his mission with an Icelandic—
not a Norwegian—initiative and framing it with lists of chieftains thatplace it firmly within the sphere of Icelandic—not Norwegian—history.
It may also be why he ends the account of the missions with the deaths of the
Icelandic missionaries ﬁorvaldr and Stefnir (we never hear what became ofﬁangbrandr) and omits Ari’s list of foreign bishops in order to moveseamlessly from Gizurr the White’s role in the conversion to the consecrationof his son Ísleifr as bishop at the unanimous request of ‘the people of thecountry’ (p. 51). The conversion effort is firmly attributed to Icelandic
chieftains: they are among the first to be converted and the first churchbuilders, they provide the first two bishops of Iceland and ‘most men ofhigh rank’, the author tells us, ‘were educated and ordained priests, eventhough they were chieftains’ (p. 53 and note 106). At the time he waswriting, due to the influence of the Gregorian reform movement, thoseholding secular office were no longer permitted to be ordained.115 Yet it
appears that the author admires rather than condemns this short-lived
115 On this reform movement and its influence in Iceland, see Jón Jóhannesson
1974: 179–86, 200–14, 216–18; Magnús Stefánsson 1975: 92–104, 119–41; Orri
Vésteinsson 2000: 167–78.

Conclusion

xlv

unity of secular and ecclesiastical power: it is a fitting tribute to the successof those chieftains who negotiated the political threat from Norway andbrought Iceland into the Christian world.

CONCLUSION
Both Ari’s Íslendingabók and Kristni saga are centrally concerned with
Christianity and the Church, yet what the above analysis has shown isthat neither can straightforwardly be described as hagiography: they aremarked by the specific cultural and social circumstances of medieval
Iceland and by the close integration of secular and ecclesiastical powerthat continued right up until the mid-thirteenth century.116 The two works
have much in common, despite their obvious differences: oral tradition,
genealogy and law are central to both, although Ari is the pioneer in this,while Kristni saga rests on an already established tradition of saga-writing.
Ari’s account of Icelandic history has a more personal (or familial) slant,
while Kristni saga is more of a compilation, drawing together traditions
from around the country and extending Ari’s account of the missions intime and space. In both, evaluative comment and religious rhetoric are
avoided in favour of an apparently objective style, although Ari has
touching words of praise for those who fostered him, and Kristni saga ismuch more open to the moral and spiritual dimension of events. It is too
simple to set Ari up as the only reliable source on Iceland’s conversion
and to dismiss Kristni saga as later fabrication: this introduction has shownthat there are a number of reasons to distrust what Ari has to say and that,conversely, more attention should be paid to Kristni saga. It certainly
seems to be the case that Ari’s narrowness of vision is deliberate, andthat Kristni saga may be more representative of how heterogeneous
historical traditions about the conversion really were. However, the issueof historical reliability is not, perhaps, the most important: what isinteresting from a literary point of view is how flexible and versatile theconversion narrative proves itself to be, how the representation of
conversion varies in different contexts, and how the same events can beviewed in different ways even within the same text, as is the case withthe verse and prose in Kristni saga. Conversion, for medieval Icelanders
as for other medieval peoples, was not just about the saving of individual
souls: it was an ideological issue, a legal issue, a political issue—an issue
116 See Orri Vésteinsson 2000: 200–201 and Lönnroth, Vésteinn Ólason and
Piltz 2003: 490–92.

xlvi

Introductionthat brought to the fore the uniqueness of the Icelandic constitution andthe Icelanders’ difficult relationship with the kings of Norway. Throughtheir depiction of the process of conversion and Christianisation in
medieval Iceland, these writers address the legal and political consequences of the arrival of a new faith and they emphasise the Church’s
importance as a cohesive part of Icelandic society. The greater pessimism
in Kristni saga about the capacity of the law—celebrated by Ari—tocontain violence probably has much to do with the turbulent one hundredor so years that separate the two texts chronologically. Finally, Ari’s
notably secular perspective on conversion and the inclusion of paganskaldic verse in Kristni saga are witnesses to something quite unique
about Icelandic literature: they show how a strong oral tradition and a
distinctively Icelandic outlook came together with European Latin literacy
to create a secular literature unparalleled in medieval Europe.

NOTE ON THE TRANSLATIONS
The translations of Íslendingabók (‘The Book of the Icelanders’) and
Kristni saga (‘The Story of the Conversion’) are based on the editions inÍF I and XV (Biskupa sögur I). My aim has been to remain as faithful as
possible to the original Icelandic text within the limits of what constitutes
readable English prose. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to achievecomplete consistency with regard to names. All Icelandic personal names
and place-names have been put into the Old Icelandic nominative form,
but some variant manuscript spellings have been preserved as evidenceof date (both forms, when more than one occurs, can be found in theindex). Names given in a Latin form in the manuscripts have been
anglicised wherever possible and occasionally replaced with a widely
accepted alternative (e.g. Arnulf for manuscript Arnaldus). Nicknames
have been translated when it is clear what they mean (e.g. ﬁorsteinn theRed), but have otherwise been left in Old Icelandic with explanations in
the notes. Names of countries and places outside Iceland (e.g. Canterbury)
are sometimes anglicised, but where there is no exact modern equivalentor where the Old Norse form itself is well known (as in the case of Old
Norse place-names in Russia), they have been left in Old Icelandic withEnglish equivalents in the index.

DatesDATES IN THE HISTORY OF EARLY ICELAND
c.870
c.927
c.930
c.960
c.965
981–5
983/4
985/6
995/6
998/9
999/1000c.1000c.1004c.1016c.10201056
1067/81082
1096/71106
1117–18
1118
1121
1122

Discovery and settlement of IcelandÚlfljótr’s laws
Iceland fully settled; establishment of the Althing
Amendment to the Icelandic calendar
Division of Iceland into quartersFri›rekr and ﬁorvaldr’s mission
First church built at Áss in Hjaltadalr
Discovery and settlement of Greenland
Stefnir’s mission
ﬁangbrandr’s mission
Conversion of Iceland and fall of Óláfr Tryggvason
Leifr discovers Vínland
Institution of Fifth Court
Last heathen provisions removed from the laws
Land-dues agreement
Bishop Ísleifr consecrated
Ari the Learned born
Bishop Gizurr consecrated to see at Skálaholt
Tithe law passed
Bishop Jón consecrated to see at Hólar
Writing down of laws
Bishop ﬁorlákr consecrated. Gizurr dies.
Legal settlement between ﬁorgils and Hafli›i.
Bishop Ketill consecrated.

LAWSPEAKERS OF THE EARLY ICELANDIC
COMMONWEALTHÚlfljótr (?)
Hrafn Hœngssonﬁórarinn Ragi’s Brotherﬁorkell Moonﬁorgeirr ﬁorkelsson
Grímr Svertingsson
Skapti ﬁóroddsson
Steinn ﬁorgestsson
ﬁorkell Tjƒrvason
Gellir Bƒlverksson
Gunnarr the Wise
Kolbeinn Flosason
Sighvatr Surtsson
Markús SkeggasonÚlfhe›inn Gunnarsson
Bergﬂórr HrafnssonGo›mundr ﬁorgeirsson?–c.930
930–949
950–969
970–984
985–1001
1002–1003
1004–1030
1031–1033
1034–1053
1054–1062, 1072–1074
1063–1065, 1075
1066–1071
1076–1083
1084–1107
1108–1116
1117–1122
1123–1134

xlvii

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ÍSLENDINGABÓK
THE BOOK OF THE ICELANDERSIFIRST WROTE the Book of the Icelanders for our bishops ﬁorlákr
and Ketill,1 and I showed it both to them and to the priest Sæmundr.2
And in so far as it pleased them to keep it as it was or to add to it, I wrote
this on the same subject, besides the genealogies and regnal years of kings,3and I added what has since become better known to me and is now more
fully reported in this book than in the other. But whatever is incorrectlystated in these records, it is one’s duty to prefer what proves to be moreaccurate.4
Hálfdan Whiteleg, king of the Upplanders, son of Óláfr Treefeller, kingof the Swedes,5 was the father of Eysteinn Fart, father of Hálfdan the
Bounteous but Stingy-with-Food,6 father of Go›rø›r the Hunter-King,7
father of Hálfdan the Black, father of Haraldr the Fine-Haired, who was
the first of that family line to become sole king over the whole of Norway.8
THESE CHAPTERS ARE CONTAINED IN THIS BOOKI.
On the settlement of Iceland.
II. On the settlers and the establishment of laws.
III. On the establishment of the Althing.
IV. On the calendar.
V. On the division into Quarters.
VI. On the settlement of Greenland.
VII. On how Christianity came to Iceland.
VIII. On foreign bishops.
IX. On Bishop Ísleifr.
X. On Bishop Gizurr.
HERE THE BOOK OF THE ICELANDERS BEGINSCHAPTER I
Iceland was first settled from Norway in the days of Haraldr the FineHaired, son of Hálfdan the Black, at the time (according to the estimate
and reckoning of my foster-father Teitr, son of Bishop Ísleifr and thewisest man I have known, and of my paternal uncle ﬁorkell Gellisson,
who remembered a long way back, and of ﬁórí›r daughter of Snorri go›i,
who was both wise in many things and reliably informed)9 when Ívarr,
son of Ragnarr lo›brók,10 had St Edmund, king of the Angles, killed;11
and that was 870 years after the birth of Christ, according to what is written
in his [Edmund’s] saga.12

4

The Book of the Icelanders

It is said with accuracy that a Norwegian called Ingólfr travelled fromthere [Norway] to Iceland13 for the first time when Haraldr the Fine-Haired
was sixteen years old, and a second time a few years later; he settled in
the south in Reykjarvík.14 The place to the east of Minﬂakseyrr15 where
he first came ashore is called Ingólfshƒf›i, and the place to the west of¯lfossá which he later took possession of is called Ingólfsfell.16
At that time Iceland was covered with woods between the mountains
and the seashore.17 There were then Christians here, whom the Northmencall papar,18 but they later went away, because they did not wish to stayhere with heathens; and they left behind them Irish books and bells andstaffs.19 From this it could be seen that they were Irishmen.
And then a great many people began to move out here from Norway,
until King Haraldr forbade it, because he thought it would lead todepopulation of the land. They then came to the agreement that everyone
who was not exempt and travelled here from there should pay the kingfive ounces of silver. And it is said that Haraldr was king for seventy
years and lived into his eighties. These were the origins of the tax which
is now called land-dues, and sometimes more was paid for it and sometimes
less, until Óláfr the Stout20 made it clear that everyone who travelled
between Norway and Iceland should pay the king half a mark, except for
women and those men whom he exempted.21 ﬁorkell Gellisson told us so.
CHAPTER II
Hrollaugr, son of Rƒgnvaldr earl in Mœrr, settled in the east on Sí›a; from
him the people of Sí›a are descended.
Ketilbjƒrn Ketilsson, a Norwegian, settled in the south at upper Mosfell;
from him the people of Mosfell are descended.
Au›r, daughter of Ketill Flatnose, a Norwegian lord, settled in the west
in Brei›afjƒr›r; from her the people of Brei›afjƒr›r are descended.
Helgi the Lean, a Norwegian, son of Eyvindr the Easterner, settled in
the north in Eyjafjƒr›r; from him the people of Eyjafjƒr›r are descended.22
And when Iceland had been settled widely, an Easterner23 called Úlfljótr
first brought laws out here from Norway (Teitr told us so) and they were
subsequently called Úlfljótr’s laws; he was the father of Gunnarr, fromwhom the people of Djúpadalr are descended in Eyjafjƒr›r.24 They were
for the most part modelled on how the laws of Gulaﬂing25 were at thetime, or how the advice of ﬁorleifr the Wise, son of Hƒr›a-Kári, indicatedwhere things should be added, or removed, or set up differently.26 Úlfljótr
lived in the east in Lón. And it is said that his foster-brother was Grímr
geitskor,27 who explored the whole of Iceland on Úlfljótr’s recommend-

The Book of the Icelanders

5

ation before the Althing was held. And everyone in this country gave him
a penny for that, and he later gave the money to the temples.28
CHAPTER III
The Althing was established where it now is by the decision of Úlfljótr
and everyone in the country;29 but before that there was an assembly at
Kjalarnes, which ﬁorsteinn, son of Ingólfr the settler, father of thelawspeaker ﬁorkell Moon, held there together with those chieftains who
attended it.30 And a man who owned land in Bláskógar had been outlawed
for the murder of a slave or freedman; he was called ﬁórir kroppinskeggi,31
and his daughter’s son was called ﬁorvaldr kroppinskeggi, who later went
to the Eastern Fjords and there burned his brother Gunnarr to death in his
home. Hallr Órœkjuson said so.32 And the man who was murdered wascalled Kolr. The gorge that has since been called Kolsgjá, where theremains were found, is named after him. The land afterwards became
public property, and the people of the country set it apart for the use of theAlthing. Because of that, there is common land there to provide the Althingwith wood from the forests and pasture for grazing horses on the heaths.
Úlfhe›inn told us this.33
Wise men have also said that Iceland was fully settled in sixty years, sothat no further settlement was made after that. At about that time Hrafn,
son of Hœngr the settler, took up the office of lawspeaker after Úlfljótr,
and held it for twenty summers;34 he was from the Rangá district. That
was sixty years after the killing of King Edmund, and one or two years
before Haraldr the Fine-Haired died, according to the reckoning of wisemen. ﬁórarinn Ragi’s brother, son of Óleifr hjalti,35 took up the office oflawspeaker after Hrafn and held it for another twenty summers; he wasfrom Borgarfjƒr›r.
CHAPTER IV
It was also at that time, when the wisest men in this country had reckoned
364 days in the two seasons of the year36 (which makes 52 weeks, or
twelve months of thirty days each and four days left over), that they noticed
from the course of the sun that summer was moving backwards into spring;
but no one could tell them that there was one day more in two seasons
than was equal to the number of full weeks, and that was what was causingit.37 But there was a man called ﬁorsteinn Black, he was from Brei›afjƒr›r,
son of Hallsteinn, son of ﬁórólfr Mostrarskeggi the settler and of Ósk,daughter of ﬁorsteinn the Red.38 He dreamed that he seemed to be at the
Law-Rock when a crowd was assembled there and he was awake, but all the6

The Book of the Icelanders

other people seemed to him to be asleep. And after that it seemed to himthat he fell asleep, but all the others then seemed to wake up. Ósvífr Helgason, maternal grandfather of Gellir ﬁorkelsson, interpreted the dream tomean that everyone would remain silent while he spoke at the Law-Rock,but that when he fell silent, everyone would applaud what he had said.39
And they were both very wise men. And later, when people came to theassembly, ﬁorsteinn Black put forward the proposal at the Law-Rock thatthey should extend every seventh summer by a week, and see how thatwould work.40 And in accordance with how Ósvífr had interpreted the
dream, everyone then welcomed the proposal warmly, and it was immediately made law with the consent of ﬁorkell Moon and other wise men.41
By the correct reckoning, there are 365 days in each year if it is not aleap year, and then there is one more; but by our reckoning there are 364.
And when every seventh year is extended by a week in our reckoning, but
no extension is made in the other, then seven consecutive years will beequally long in both. But if there are two leap years between the years thatare to be extended, then the sixth year needs to be extended instead.42
CHAPTER V
A great lawsuit arose at the assembly between ﬁór›r gellir, son of Óleifr
feilan from Brei›afjƒr›r, and Oddr, who was called Tungu-Oddr;43 he
was from Borgarfjƒr›r. His son ﬁorvaldr was with Hœsna-ﬁórir at theburning of ﬁorkell Blund-Ketilsson44 in ¯rnólfsdalr. And ﬁór›r gellir was
the leader of the prosecution, because Hersteinn, son of ﬁorkell BlundKetilsson, was married to ﬁórunn, his sister’s daughter.45 She was thedaughter of Helga and Gunnarr, and the sister of Jófrí›r, who was married
to ﬁorsteinn Egilsson.46
And the burners were prosecuted at the assembly in Borgarfjƒr›r at theplace that has since been called ﬁingnes. It was then law that cases ofhomicide should be prosecuted at the assembly that was nearest to thescene of the event. But they fought there, and the assembly could not be
conducted according to the laws. ﬁórólfr Fox, brother of Álfr in the Dales,
fell there on ﬁór›r gellir’s side.47 And then the lawsuits were referred to
the Althing, and there they fought again. Then men fell on Oddr’s side
and, furthermore, Hœsna-ﬁórir was outlawed and later killed, together
with others who had been at the burning. Then ﬁór›r gellir made a speechat the Law-Rock48 about how disadvantageous it was for men to go to an
unknown assembly to prosecute for killings or injuries done to them, andtold what had hindered him, before he could obtain legal redress in thiscase, and said that difficulties would arise one after another, if things

The Book of the Icelanders

7

were not put right. Then the country was divided into Quarters, so that
there were three assemblies in each Quarter; and in each place the membersof the assembly had to conduct the prosecution of lawsuits together, exceptthat there were four assemblies in the Northern Quarter, because theNortherners would not accept anything else.49 Those who lived north of
Eyjafjƒr›r were not willing to attend the assembly there, and those who
lived west of Skagafjƒr›r were not willing to go there. However, the same
number of judges had to be nominated and there had to be the same numberof members of the Law Council 50 from that Quarter as from each of theothers. And later the Quarter Assemblies were established.51 The lawspeakerÚlfhe›inn Gunnarsson told us so.
ﬁorkell Moon, son of ﬁorsteinn Ingólfsson, took up the office oflawspeaker after ﬁórarinn Ragi’s brother and held it for fifteen summers;then ﬁorgeirr ﬁorkelsson of Ljósavatn held it for seventeen summers.52
CHAPTER VI
The country called Greenland was discovered and settled from Iceland.53
A man from Brei›afjƒr›r called Eiríkr the Red went out there from here,54
and took possession of land in a place that has since been called Eiríksfjƒr›r.
He gave a name to the country and called it Greenland, and said that it
would encourage people to go there that the country had a good name.55
They found signs of human habitation there both in the east and west of
the country, fragments of skin-boats and stone implements, from which it
may be deduced that the same kind of people had passed through there as
had settled Vínland56 and the Greenlanders call Skrælingar.57 And Eiríkr
began to settle the country fourteen or fifteen years before Christianity
came here to Iceland, according to what a man who had himself accompanied Eiríkr the Red there told ﬁorkell Gellisson in Greenland.58
CHAPTER VII
King Óláfr, son of Tryggvi, son of Óláfr, son of Haraldr the Fine-Haired,
brought Christianity to Norway and to Iceland.59 He sent to this country apriest called ﬁangbrandr,60 who preached Christianity to people here andbaptised all those who accepted the faith. And Hallr ﬁorsteinsson on Sí›a
had himself baptised early on, as did Hjalti Skeggjason from ﬁjórsárdalr
and Gizurr the White, son of Teitr, son of Ketilbjƒrn from Mosfell,61 andmany other chieftains; but those who spoke against Christianity andrejected it were, even so, in the majority. And when he had been here forone or two years, ﬁangbrandr left, and had killed two or three men here
who had libelled him.62 And when he arrived in the east, he told King

8

The Book of the IcelandersÓláfr everything that had happened to him here, and said that it was beyond
all expectation that Christianity might yet be accepted here. And Óláfr
became very angry at this, and determined to have those of our countrymen
who were there in the east maimed or killed for it.63 But that same summer,
Gizurr and Hjalti travelled there from out here and got the king to release
them, and promised him their help afresh so that Christianity might yet be
accepted here, and said they expected nothing other than that this would
work.64
And the next summer, they left the east together with a priest calledﬁormó›r,65 and arrived in the Vestmannaeyjar when ten weeks of the summer
had passed, and their journey had gone smoothly in every way. Teitr saida man who was there himself had said so. Now the previous summer it
had been proclaimed in the laws that people should come to the Althing
when ten weeks of the summer had passed, but up until then they had
come a week earlier.66 And they crossed to the mainland at once and thenproceeded to the Althing, and managed to persuade Hjalti to stay behindat Laugardalr with eleven men, because the previous summer he had been
convicted as a lesser outlaw67 at the Althing for blasphemy.68 And thereason given for this was that he had uttered this little verse at the Law-Rock:I don’t wish to bark at the gods:
It seems to me Freyja’s a bitch.69
But Gizurr and his men travelled on until they came to a place beside¯lfossvatn called Vellankatla; and from there they sent word to theassembly that all their supporters should come to meet them, because
they had heard that their adversaries intended to keep them from theassembly field by force. But before they set off from there, Hjalti cameriding there together with those who had stayed behind with him. And
then they rode to the assembly, and their kinsmen and friends had come tomeet them beforehand as they had requested. And the heathens thronged
together fully armed, and it came so close to them fighting that no one
could foresee which way it would go.70 And the next day, Gizurr and Hjalti
went to the Law-Rock, and announced their mission, and it is said that itwas extraordinary how well they spoke. But what happened as a result
was that one man after another named witnesses, and each side, theChristians and the heathens, declared itself under separate laws from theother, and they then left the Law-Rock.
Then the Christians asked Hallr on Sí›a to speak the law, the one thatwas to go with Christianity. But he freed himself from this responsibility

The Book of the Icelanders

9

towards them by agreeing71 with the lawspeaker, ﬁorgeirr, that he should
speak it, although he was still heathen at the time. And later, when everyone
had returned to their booths, ﬁorgeirr lay down and spread his cloak overhimself, and rested all that day and the following night, and did not speaka word.72 And the next morning, he got up and sent word that people
should go to the Law-Rock. And once people had arrived there, he began
his speech, and said that he thought people’s affairs had come to a bad
pass, if they were not all to have the same law in this country, and tried topersuade them in many ways that they should not let this happen, and said
it would give rise to such discord that it was certainly to be expected thatfights would take place between people by which the land would be laid
waste. He spoke about how the kings of Norway and Denmark had kept
up warfare and battles against each other for a long time, until the peopleof those countries had made peace between them, even though they did
not wish it. And that policy had worked out in such a way that they weresoon sending gifts to each other and, moreover, this peace lasted for as
long as they lived.
‘And it now seems advisable to me,’ he said, ‘that we too do not let
those who most wish to oppose each other prevail, and let us arbitrate
between them, so that each side has its own way in something, and let us
all have the same law and the same religion. It will prove true that if wetear apart the law, we will also tear apart the peace.’
And he brought his speech to a close in such a way that both sides
agreed that everyone should have the same law, the one he decided toproclaim. It was then proclaimed in the laws that all people should be
Christian, and that those in this country who had not yet been baptised
should receive baptism; but the old laws should stand as regards the
exposure of children and the eating of horse-flesh.73 People had the rightto sacrifice in secret, if they wished, but it would be punishable by thelesser outlawry if witnesses were produced.74 And a few years later, theseheathen provisions were abolished, like the others.75
Teitr gave us this account of how Christianity came to Iceland. AndÓláfr Tryggvason fell the same summer according to the priest Sæmundr.
He [Óláfr] was then fighting the king of the Danes, Sveinn Haraldsson,and the Swedish Óláfr, son of Eiríkr at Uppsala, king of the Swedes, andEiríkr Hákonarson, who was later earl in Norway. That was 130 years
after the killing of Edmund, and 1000 after the birth of Christ by thecommon method of reckoning.76

10

The Book of the Icelanders

CHAPTER VIII
These are the names of the foreign bishops who have been in Icelandaccording to Teitr’s account. Fri›rekr came here during the heathen period,
and these were later: Bjarnhar›r the Book-Learned for five years, Kolr
for a few years, Hró›ólfr for nineteen years, Jóhan the Irishman for a few
years, Bjarnhar›r for nineteen years, Heinrekr for two years.77 In addition,
five others came here who called themselves bishops: ¯rnólfr andGo›iskálkr and three from Ermland,78 Peter and Abraham and Stephen.
Grímr Svertingsson at Mosfell took up the office of lawspeaker afterﬁorgeirr and held it for two summers, but then he got permission for his
sister’s son, Skapti ﬁóroddsson, to hold it, because he himself was hoarse.79
Skapti held the office of lawspeaker for twenty-seven summers. He
instituted the Fifth Court,80 and the legal provision that no killer should
pronounce anyone other than himself legally responsible for a killing,whereas before there were the same laws about that here as in Norway.81
In his days many chieftains and powerful men were outlawed or driven
from the land for killings or fighting on account of his authority and governance. And he died in the same year that Óláfr the Stout fell, son of Haraldr,
son of Go›rø›r, son of Bjƒrn, son of Haraldr the Fine-Haired, thirty years
after Óláfr Tryggvason fell. Then Steinn ﬁorgestsson took up the officeof lawspeaker and held it for three summers; then ﬁorkell Tjƒrvason held
it for twenty summers; then Gellir Bƒlverksson for nine summers.
CHAPTER IX
Ísleifr, son of Gizurr the White, was consecrated bishop in the days ofKing Haraldr of Norway, son of Sigur›r, son of Hálfdan, son of Sigur›r
Bastard, son of Haraldr the Fine-Haired.82 And when chieftains and goodmen perceived that Ísleifr was far abler than other clerics who could thenbe obtained in this country, many sent him their sons to be educated andhad them ordained priests. Two of them were later consecrated bishops:
Kolr, who was in Vík in Norway, and Jóan at Hólar.83 Ísleifr had three sons,
who all became able chieftains: Bishop Gizurr and the priest Teitr, fatherof Hallr, and ﬁorvaldr.84 Teitr was brought up by Hallr in Haukadalr, aman whom everyone described as the most generous layman in this country
and the most eminent in good qualities.85 I also came to Hallr when I wasseven years old, one year after Gellir ﬁorkelsson, my paternal grandfather
and my foster-father, died; and I stayed there for fourteen years.86
Gunnarr the Wise had taken up the office of lawspeaker when Gellir
left off, and he held it for three summers. Then Kolbeinn Flosason held it
for six; the summer he took up the office of lawspeaker, King Haraldr fellThe Book of the Icelanders

11

in England.87 Then Gellir held it a second time for three summers; then
Gunnarr held it a second time for one summer; then Sighvatr Surtsson,
Kolbeinn’s sister’s son, held it for eight. In those days, Sæmundr Sigfússon
came to this country from Frakkland in the south and later had himself
ordained priest.88Ísleifr was consecrated bishop when he was fifty; Leo VII was thenpope.89 And he spent the next winter in Norway and then came out here.
And he died at Skálaholt, when he had been bishop for twenty-four years
in all. Teitr told us so. That was on a Sunday, six nights after the feast ofPeter and Paul, eighty years after the fall of Óláfr Tryggvason.90 I was
there with Teitr my foster-father at the time, and I was twelve years old.
And Hallr, who both had a reliable memory and was truthful, and remembered himself being baptised, told us that ﬁangbrandr had baptised him
when he was three years old, and that was one year before Christianity
was made law here. And he set up house when he was thirty, and lived atHaukadalr for sixty-four years, and was ninety-four when he died; andthat was on the feast of Bishop Martin, the tenth year after the death of
Bishop Ísleifr.
CHAPTER X
Bishop Gizurr, son of Ísleifr, was consecrated bishop at the request of his
countrymen in the days of King Óláfr Haraldsson, two years after Ísleifr
died.91 One he spent in this country and the other in Gautland. And thenhis name was altered so that he was called Gisrø›r; he told us so.92
Markús Skeggjason held the office of lawspeaker after Sighvatr, andtook it up the summer that Bishop Gizurr had been in this country for one
year, and he carried out his duties for twenty-four summers.93 The termsof office of all those lawspeakers who came earlier than my memory
extends are written down in this book according to his account, and his
brother ﬁórarinn and their father Skeggi and other wise men told him
about the terms of those who came earlier than his memory extends, inaccordance with what Bjarni the Wise, their paternal grandfather, had
said, who remembered ﬁórarinn the lawspeaker and six of his successors.
Bishop Gizurr was more popular with all his countrymen than any otherperson we know to have been in this country. Through his popularity andhis and Sæmundr’s persuasions, with the guidance of the lawspeaker
Markús, it was made law that everyone should reckon up and value all
their property and swear an oath that it was correctly valued, whether it
was in land or in movable possessions, and pay a tithe on it afterwards.94
It is a great sign of how obedient the people of the country were to that

12

The Book of the Icelanders

man, that he brought it about that all property in Iceland was valued underoath, including the land itself, and tithes paid on it, and laws laid downthat it should be so as long as Iceland is inhabited. Bishop Gizurr also had
it laid down as law that the episcopal see in Iceland should be at Skálaholt,
whereas before it had had no fixed location, and he endowed the see withthe estate at Skálaholt and many other forms of wealth both in land and in
movable possessions.95 And when he thought that the see had increased
sufficiently in wealth, then he gave more than a quarter of his diocese to
the end that there should be two episcopal sees in this country rather thanone, just as the Northerners had asked him. And he had first had thehouseholders in this country counted, and at that time there were a full
840 in the Eastern Fjords Quarter, and 1200 in the Rangá Quarter, and1080 in the Brei›afjƒr›r Quarter, and 1440 in the Eyjafjƒr›r Quarter;96
but those who did not have to pay assembly attendance dues were notcounted throughout the whole of Iceland.97
Úlfhe›inn, son of Gunnarr the Wise, took up the office of lawspeakerafter Markús and held it for nine summers, then Bergﬂórr Hrafnsson held
it for six, and then Go›mundr ﬁorgeirsson held it for twelve summers.
The first summer that Bergﬂórr spoke the law, a new pronouncement wasmade that our laws should be written down in a book at the home ofHafli›i Másson the following winter, at the dictation and with the guidanceof Hafli›i and Bergﬂórr, as well as of other wise men appointed for thistask.98 They were to make new provisions in the law in all cases wherethese seemed to them better than the old laws. These were to be proclaimed
the next summer in the Law Council, and all those were to be kept whicha majority of people did not oppose. And it happened as a result that theTreatment of Homicide Law and many other things in the laws were thenwritten down and proclaimed in the Law Council by clerics the next
summer.99 And everyone was very pleased with this, and no one opposed
it. The same summer that Bergﬂórr spoke the law for the first time, Bishop
Gizurr was unable to come to the assembly because of illness. He thensent word to his friends and the chieftains at the Althing that they should
ask ﬁorlákr, son of Runólfr, son of Hallr in Haukadalr’s brother ﬁorleikr,
to have himself consecrated bishop.100 And everyone acted in accordancewith his instructions, and this was obtained because Gizurr himself had
urged it so strongly; and ﬁorlákr went abroad that summer and returned
out here the next, and had then been consecrated bishop.
Gizurr was consecrated bishop when he was forty. Gregory VII wasthen pope. And he spent the following winter in Denmark and came tothis country the summer after that. And when he had been bishop for

The Book of the Icelanders

13

twenty-four years, just like his father, Jóan ¯gmundarson was consecrated
bishop, the first to the see at Hólar; he was then fifty-four.101 And twelve
years later, when Gizurr had been bishop for thirty-six years in all, ﬁorlákr
was consecrated bishop; Gizurr had him consecrated to the see in Skálaholt
during his lifetime.102 ﬁorlákr was then thirty-two, and Bishop Gizurr
died thirty nights later in Skálaholt on the third day of the week, the fifth[day] before the calends of June.103
In the same year Pope Paschal II died before Bishop Gizurr, as did
Baldwin king of Jerusalem and Arnulf patriarch in Jerusalem, and Philip
king of the Swedes and, later the same summer, Alexius king of the Greeks;
he had then sat on the throne in Miklagar›r for thirty-eight years.104 And
two years later a new lunar cycle began.105 Eysteinn and Sigur›r had thenbeen kings in Norway for seventeen years after their father Magnús, sonof Óláfr Haraldsson. That was 120 years after the fall of Óláfr Tryggvason,and 250 years after the killing of Edmund, king of the Angles, and 516
years after the death of Pope Gregory, who brought Christianity to England,
according to what has been reckoned. And he died in the second year of
the reign of the Emperor Phocas, 604 years after the birth of Christ by thecommon method of reckoning. That makes 1120 years altogether.
Here this book ends.

THIS IS THE ANCESTRY OF THE BISHOPS OF THE ICELANDERS AND THEIRGENEALOGY106

Ketilbjƒrn the settler, who settled in the south at upper Mosfell, was thefather of Teitr, father of Gizurr the White, father of Ísleifr, who was thefirst bishop in Skálaholt, father of Bishop Gizurr.
Hrollaugr the settler, who settled in the east on Sí›a at Brei›abólsta›r,
was the father of ¯zurr, father of ﬁórdís, mother of Hallr on Sí›a, father of
Egill, father of ﬁorger›r, mother of Jóan, who was the first bishop at Hólar.
Au›r the female settler, who settled in the west in Brei›afjƒr›r at
Hvammr, was the mother of ﬁorsteinn the Red, father of Óleifr feilan,
father of ﬁór›r gellir, father of ﬁórhildr Ptarmigan, mother of ﬁór›rHorsehead, father of Karlsefni,107 father of Snorri, father of Hallfrí›r,mother of ﬁorlákr, who is now bishop in Skálaholt after Gizurr.
Helgi the Lean, the settler, who settled in the north in Eyjafjƒr›r at
Kristnes, was the father of Helga, mother of Einarr, father of Eyjólfr
Valger›arson,108 father of Go›mundr, father of Eyjólfr, father of ﬁorsteinn,father of Ketill, who is now bishop at Hólar after Jóan.

14

The Book of the Icelanders

THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE MALE ANCESTORS OF THE YNGLINGS AND THE
PEOPLE OF BREI‹AFJ¯R‹R109
110
I. Yngvi king of the Turks.111 II. Njƒr›r king of the Swedes.112 III Freyr.
IIII. Fjƒlnir, who died at Fri›-Fró›i’s.113 V. Sveg›ir. VI. Vanlandi. VII.
Vísburr. VIII. Dómaldr.114 IX. Dómarr. X. Dyggvi. XI. Dagr. XII. Alrekr.
XIII. Agni.115 XIIII. Yngvi. XV. Jƒrundr. XVI. Aun the Old.116 XVII.
Egill Crow of Vendill.117 XVIII. Óttarr. XIX. A›ils at Uppsala.118 XX.
Eysteinn. XXI. Yngvarr. XXII. Braut-¯nundr.119 XXIII. Ingjaldr the
Evil.120 XXIIII. Óláfr Treefeller. XXV. Hálfdan Whiteleg, king of theUpplanders.121 XXVI. Go›rø›r. XXVII. Óláfr. XXVIII Helgi. XXIX.
Ingjaldr, son of the daughter of Sigur›r, son of Ragnarr lo›brók.122 XXX.
Óleifr the White.123 XXXI. ﬁorsteinn the Red.124 XXXII. Óleifr feilan,
who was the first of them to settle in Iceland. XXXIII. ﬁór›r gellir. XXXIIII
Eyjólfr, who was baptised in his old age, when Christianity came to
Iceland.125 XXXV. ﬁorkell. XXXVI. Gellir, father of ﬁorkell—father ofBrandr—and of ﬁorgils, my father; and I am called Ari.126

The Book of the Icelanders

15

NOTES TO THE BOOK OF THE ICELANDERS
1 ﬁorlákr was bishop of Skálaholt 1118–33 and Ketill was bishop of Hólar 1122–45;

both men’s genealogies are given in the genealogy of bishops (p. 13). ﬁorlákr’s
consecration is related in ch. 10, and an account of his life is given in Hungrvaka (ÍFXVI 22–28); he was the great-nephew of Hallr in Haukadalr and educated byTeitr Ísleifsson. On Ketill, an important chieftain from the north of Iceland who
was married to the daughter of Bishop Gizurr, see Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI 19, 24–5,
30–31), ch. 18 of Kristni saga below and note 118. The two men are best known
for compiling the first Christian law in 1125 in cooperation with Sæmundr, who
was Ketill’s cousin (Grágás 1980–2000: I 50).
2 Sæmundr inn fró›i ‘the Learned’ (1056–1133) was a priest and chieftain of
distinguished family from Oddi in the south of Iceland. He was the great-grandsonof Gu›mundr the Powerful and Sí›u-Hallr and could trace his ancestry back toRƒgnvaldr earl in Mœrr (ÍF I 229, 318; see notes 22, 61 and 108 below). His
grandson, Jón Loptsson, fostered the historian Snorri Sturluson (Sturl I 113–14).
Sæmundr is frequently cited as an authority in the sagas and, although none of his
works has survived, he probably wrote a Latin chronicle of the kings of Norway
down to Magnús the Good (Halldór Hermannsson 1932: 33–36). On his studies
abroad, which became legendary, see note 88 below.
3 Ari’s phrasing here is ambiguous and, although most have understood it that
he omitted genealogies and regnal lists from his revision (e.g. Ellehøj 1965: 27–34,
62), it has also been suggested that these were independent sections or chapters
written alongside it and perhaps collected in the same manuscript (Mundal 1984).
The exact meaning of konunga ævi (here translated ‘regnal years of kings’) is also
disputed, but it probably signifies short notices accompanying names and regnal
dates rather than lengthy biographies. See further Introduction, pp. xi–xiii above.
4 Ari’s submission to ecclesiastical authority, concern for accuracy and authorial
modesty are typical topoi in medieval prefaces (Sverrir Tómasson 1988: 68, 155–7).
5 Ari, like the author of Historia Norwegie (HN 13) assumes that Óláfr remained
king of the Swedes; but Snorri (ÍF XXVI 73; cf. Hauksbók 1892–6: 456) tells that
he was driven out of central Sweden to Värmland, bordering on eastern Norway,
where he obtained his nickname by clearing the woodland to build settlements. This
neatly explains why the son of a Swedish king might have become king in Norway.
6 According to Snorri, Hálfdan was ‘as generous with gold coins as other kings
were with silver coins, but he starved men of food’ (ÍF XXVI 78; cf. Hauksbók
1892–6: 457).
7 HN 14 and Flb I 28 follow Ari in calling Go›rø›r ‘the Hunter-King’, a nickname
appropriate to Upplƒnd (Oppland in eastern Norway), but Ynglingatal (where heis king in Vestfold) gives his nickname as inn gƒfugláti ‘the munificent’ (cf. Hauksbók
1892–6: 457). Snorri plays safe and records both traditions (ÍF XXVI 79).
8 This genealogy (sometimes considered a later addition) provides a prehistory
for the king with whom the settlement of Iceland is most closely linked, Haraldr
the Fine-Haired, so called after he had fulfilled a vow not to cut his hair until hehad conquered the whole of Norway (ÍF XXVI 97, 122). The first five names
come from ﬁjó›ólfr of Hvinir’s Ynglingatal, a dynastic poem probably composed

16

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

c.890 in honour of a king of Vestfold (but see Krag 1991 for a later dating). The
connection with Hálfdan, Haraldr and Upplƒnd, however, appears to be a later
Icelandic innovation, serving to link Norwegian royalty with the legendary Swedish
dynasty of the Ynglings (Turville-Petre 1978–81: 7–8, 14–15).
9 Teitr was fostered by Hallr in Haukadalr and inherited his estate, where he helda small school. He was married to Jórunn Einarsdóttir, great-granddaughter ofHallr on Sí›a, and numbered among his pupils Ari, Bishop ﬁorlákr and Bishop Bjƒrn
Gilsson. On ﬁorkell Gellisson (Ari’s uncle), see Ari’s genealogy (p. 14) and note
126. ﬁurí›r is mentioned in Eyrbyggja saga (ÍF IV 182), in which her father Snorri(died 1031) plays a central role; she was born in 1025/6, and lived to the age of 88.
10 The historical Ragnarr (probably identical with the Reginheri who sacked
Paris in 845) was active in Viking raids in France and Ireland in the mid-ninth
century, but in later tradition he became a legendary hero and ancestor of kings(Smyth 1977: 98–100). On the origin of his nickname, which means ‘hairy
breeches’, see McTurk 1991: 6–39. His son Ívarr is the In(g)wære/Iwere of English
sources who led the Great Army to England in 865.
11 It is striking that Ari chooses to date the settlement of Iceland from themartyrdom of an English saint by Vikings in 870 (or 869 by modern reckoning,since it took place in November and the new year seems at that period to havebegun in September; see further note 76 on the date of the conversion). The
connection may have been made because some Icelanders (including Ari’s three
informants) claimed descent from King Edmund (see ÍF I 49, 312) or because of
the official recognition of Edmund’s sanctity at a Church council in Oxford in1122 (de Vries 1942: 28), but it has also been suggested that the link with Ragnarrlo›brók, from whom Ari and other Icelanders claimed descent, is more significant(Ólafia Einarsdóttir 1964: 62–8).
12 Ari is probably referring here to a Latin life of St Edmund, but it is not clear
whether this is Abbo of Fleury’s Passio Sancti Eadmundi (which does not containa date), Hermannus’ De miraculis Sancti Eadmundi (which does), or some kindof composite version (Maurer 1867: 531; Ellehøj 1965: 64–65). It is unlikely torefer, as Hermann Pálsson (1957) argued, to a saga in Old Norse.
13 Ari often refers to Norway simply as ‘there’ and to Iceland as ‘here’ or ‘out here’.
14 The exact dating of Ingólfr’s settlement is problematic. It has convincingly
been argued that Ari dated Haraldr’s birth to 848/9 (and no later than 851/2),
which would place Ingólfr’s first journey in 864/5 (and no later than 867/8).
However, since Ari’s chronology of Haraldr’s reign seems to fall over a decade
too early, his age is not a reliable indicator of the real date of settlement. In
Landnámabók, the settlement is dated to 874, but this is probably based on later
calculations (ÍF I xxxv–xxxviii, cxxxv–cxxxvii; XXVI lxxi–lxxxi).
15 From Irish menadach ‘gruel’ < men ‘meal, flour’. Landnámabók (ÍF I 42–43)
tells how Irish slaves who came to Iceland with Ingólfr’s companion Hjƒrleifr
made a mixture of flour and butter to quench their thirst, but threw it overboard
when it went mouldy.
16 A fuller account of Ingólfr’s travels is given in Landnámabók (ÍF I 38–45).
17 Research into the history of Icelandic vegetation supports Ari in suggestingthat at the time of settlement a much larger area of Iceland was covered with birch

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

17

and willow woods, but from c.900, woodland began to disappear as a result of climatechange, volcanic activity and settlement. The cutting down of trees by settlers andthe grazing of pasture animals were major factors contributing to soil erosion andthe disappearance of vegetation (Sigur›ur ﬁórarinsson 1974: 49–54).
18 The term papar (sg. papi) probably derives from Old Irish papa ‘pope, anchorite’,from ecclesiastical Latin papa ‘father, pope’ (cf. also the related Old Irish forms
papa ‘master, sir’ and pupu ‘priest’). Ari’s papar appear to have been Irish monks
following the practice of peregrinatio—renouncing their homeland to live inforeign countries for the love of God. This practice reached its peak in the Celtic
Church in the seventh and eighth centuries (Charles Edwards 1976; Hughes 1960)
and there is some independent literary evidence that Irish monks reached as far
as the Faeroes and Iceland during this period: in his Liber de mensura orbis
terrae, the Carolingian historian Dicuil (1967: 75–7) reports the recent presenceof Irish monks on islands which must, from their description, be the Faeroes andIceland (which he calls Thule). Bede also mentions travels between Englandand Thule (BVO 317) and Irish sources describe journeys in search of a desert
place that may be Iceland, but this is less certain (VSH I 61; Adomnán 1991: 28–
31, 46–7, 166–71). The papar are also mentioned in Landnámabók (ÍF I 31–2)
and Historia Norwegie (HN 8) and place-names incorporating the element paphave been documented in south-eastern Iceland, as in the Hebrides, Caithness,
Isle of Man, Orkney, Shetland, Faeroes and Norway. These may not always
indicate Irish settlements: in Iceland and the Faeroes, they may perhaps reflect anaming tradition formed in other Norse colonies (Fellows-Jensen 1996: 116–17).
There is as yet no archaeological evidence to support Ari’s account. It has recently
been suggested that, in some areas, the papar lived alongside the Norsemen forextended periods and that their activity was missionary rather than monastic(Morris 2004: 181–4): Lamb (1992; 1993) argues that the term in Historia
Norwegie is used not for Celtic monks, but for the hierarchy of the Roman Church.
It is not clear how this would apply to papar in uninhabited countries like Iceland.
19 Books, bells and staffs are characteristic emblems of Irish Christianity. The
books would have been gospels, psalters and service-books, all carried by travellingmonks. Small bells of iron or bronze were used to summon monks to worship andwere often treasured as relics. The staffs could be either abbots’ staffs or simply
walking sticks, which monks regularly carried with them on their journeys; these
could be credited with miraculous powers or handed down in hereditary succession(Gougaud 1932: 351–59). Small bronze bells similar to the Irish ones have been
discovered in two graves in Iceland and, although they are probably of Norse
workmanship, it is tempting to link them with Ari’s comment (Eldjárn 1956:
330–32). Many have felt it unlikely that the monks would have left behind theirsacred objects and suspect they may instead have been robbed, killed or enslaved(Hermann Pálsson 1997: 37).
20 St Óláfr Haraldsson, king of Norway 1015/16–30, canonised shortly after his
death in 1031. The nickname (inn) digri ‘the Stout’ also occurs in Heimskringla(ÍF XXVII 39) and other kings’ sagas (e.g. Ágrip 1995: 38–9).
21 This tax on travellers to Iceland from Norway later became a tax on Icelanders
travelling to Norway, and in a treaty with St Óláfr dated to c.1020, was fixed at

18

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

six ells of homespun or half a mark of silver (Grágás 1980–2000, II 210–13; DII 65–7). This treaty, known as Óláfslƒg, was later confirmed by Bishop Ísleifr,
probably towards the end of his life, and by Bishop Gizurr in 1083; also present
on this occasion were Gizurr’s son, Teitr, and the lawspeaker Markús Skeggjason.
The payment of land-dues is mentioned twice in Óláfs saga helga in Heimskringla(ÍF XXVII 55–6, 95), and Gellir ﬁorkelsson, who travelled to Norway during thereign of Óláfr Haraldsson (ÍF XXVII 220), may have been Ari’s ultimate sourceof information. According to Ágrip (1995: 42–3, 70–71) and Heimskringla (ÍFXXVII 400, XXVIII 256), King Sveinn Alfífuson (reigned 1030–35) issued a newlaw to the effect that travellers to Iceland also had to pay land-dues, but this waslater abolished by Sigur›r Crusader (reigned 1103–30). The tax on Icelanders travelling to Norway was abolished in 1262–4 (see Grágás 1980–2000, II 211, note 100).
22 On these settlers, see Landnámabók (ÍF I 136–47, 248–53, 314–18, 384–6),
Eyrbyggja saga and Eiríks saga rau›a (ÍF IV 3–11, 195–7), Laxdœla saga (ÍF V
3–9), Orkneyinga saga (ÍF XXIV 7, 10) and Sturl I 57. Ari begins in the east,
traditionally the first quarter of Iceland to be settled (ÍF I 288), and moves clockwiseround the country; he himself could trace his ancestry from Hrollaugr, Au›r andHelgi, and Ketilbjƒrn is an ancestor of his foster-father, Teitr. Ari emphasises theNorwegian origins of these settlers, and is strikingly silent about their links to the
British Isles: Hrollaugr’s family were earls in Shetland and Orkney (and his brother
Hrólfr conquered Normandy); Au›r lived in Dublin and Caithness before travellingto Iceland via the Hebrides, Orkney and Faeroes; and Helgi, whose mother was
the daughter of an Irish king, was brought up in the Hebrides and Ireland.
23 The term ‘easterner’ (ma›r austrœnn) can be used synonymously with
‘Norwegian’, but it has also been suggested that it may indicate an East Norwegianor even Swedish origin; Eyvindr was called austma›r because he came from Gautland,
and Bjƒrn the Easterner in Eyrbyggja saga was fostered in Jamtaland (ÍF I 249,
IV 5, 10; see Einar Ól. Sveinsson 1948b: 122; Bar›i Gu›mundsson 1967: 17).
24 Ari’s account of how Iceland’s first laws were established has been questioned
by Sigur›ur Líndal (1969: 14–24), who compares it to other legitimising myths
about first law-givers (for example, Moses). According to Hauksbók (ÍF I 313),
Úlfljótr was 60 when he travelled to Norway, and remained there for three years;
Icelandic annals give the date of his return as 926, 927 or 928, but these are most
likely guesses. The initial clauses of Úlfljótr’s laws are cited in Hauksbók (ÍF I
313–15) and ﬁorsteins ﬂáttr uxafóts (Flb I 274–5), in Skar›sárbók 1958: 146–7
and in the appendix to ﬁór›arbók, and in Brot af ﬁór›ar saga hre›u (ÍF XIV
230–32), but are probably a learned reconstruction dating from no earlier thanc.1200 (Olsen 1966: 34–49; but see Jón Hnefill A›alsteinsson 1997: 163–87).
Úlfljótr’s son, Gunnarr, who was married to the daughter of Helgi the Lean, is
mentioned in Landnámabók and ﬁór›ar saga hre›u (ÍF I 266; XIV 232).
25 Many settlers came from the Gulaﬂing area in the west of Norway. However,since laws in Norway would at this time have consisted of orally transmitted
customs rather than codified wholes, it is more likely that Úlfljótr was sent to
Norway to collect information about what was or was not valid custom than that
he imported any kind of unified law-code to Iceland (Líndal 1969: 6–9). Indeed, it
is not entirely clear whether the Gulaﬂing laws existed as early as 930; according

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

19

to Snorri (ÍF XXVI 163), they were set up by Hákon the Good, who reigned 933–60.
26 ﬁorleifr is mentioned in Heimskringla as Hákon’s advisor on the laws of
Gulaﬂing, as well as advisor to Hálfdan and Haraldr (ÍF XXVI 90–91, 126–7).
His life therefore spans three generations, and it is unclear how historical his roleis in the establishment of Iceland’s laws (Jakob Benediktsson 1974: 170–71).
According to Hauksbók (ÍF I 313), Úlfljótr was son of Hƒr›a-Kári’s daughterﬁóra, and therefore ﬁorleifr’s nephew.
27 It is not clear from the manuscript whether this is geitskƒr ‘Goatbeard’ orgeitskór ‘Fireweed’ (rose-bay willowherb); cf. dialect Norwegian geitskor.
28 Grímr’s journey may have been either to select a suitable meeting-place for
the Althing, or to gather support for it (Einar Ól. Sveinsson 1948b: 167; Jón
Jóhannesson 1974: 38–9). His gift to the temples is perhaps parallel to the medieval
Christian practice of giving a sum of money to the Church for the salvation of
one’s soul (Jakob Benediktsson 1974: 171).
29 The Althing (or General Assembly) was a national assembly of free men heldeach year, the main seat of judicial and legislative activity for the whole of Iceland.
It was probably based on regional assemblies held in Norway and elsewhere in Scandinavia, but differed from these in being countrywide and independent of any
executive power. It was held at ﬁingvellir (Assembly Fields) on Øxará in the southwest of Iceland, a site easily accessed from all parts of the country; it lasted two
weeks and, after 999, was convened on the Thursday after ten weeks of the summer
had passed (between 18 and 24 June). All chieftains and one-ninth of their assembly
men were required to attend (Grágás 1980–2000: I 51, 57–8, 108; Jón Jóhannesson
1974: 41–5). It is difficult to reconstruct its organisation prior to the reforms in the
960s (on which see ch. 5), as the law-codes and sagas mostly reflect these.
30 This was probably a local judicial assembly attended by ﬁorsteinn and his
relatives; another local assembly at ﬁórsnes that predated the Althing is mentioned
in Landnámabók (ÍF I 125–6) and Eyrbyggja saga (ÍF IV 10), but the reliabilityof this information is uncertain. It seems likely that the foundation of the Althingoriginated with the assembly at Kjalarnes and that the descendants of Bjƒrn buna
played a central role: the appendix to ﬁór›arbók (in Skar›sárbók 1958: 157–8)
specifies that ﬁorsteinn established it together with Bjƒrn’s grandsons Helgi and¯rlygr, and ﬁorsteinn would have known Úlfljótr through another grandson, ﬁór›rskeggi, who sold his land in Lón to Úlfljótr (ÍF I 312–13). The holder of thechieftaincy belonging to ﬁorsteinn was allotted the position of allsherjargo›i(priest/chieftain of the whole host) and was responsible for hallowing the assemblyat its official opening (Nordal 1990: 63–73).
31 Either ‘curly beard’ or (more probably) ‘bent (bearded) man’.
32 Hallr Órœkjuson is not otherwise known, but is perhaps son of the Órœkja
mentioned in Landnámabók (ÍF I 296, 297 note 5) and father of ﬁurí›r, by whom
Snorri Sturluson had his son Órœkja (Sturl I 242).
33 Úlfhe›inn Gunnarson, a kinsman of Hafli›i Másson, was lawspeaker 1108–16(cf. ÍF I 226 note 4); see also ch. 10.
34 The lawspeaker was Iceland’s only paid secular official. He was elected for athree-year term (which was renewable) and had several duties: he presided over
the Althing, declared the rules of procedure every year, made other official

20

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

pronouncements, and was required to speak the whole law from memory in thecourse of his term of office. He was also responsible for giving advice to anyone
who asked on what was valid law. In return, he received a fee of 240 ells ofhomespun and half of the fines imposed during lawsuits (Grágás 1980–2000: I
187–8, 193; Jón Jóhannesson 1974: 47–9). It is not clear whether Ari understoodÚlfljótr or Hrafn to be the first lawspeaker, nor how long before Hrafn’s
appointment in c.930 the Althing was established (Jón Jóhannesson 1974: 40).
35 On Óleifr, ﬁórarinn and Ragi, see Landnámabók, Egils saga and Njáls saga
(ÍF I 73; II 76–7; XII 40–41). ﬁórarinn was married to the sister of ﬁór›r gellir,
and Bishop ﬁorlákr Rúnólfsson was a direct descendant of Ragi. Hjalti (also a
personal name) probably comes from hjalt, which usually means the hand-guard
between sword-hilt and blade.
36 On the pre-eminence of the week and the season in Icelandic time-reckoning,see Hastrup 1985: 24–7. The Icelandic year consisted of two seasons (summer
and winter) of twenty-six weeks each, and lengths of time were usually calculated
in terms of winters passed. The need for a reliable calendar probably arose inconjunction with the establishment of regular meetings at the Althing as well as
being important for agricultural activities (Thorsteinn Vilhjálmsson 1993: 70–71).
37 The Icelandic year was just under 1 1/ days shorter than the solar year (the4interval between two successive occurrences of the vernal equinox), which would
have resulted in a noticeable loss within a short time period, e.g. 30 days after 24
years.
38 ﬁorsteinn and his parentage are also mentioned in Landnámabók, Eyrbyggja
saga and Laxdœla saga (ÍF I 126, 164; IV 13; V 11). The nickname Mostrarskeggi ‘bearded man, i.e. male inhabitant, of Mostr’ is sometimes given as
Mostrarskegg ‘beard from Mostr’ (ÍF IV 6; synecdoche), though the author of
Eyrbyggja saga seems to take it as the equivalent of mostrskegg ‘huge beard’.
39 Ósvífr was a descendant of Ketill Flatnose and father of Gu›rún, the heroineof Laxdœla saga. His wisdom is alluded to in Landnámabók and a number ofsagas, including Egils saga, Eyrbyggja saga and Laxdœla saga (ÍF I 122–3; II 268;
IV 12; V 85–6, 159).
40 ﬁorsteinn’s invention of the sumarauki ‘summer-extension’ presupposes a
year of 365 1/6 days, which is remarkably close to the length of the solar year. There
are different views as to how ﬁorsteinn could have calculated this so accurately. On
the one hand, knowledge of a year with 365 days could have come from the British
Isles; ﬁorsteinn the Red, ﬁorsteinn’s maternal grandfather, was a king in Scotland(see note 124 below). On the other hand, reference points for sunrise and sunset(such as mountain ranges) change so quickly at high latitudes that ﬁorsteinn may
well have been able to calculate the length of a year for himself; his proximity to
the assembly place at ﬁórsnes would certainly have given him an incentive to follow
the calendar closely (Trausti Einarsson 1968; Thorsteinn Vilhjálmsson 1993: 72).
41 This probably took place shortly before ﬁorsteinn’s death by drowning in
c.960 (ÍF V lix, 40–41). ﬁorkell Moon, however, was lawspeaker in 970–84.
There is a slightly abbreviated version of this chapter up to this point in GKS
1812 4to (AÍ II 65–6).
42 Shortly after the conversion, it became necessary to adjust the Icelandic

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

21

calendar so that it matched the Julian calendar and ecclesiastical festivals could
be celebrated on the same days as elsewhere. This involved adding five weeks ina period of 28 years rather than four, because of the leap years in the Julian calendar.
Although this paragraph has been understood differently and even dismissed as
an interpolation, it seems most likely that in it Ari is counting inclusively after the
Roman practice, so that ‘every seventh year’ and ‘every sixth year’ mean ‘every
sixth year’ and ‘every fifth year’; this would reflect the practice of intercalation in
Ari’s time as recorded in contemporary Easter tables and align the two calendars
exactly (Magnús Már Lárusson 1962; Thorsteinn Vilhjálmsson 1993: 72). The
same rule is found in GKS 1812 4to (AÍ II 78), also with inclusive counting.
43 Gellir: ‘Loud man’, cf. gjalla ‘to scream, shriek’. Feilan: from the common
Irish name Fáelán ‘little wolf’ (Hermann Pálsson 1997: 170–71). Tungu-Oddr:‘Oddr of Tunga’, the tongue of land between Reykjadalsá and Hvítá settled by
Oddr’s father, ¯nundr (ÍF I 74; III 46).
44 Hœsna-(or Hœnsa-)ﬁórir: ‘ﬁórir of the hens’, so-called because he spent
one summer selling hens (ÍF III 6); blundr: ‘Doze, nap’, cf. blunda ‘to sleep,
shut the eyes’.
45 In Hænsa-ﬁóris saga (ÍF III 24–42), Sturlubók (ÍF I 75, 85) and Icelandic
annals (which date the event to 962), it is Blund-Ketill who is burned, and Hersteinn
is his son. ﬁór›arbók (in Skar›sárbók 1958: 28), however, agrees with Ari thatﬁorkell, son of Blund-Ketill, was burned, and Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 14) calls
Hersteinn son of ﬁorkell, son of Blund-Ketill. Either there is confusion between
two different men called Blund-Ketill or, more likely, there were divergent
traditions about the event (ÍF III xvi–xviii; Jónas Kristjánsson 1980: 299–300).
46 On Óleifr feilan, ﬁór›r gellir and his descendants, see Landnámabók, Egils
saga, Laxdœla saga (ÍF I 145–6; II 275; V 11–14) and the genealogy of bishops (p.
13 above). ﬁór›r gellir is mentioned in a number of sagas as a powerful chieftain (e.g.
ÍF I 396; XXVI 271) and appears in the role of legal mediator in Eyrbyggja saga (ÍFIV 16–18). ﬁorsteinn Egilsson is mentioned in Kristni saga ch. 1 (see note 6) below.
47 The death of ﬁórólfr Fox is also mentioned in Landnámabók (ÍF I 145).
48 The Law-Rock was on the eastern side of Almannagjá. It was there that thelawspeaker had his seat, the assembly was inaugurated and concluded, the courts
started out, the law was spoken, and all official announcements were made (Grágás
1980–2000: I 51, 59, 187; Jón Jóhannesson 1974: 43–4). In Ari’s account,
important constitutional events are all marked by speeches at the Law-Rock. It
thus becomes the symbolic centre of the Icelandic law and constitution.
49 A number of changes followed upon this reform, which is usually dated toc.965. First, the number of spring assemblies (várﬂing) in each Quarter was fixed
and, as a result, the number of chieftains was increased from thirty-six to fortyeight. Each assembly was convened by three chieftains, and nine new chieftains
from the Southern, Western and Eastern Quarters sat in the Law Council to redress
the imbalance caused by the fourth assembly in the Northern Quarter. Springassemblies met when four to six weeks of the summer had passed (i.e. in May) for
four to seven days and had a primarily judicial function. Second, four quartercourts (fjór›ungsdómar) were established at the Althing, each with a panel ofthirty-six judges, which acted as courts of first instance except for matters of22

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

minor significance, and courts of appeal from the spring assemblies (Grágás 1980–
2000: I 53–4, 98–109; Jón Jóhannesson 1974: 49–52, 66–70, 74–82).
50 The Law Council (Lƒgrétta) consisted of the thirty-six (later forty-eight)
chieftains, each of whom was allowed two advisors, the lawspeaker, and later
the two Icelandic bishops. It met yearly at the Althing and was responsible forpassing new laws, amending old ones, interpreting the laws when their meaning
was disputed and granting exemptions. It also elected the lawspeaker and acted
on behalf of the Icelanders in foreign affairs (Grágás 1980–2000: I 189–93; Jón
Jóhannesson 1974: 63–5).
51 The quarter assemblies were judicial courts presumably intended to serve as
neutral ground for disputes between men from different spring assemblies; butlittle is known about them. They are mentioned only once in Grágás (1980–2000:
I 222) and they do not appear to have been held regularly (Ólafur Lárusson
1958: 100–118). A version of this chapter up to this point is interpolated in mostmanuscripts of Hœnsa-ﬁóris saga (ÍF I 12–13, note 4; III 39–40).
52 Landnámabók says about ﬁorkell Moon that he ‘lived as pure a life as thebest of Christians’ and entrusted himself on his deathbed to ‘the god who createdthe sun’; his son ﬁormó›r was allsherjargo›i at the time of the conversion andsecond cousin to the next lawspeaker ﬁorgeirr (ÍF I 46–7, 358), who also playeda key role in Iceland’s conversion, as ch. 7 below relates. ﬁorgeirr’s genealogy is
given slightly differently in Landnámabók and Njáls saga (ÍF I 274–5; XII
270–71). He is mentioned widely in the sagas, including Reykdœla saga andLjósvetninga saga (both in ÍF X), which deals with the feuds between his sonsand Gu›mundr the Powerful. There is a later folk-tale that the waterfall Go›afoss
near Ljósavatn got its name when ﬁorgeirr threw his idols into it after the acceptanceof Christianity (Kålund 1877–82: II 150).
53 Greenland is mentioned for the first time in 1053 in a letter from Pope Leo IX
to Archbishop Adalbert of Bremen (DI I 18), and later in Adam of Bremen iv.37(2002: 218) and Historia Norwegie (HN 3–4). Ari is the earliest Icelandic source
for its discovery and settlement, which are described at greater length in Landnámabók, Eiríks saga rau›a and Grœnlendinga saga (ÍF I 131–2; IV 200–202, 242–3).
54 Ari’s words suggest that he believed Eiríkr to have been born and bred in
Brei›afjƒr›r, but other sources say that he came to Iceland from Jæren in Norway(ÍF I 130; IV 197; see further Ólafur Halldórsson 1980: 86–7).
55 Contrast Adam of Bremen iv.397 (2002: 218), according to whom Greenland
takes its name from the colour of the sea that surrounds it. In fact, the south ofGreenland would have presented the first settlers with grassy slopes and shrubs,so the name may not be as propagandist as Ari assumes (Jones 1964: 46–7).
56 This is the earliest occurrence in Old Icelandic of the name Vínland, which also
appears in Adam of Bremen iv.39 (2002: 219). Adam and the sagas take it to derivefrom the wild grapes (vínber) believed to grow there, but other etymologies havealso been suggested, relating it to grassland (vin, gen. vinjar) or to a generic term forberry (see the divergent views expressed by Lönnroth 1996, Crozier 1998 andJónas Kristjánsson 2001). The location is most likely to have been in south-east
Labrador or northern Newfoundland, where grapes might perhaps have grown inthe more favourable climate of the period. By Ari’s time, however, it had long beenNotes to the Book of the Icelanders

23

forgotten and in 1121 according to Icelandic annals, a bishop of Greenland went
in search of the country, presumably on a missionary enterprise (Jones 1964: 82–8).
57 The etymology of Skræling(j)ar is uncertain, but it may be related to dialect
Norwegian skræla ‘to cry loudly, scream’ or Icelandic skrælna ‘to shrivel, dry out’.
It is clearly a derogatory term; compare Modern Norwegian skræling ‘weak or
wretched person’, Modern Icelandic skrælingi ‘barbarian’. It is used for the indigenous
inhabitants of Vínland in Eiríks saga rau›a and Grœnlendinga saga (ÍF IV 228–30,
256, 261–4), and of Greenland in Historia Norwegie (HN 3), without making any
distinction between Indians and palaeo-Eskimos. The objects Ari refers to would
have belonged to palaeo-Eskimos of the Early Dorset culture, who settled thewest and east coast of Greenland between 700 BC and AD 200 (Gad 1970: 715;
Jones 1964: 60, 91–4). However, his account forms an interesting literary parallelwith the abandoned objects found in Iceland by the first settlers in ch. 1 above.
58 ﬁorkell Gellisson was born at the earliest in 1030 and is unlikely to have
travelled to Greenland much before 1050–60, which would make Eiríkr’s companion extremely old. For this and other reasons it is possible that Greenland wassettled later than Ari states (see Ólafur Halldórsson 1981: 204–5).
59 Óláfr Tryggvason was king in Norway from 995 to 999/1000. Tradition has
it that he was baptised by a hermit in the Scilly Isles, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle(ASC 126, 128) reports his baptism or confirmation in England under the sponsorship of King Ethelred the Unready. Adam of Bremen ii.36 (2002: 80), who isotherwise hostile to Óláfr, describes him as the first Christian king of Norway,
and the earliest sources credit him with the conversion of five countries (Shetland,
Orkney, the Faeroes, Iceland and Norway); later and less reliable sources also
associate him with the conversion of Russia, Denmark and Greenland (see Kristni
saga ch. 12 and note 75 below). It seems likely, however, that the importance of
his missionary work has been exaggerated and that some particulars may evenhave been displaced from his namesake St Óláfr Haraldsson (Lönnroth 1965;
Sawyer 1987); it has been argued that Oddr Snorrason and others wanted to set upÓláfr Tryggvason as a saint in his own right (Sverrir Tómasson 1988: 273–6). His
reign is described in Historia Norwegie, Theodoricus, Historia de antiquitate regum
norwagiensium, Ágrip and Fagrskinna, and also forms the subject of Oddr
Snorrason’s Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in Heimskringlaand Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta.
60 ﬁangbrandr is also mentioned in Landnámabók (ÍF I 348), Oddr Snorrason
1932: 126–7, Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 319–20, 328, 332–3), Ágrip 1995: 30–31,
HN 20 and Theodoricus 1998: 15–16. His mission is recounted at length in Kristni
saga chs 7–9, ÓTM I 149–50, 168; II 64–6, 150–60, 163–6 and Njáls saga (ÍFXII 256–69). Oddr Snorrason and Snorri Sturluson call him ‘Saxon’ and his namesuggests a German origin, from OHG *thanc, danc (cf. dankjan ‘to think’) andMHG *brant ‘firebrand, sword’. Theodoricus, however, calls him Theobrand(Theudobrand, Dietbrant) from Flanders, and a marginal annotation in ﬁór›arbók(in Skar›sárbók 1958: 164) names him ﬁorbrandr, a more familiar Norse nameand probably therefore secondary to ﬁangbrandr.
61 These men are also listed as the first converts by Theodoricus (1998: 15–16).
Hallr’s conversion is described at length in Kristni saga ch. 7, ÓTM I 151–6 and24

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

Njáls saga (ÍF XII 256–7); he traced his ancestry from Hrollaugr and numberedamong his descendants Bishop Magnús, St Jón, Sæmundr the Learned, Ari and
the Sturlungs (ÍF I 317–18). On Gizurr the White, father of Bishop Ísleifr, see thegenealogy of bishops (p. 13) and Kristni saga chs 9–12 and 14. He is prominent in
Njáls saga among the opponents of Gunnarr and singled out in Hungrvaka (ÍFXVI 6) as the one ‘who brought Christianity to Iceland’. Hjalti Skeggjason, whoplays a more prominent role in Kristni saga chs 10–12 and the corresponding chaptersof Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta, was married to Gizurr’s daughter Vilborg(ÍF I 77, 79) and later acted as emissary of St Óláfr in Sweden (ÍF XXVII 77, 86–112).
62 Ari’s uncertainty on these matters is echoed in other sources. Heimskringla,
Njáls saga, Laxdœla saga and Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta all reckon his
stay at two years, but they diverge on whether he killed two, three or four men (ÍF V
125; XII 258–68; XXVI 320; ÓTM II 157–60). According to Theodoricus (1998: 15),
ﬁangbrandr stayed in Iceland for ‘almost two years’, and Kristni saga says thathe stayed three years and was responsible for a number of deaths. For a moredetailed account of the killings, see Kristni saga ch. 9 below and references there.
63 Ari’s Icelandic perspective (and, presumably, audience) is clearly marked inthis key passage both by his use of ‘east’ to refer to Norway (which is east of
Iceland) and by his reference to ‘our’ countrymen.
64 The situation in Norway upon ﬁangbrandr’s return is also described (withmore explicit criticism of ﬁangbrandr) in Oddr Snorrason 1932: 126–8, Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 332–3), Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 125), Njáls saga (ÍF XII 269),
Kristni saga ch. 11 and ÓTM II 163–6.
65 Theodoricus’ Thermo (1998: 16), who came to Norway from England withÓláfr. ﬁormó›r is also mentioned in Oddr Snorrason 1932: 128, Heimskringla (ÍFXXVI 347), ch. 12 of Kristni saga and ÓTM II 188, but only Theodoricus gives
him a significant role, attributing Iceland’s conversion to his preaching rather
than to Gizurr and Hjalti’s diplomacy.
66 According to Jón Jóhannesson (1974: 131), this change of date may havebeen designed to allow more heathens from remote areas to get to the assembly on
time, but it was more probably due to the fault in the calendar which, despite thesumarauki, would have been about a week out by this stage (Líndal 1974: 243).
67 Lesser outlawry involved payment of a ransom (known as a fjƒrbaugr ‘lifering’), confiscation of property, and exile from Iceland for three years. The person
condemned enjoyed legal immunity when abroad, but could be killed with impunity
in Iceland if found outside designated sanctuaries or designated routes between
them or from them to ship. If he had not gone abroad within three years, he becamea full outlaw (Grágás 1980–2000: I 92–5, 98, 117–18; Hastrup 1985: 137–9).
68 It is not at all clear that the concept of blasphemy (Ari’s go›gá) existed inpagan times, and it may be that Hjalti was in fact outlawed for libel or ‘shamingslander’ (ní›), which was more harshly punished when proclaimed at the LawRock (Grágás 1980–2000: II 198; Jakob Benediktsson 1974: 194). The events
surrounding Hjalti’s outlawry are described at greater length in ch. 10 of Kristni
saga and ÓTM II 161–3.
69 The wit of this verse lies in its word play: the Icelandic verb geyja ‘bark’ canalso mean ‘mock, abuse’, and the noun grey ‘female dog, bitch’ carries connota-

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

25

tions of promiscuity appropriate to the Norse goddess of fertility (von See 1968).
According to most, therefore, Hjalti is protesting his innocence of blasphemy: hedoes not wish to abuse the gods, but cannot help thinking that Freyja is a bitch(Ljungberg 1938: 199; Ohlmarks 1958: 296; Almqvist 1974: 18). Less likely is
Genzmer’s view (1928) that the first line is an accusative and infinitive construction(‘I do not wish gods to bark’), so that Hjalti is declaring his distaste for gods thatbark, rather than any reluctance to insult them. Possibly, however, Hjalti isparodying the worship of heathens, whom he envisages barking at the gods likedogs (Kress 1996: 54). The author of Njáls saga (ÍF XII 264) also had difficulties
making sense of the verse, for he changed the first line to ‘I do not hold back inblaspheming the gods’. Why Hjalti chooses Freyja as a focus for his attack is notentirely clear, but the accusation of promiscuity accords well with the scornful
treatment of female goddesses in early translated saints’ lives (e.g. HMS I 2–3,
569, II 233; cf. particularly Clemens saga 2005: 44–5), as well as reflecting her
reputation in Eddic verse (Dronke 1997: 339–40). In some versions, the verse has
two extra lines extending the insult to Ó›inn: ‘It has to be one or the other | Ó›inn’sa bitch or else Freyja’ (Oddr Snorrason 1932: 128; ÍF XII 264; ÓTM II 162).
70 There have been many plausible suggestions as to why fighting did not breakout: that the Christians were more numerous than the heathens had expected, thatnews of Icelandic hostages in Norway prevented it or that moderate men on bothsides intervened (Jón Jóhannesson 1974: 133–4). Among the medieval sources,
Theodoricus (1998: 16) and ÓTM II 189 describe it as a miracle, but Kristni saga(ch. 12 below) gives a political explanation.
71 The Icelandic verb (kaupa at) is ambiguous, and could mean either that Hallrand ﬁorgeirr negotiated a settlement, or that Hallr gave ﬁorgeirr money (either abribe or the appropriate fee) to speak the law (Ólsen 1900: 86; Jón Jóhannesson
1974: 134–5). Later sources assume that a payment was made: half a mark in Oddr
Snorrason (1932: 129), three marks in Njáls saga (ÍF XII 271), sixty ounces of silver
in Kristni saga (ch. 12) and ÓTM II 191. They also differ on what the negotiations
might have involved: Oddr states (confusingly) that ﬁorgeirr proclaimed theChristian law at once, Kristni saga that he agreed to proclaim both, while perhaps
most plausibly, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta allows Hallr to specify the key
points to be included. Ari leaves the nature of the agreement deliberately murky.
72 There has been much discussion about what ﬁorgeirr was doing under the cloak.
Bjƒrn M. Ólsen (1900: 103), for example, argued that he was preparing his speechat the Althing, Sigur›ur Nordal (1990: 178) that he ‘kept awake to listen to his inner
voice’, while Jan de Vries (1958–9) and Jón Hnefill A›alsteinsson (1999: 103–23)
have suggested that he was communing with landvættir or other supernatural
powers in a shamanistic ritual. For the sense of the numinous, one might want tocompare Njáll’s mysterious ‘mumbling’ upon hearing of the new faith (ÍF XII 255).
73 The exposure of children is associated with heathen times in a number ofsagas (e.g. ÍF III: 56), and the eating of horse-flesh is forbidden in Icelandic lawsof the Christian period (Grágás 1980–2000, I 49). This may have been because ofan association with heathen sacrificial feasts, but the ban was widespread and not
specifically directed against Scandinavia (Egardt 1962). The concessions Ari mentions
are usually interpreted as provisional economic measures (Jón Jóhannesson 1974:

26

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

136–7; Steffensen 1966–9: 196–7), though Sveinbjƒrn Rafnsson (1979) has attempted to relate them to clauses in medieval penitentials. According to Njáls saga (ÍFXII 272), the two practices became unlawful when Christianity was introduced,
but the same concessions extended to them as to heathen worship in general.
74 The Icelandic legal system distinguished between a panel of neighbours(búakvi›r) and witnesses (vættir). Panels consisted of five or nine men who werequalified by dwelling-place and economic status to deliver a verdict on the matterat hand. Witnesses, on the other hand, had to have seen or heard whatever they
were testifying to, and were in this case more difficult to obtain (Grágás 1980–2000:
I 63–4, 69–77, 141, 144–6; Jón Jóhannesson 1974: 136).
75 This took place in c.1016 during the reign of St Óláfr (ÍF XXVII 77). Other
accounts of Iceland’s legal conversion to Christianity, all to some extent dependent
on Ari, can be found in Oddr Snorrason 1932: 128–30, ch. 12 of Kristni saga,
Njáls saga (ÍF XII 269–72) and ÓTM II 188–98.
76 In Ari’s time, the beginning of the Christian era was under dispute. Ari follows
Bede in using Dionysius’ chronology (secundum æram vulgarem ‘by the common
method of reckoning’), which eventually prevailed, but Icelandic texts from thesecond half of the twelfth century use Gerlandus’ chronology, according to which
the Christian era began seven years later (Ólafia Einarsdóttir 1964: 127–42). The
exact date of Iceland’s conversion is a tricky issue. Ari places it in the same
summer as Óláfr Tryggvason’s fall, which he dates to 1000, but Ólafia Einarsdóttir
(1964: 74–80, 107–26; cf. also ÍF I xxiii–xxxv) has argued that it should in fact
be dated to 999: she suggests that if, as seems likely, Ari used a calendar whichbegan the year on 1st September, he would have dated Óláfr Tryggvason’s fallon 9/10th September to 1000, and the conversion to 999 (we would now date
both to 999). This also fits with what Ari says in ch. 9 about how Hallr was
baptised at the age of three (in 998) one year before the conversion (p. 11).
77 Fri›rekr is mentioned in chs 1–4 of Kristni saga, ÓTM I 284–98, Grettis
saga (ÍF VII 35) and Vatnsdœla saga (ÍF VIII 124–6). It has been suggested that
Archbishop Adaldag of Bremen sent him to Iceland, but this is not mentioned inany source (Líndal 1974: 236). Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI 11–13) describes Fri›rekr
briefly as ‘the only one who came out before [the time of Bishop Ísleifr] about
whom stories are told’, but has more detailed information about the other bishops.
Bjarnhar›r was among the English bishops in St Óláfr’s entourage; he later went
to Knútr the Great, who made him bishop of Skåne (at that time part of Denmark;Adam of Bremen ii.55, 57; 2002: 93–4; HN 25). Kolr was probably also sent to
Iceland by St Óláfr; he stayed with Hallr in Haukadalr and was the first bishop to
be buried at Skálaholt (Skar›sárbók 1958: 195). He may be the same Kolr who issaid to have confirmed Víga-Glúmr on his deathbed c.1003 (ÍF IX 97–8). Hró›ólfr(Ro›ulf) was among Óláfr’s English bishops (Adam of Bremen ii.57, 64; 2002:
94, 100; HN 25) and may be related to the Norman Archbishop Robert who baptisedÓláfr in Rouen in 1015; he was a kinsman of Edward the Confessor, whose mother
Emma was Robert’s sister. He was probably sent to Iceland by Archbishop
Libentius c.1030, and lived at Bœr and Lundr in Borgarfjƒr›r (ÍF I 65, Skar›sárbók
1958: 195); English sources say that he returned to England in 1050, was appointed
abbot of Abingdon and died there in 1052 (ASC 171–2 and Chronicon monasterii

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

27

de Abingdon 1858: 463–4). Jóhan is probably Adam’s Johannes scotus (Adam ofBremen iii.21, 51; 2002:131, 157), who was bishop of Magdeburg before he wasmartyred in either Wendland or Mecklenburg in 1066. Bjarnhar›r may be thesame bishop whom Archbishop Adalbert sent to Norway (Adam of Bremen iii.77;
2002: 183). He stayed in Iceland in 1047/8–1067, probably because of the quarrels
between Haraldr the Hard-Ruler and Adalbert, lived at Giljá and Steinssta›ir in
Vatnsdalr and returned to Norway to become bishop in Selje and then in Bergenunder Óláfr the Peaceful. Heinrekr is perhaps the bishop of Lund mentioned in
Adam of Bremen iv.8 (2002, 192), who died of a drinking binge in 1066. On
these men, see further Melste› 1907–15: 720, 823–8; Jón Stefánsson 1946–53;
Jón Jóhannesson 1974: 138–44; and Líndal 1974: 250–54.
78 These are probably the same bishops mentioned disapprovingly in Grágás(1980–2000: I 38) and Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI 8–9), according to which they were
contemporary with Ísleifr and considerably more lenient. Jörgensen (1874–8: 694)
and Jón Jóhannesson (1974: 143) thought they were Paulicians from Armenia, aheretical dualist sect that denied the reality of Christ’s body and rejected the
Church’s sacraments, hierarchy and cult (especially image worship). Magnús
Már Lárusson (1960), however, has argued that they were more likely to be Eastern
Orthodox bishops from Ermland, a district on the Baltic coast (in modern-day
Poland), where a see of the Slavonic rite existed from c.1000 into the twelfth
century. There were close connections between Scandinavia and the East during
the reign of Prince Jaroslav of Kiev (1019–54), and there appear to have been
Eastern Orthodox bishops in Norway and Sweden during the same period.
79 Skapti was lawspeaker 1004–30. His sister, ﬁordís, was Gizurr the White’s
third wife and mother of Bishop Ísleifr (Skar›sárbók 1958: 185; ÍF XVI 6). Skapti
is mentioned in numerous sagas, including Njáls saga (ÍF XII 141–2, 370–71,
406–11), Grettis saga (ÍF VII 146, 163–4, 177–8), Flóamanna saga (ÍF XIII
315–16, 321–2) and Heimskringla (ÍF XXVII 74, 217), and it was to him that StÓláfr addressed his request for the heathen provisions to be removed from thelaw. The portrait given here of his term of office is unique.
80 The Fifth Court was a court of first instance for cases of false witness andbreaches of legal procedure, and of second instance for cases that had failed toreach a unanimous verdict in the quarter courts. One judge was nominated byeach of the forty-eight chieftains, and thirty-six of these passed judgement.
Decisions were by majority (Grágás 1980–2000: I 83–8; Jón Jóhannesson 1974:
70–74). A detailed account of the institution of the Fifth Court can be found in
Njáls saga (ÍF XII 242–6), which places it before the Conversion but is not usuallytaken to be historically accurate.
81 In Iceland, all killings had to be announced in public or they counted as
murder (Grágás 1980–2000: I 146). It appears from Ari’s comment that it had
previously been the custom for the rich and powerful to pronounce other men
responsible for their killings so as to avoid outlawry themselves.
82 On Ísleifr, see also ch. 14 of Kristni saga, Hungrvaka, Ísleifs ﬂáttr (ÍF XVI
6–11, 335–8) and Jóns saga helga (ÍF XV 176–7, 181–3, 191–2). Some of thischapter is reproduced with minor changes in Haukdœla ﬂáttr in Sturl I 58–9.
Ísleifr’s consecration at the hands of Archbishop Adalbert is usually dated to 1056

28

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

in accordance with Icelandic annals and the emended text of Hungrvaka (BekkerNielsen 1960). Adam of Bremen iii.77, iv.36 (2002: 183, 218) mentions it as theoccasion of Iceland’s ‘conversion’, by which he must mean its subordination to
the see of Hamburg–Bremen.
83 Kolr (or Kollr) is mentioned in ch. 14 of Kristni saga, Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI9), Jóns saga helga (ÍF XV 181), Sturl I 58 and Landnámabók (ÍF I 386). He was
the grandson of Ísleifr’s cousin and died c.1120. On Jón, see note 101 below.
84 About ﬁorvaldr we know only that he was a chieftain at Hraunger›r (ÍFXVI 6). Teitr’s son, Hallr (d. 1150) was brother-in-law to Hafli›i Másson. According to Hungrvaka (for which his son, Gizurr, was a source), he was electedbishop in 1149, but died in Utrecht on his way from Rome to Lund for consecration.
He was renowned for his command of languages, and Hungrvaka says that hespoke the language of whatever country he travelled to as if it were his mothertongue (ÍF I 318, ÍF XVI 34, Sturl I 60).
85 Hallr in Haukadalr was the brother of Bishop ﬁorlákr’s grandfather and a
distant relation of Hjalti Skeggjason (see ÍF I 383 and ch. 10 below). He wasborn in 995/6, died in 1089, and was almost eighty when Ari came to him.
According to Snorri (ÍF XXVI 6–7), he had travelled widely and formed a trading
partnership with St Óláfr.
86 According to Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 229), Gellir died in Denmark on his way
back from a pilgrimage to Rome and was buried at Roskilde. Ari’s father, ﬁorgils,
had drowned at a young age in Brei›afjƒr›r.
87 Haraldr the Hard-Ruler. Together with Earl Tostig of Wessex, he led a force
to England against Harold Godwineson in 1066, where he was defeated at thebattle of Stamford Bridge (ÍF XXVIII 182–91; Ágrip 1995: 56–9; Msk 267–72; ASC
196–9). This event is often taken to mark the end of the Viking Age in Scandinavia.
88 It is not clear whether Ari’s Frakkland refers to an area in France or modernday Germany. Magnús Már Lárusson (1967: 358) has suggested Franconia in theUpper Rhine region, while Foote (1984b: 115–20) argues on the basis of various
geographical references in medieval Icelandic texts that it was a poorly defined
region comprising the French kingdom of the Capetians, Burgundy, Lotharingia
and the centre of the old Carolingian realm around Aachen and Liège. Oddverjaannáll (2003: 124) gives Sæmundr’s place of study as Paris. His return to Iceland,
like his studies abroad, became the subject of many folk-tales (see, for example,
ÍF XV 339–42 and Jón Árnason 1954–61: I 469–88) and is variously dated in
Icelandic annals to 1076, 1077 or 1078.
89 In fact, Leo IX was pope in 1054 (cf. the correction in Kristni saga ch. 14, p.
51 below and Sturl I 58), and Victor II succeeded him in 1055. Ari’s mistake here
probably derives from Adam of Bremen iii.34 (2002: 141), who says that Leo IX
died in the same year as Emperor Henry III, which was 1056 (Köhne 1987: 27–8).
90 5th July 1080.
91 On Ari’s contemporary Gizurr, see chs 15–17 of Kristni saga, Hungrvaka(ÍF XVI 14–22) and Jóns saga helga (ÍF XV 192–5, 202, 232). Most of thischapter is also taken up in Haukdœla ﬂáttr in Sturl I 58–9.
92 The Icelandic here (rétt) is ambiguous, and could mean that Gizurr’s rightname was Gisrø›r, that it was corrected to Gisrø›r or (if the word is read rœtt) that

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

29

it was pronounced as Gisrø›r. Although the etymology of the name Gizurr isunclear, the first element is more likely to be related to Modern Icelandic giska‘to guess’ than to the personal name Gísl, from which the form Gisrø›r would
be derived (Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon 1989: 248). Gis(f)rø›r corresponds toGerman Gisfrid or Gisfred (‘Peace-Pledge’), and it is possible that the alteration
was made by German speakers (cf. ÍF I 22, note 2).
93 Markús’s grandfather Bjarni was second cousin to Skapti ﬁóroddson, andMarkús himself was related to ﬁurí›r Snorradóttir, Ari ﬁorgilsson and BishopÍsleifr (ÍF I 381 and note 3). As well as serving the longest series of terms of any
lawspeaker, Markús travelled abroad and composed poetry for three kings: Ingi
Steinkelsson of Sweden (1080–1111) and St Knútr (1080–86) and Eiríkr Sveinsson(d. 1103) of Denmark (Edda Snorra Sturlusonar 1848–87: III 252, 258, 260, 267,
271, 283). Parts of his Eiríksdrápa are preserved in Kn‡tlinga saga (ÍF XXXV
212–39). He died in 1107.
94 Tithes were established as Church law during the fifth and sixth centuries,
but met with fierce resistance in most newly-converted countries. Iceland was thefirst of the Scandinavian countries to pass tithe laws; an attempt to introduce themin Denmark in the 1080s was a significant factor in the rebellion against St Knútr
that led to his death. Before tithes were introduced, priests probably charged fees
for individual services (Adam of Bremen iv.31; 2002: 212). Tithes became an
important source of income for chieftains owning churches, who received one
half of them, which may explain why the law was so easily accepted in Iceland.
Usually tithes were a 10% tax on gross income, but in Iceland, they were a 1%
property tax, which, although it did not accord with canon law, made them easierto calculate in an agrarian economy (Orri Vésteinsson 2000: 67–80). A separate
tithe law can be found in manuscripts of Grágás (1980–2000: II 221–31; see also
DI I 70–162), but probably does not represent accurately the law of 1097.
95 All previous bishops in Iceland, including Ísleifr, had been missionary bishops
or bishops in partibus infidelium, meaning that they had the title of bishop without
any territorial jurisdiction. It was only under Gizurr that Iceland was integrated
into the diocesan system of the medieval Church.
96 Although sometimes connected with the tithe law, this was more probably
undertaken to see whether it was financially viable to set up a second episcopalsee (Jón Jóhannesson 1974: 151–2).
97 All householders with financial means above a certain level were required to
pay a tax when not attending the Althing. This was levied by the chieftain withwhom they were affiliated and used to pay the expenses of those householders
who did attend. Being subject to the assembly attendance dues gave men bothrights and responsibilities as participants in the assembly (for example, sitting on
panels of neighbours) and in local affairs (Grágás 1980–2000: I 57–8, 150–51;
Jón Jóhannesson 1974: 61).
98 This happened in 1117–18. The first written copy of the laws became known
as Hafli›askrá ‘Hafli›i’s scroll’ and is mentioned in Grágás (1980–2000: I 191)
as the most authoritative manuscript. Hafli›i, a powerful chieftain from the northof Iceland, was married to Teitr’s daughter Rannveig who was second cousin to
Ketill ﬁorsteinsson’s wife, Gróa; their daughter Valger›r was married to the son

30

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

of Ari’s cousin Oddn‡, daughter of ﬁorkell Gellisson. Hafli›i probably had an
important role in the establishment of the see at Hólar (Orri Vésteinsson 2000:
34–5). See further ch. 18 of Kristni saga below and notes 119–20 there.
99 The Treatment of Homicide law can be found in Grágás (1980–2000: I 139–74).
It deals with the definitions of and penalties for assault, wounds, killings and murder,
and the legal procedures to be followed in the preparation of cases. Gísli Sigur›sson(2004: 58) describes the writing down of the laws as ‘the first step in a movement led
by the allies of the Church to encroach upon the secular domain of the lawspeaker’.
100 ﬁorlákr was consecrated in Lund in 1118. Although it is unclear exactly
how bishops were elected in Iceland before c.1150, the existing bishop (contrary
to canon law) often appears to have nominated his successor directly (Orri
Vésteinsson 2000: 144).
101 Jón was descended from Hallr on Sí›a, second cousin to Teitr Ísleifsson’s
wife Jórunn and a pupil of Bishop Ísleifr; he was the first bishop to be consecrated
at the newly-established archiepiscopal see in Lund (in 1106). He was recognised
as a saint at the Althing in 1200. See further Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI 18, 24) and Jóns
saga helga (especially ÍF XV 181–3, 196–200).
102 Although in theory only one bishop could be appointed to a diocese, incases of extreme need it was possible for a coadjutor to be consecrated to help
the existing one and succeed him upon his death. According to Hungrvaka (ÍFXVI 23–4), ﬁorlákr was therefore consecrated to Reykjaholt rather than Skálaholt,
but given permission to reside at Skálaholt if Gizurr was still living upon his
return to Iceland.
103 Tuesday 28th May 1118.
104 This list probably comes from a crusader history related to Fulcher of Chartres’s
Historia Hierosolymitana, which also has a death list mentioning Paschal, Baldwin,
Arnulf and Alexius (Skårup 1979). Alexius is also known in Old Icelandic tradition
as Kirjalax, the emperor who received both King Eiríkr the Good and King Sigur›r
Crusader in Miklagar›r (Constantinople); see ÍF XXVIII 252–4, 370–72; Msk
323–5; Fagrskinna 2004: 256; ÍF XXXV 236–8. The Swedish king Philip is
mentioned in Swedish genealogies from the mid-thirteenth century on and in an
Icelandic source from c.1254; he may be included in this list because he died on
pilgrimage abroad (Ólafia Einarsdóttir 1964: 33–5; Faulkes 2005: 119).
105 A lunar (or Metonic) cycle is a period of nineteen years after which the
Moon’s phases occur on the same days of the solar year. It was used during the
Middle Ages to calculate the date of Easter, which was celebrated on the Sunday
following the first New Moon on or after the vernal equinox (March 21). The
oldest surviving Icelandic Easter table, AM 732 a VII 4to, begins with the newlunar cycle of 1121, and it is probable that Ari used a similar table for dating
purposes, possibly with marginal annotations (Ólafia Einarsdóttir 1964: 93–106).
106 Compare the genealogies in ch. 2, and see note 22. Here Ari organises hismaterial according to the bishops’ order of appointment and uses female links where
necessary to trace their ancestry to the main settler in each quarter of the land. In
the manuscripts there is a cross over the name of the first Christian in each genealogy(Hallr on Sí›a, ﬁór›r Horsehead and Go›mundr Eyjólfsson), except that the crossover Gizurr the White has been accidentally omitted.

Notes to the Book of the Icelanders

31

107 I.e. ﬁorfinnr karlsefni (literally ‘makings of a man’), who ‘discovered Vínland
the good’; see Landnámabók (ÍF I 141, 241), Eyrbyggja saga (ÍF IV 135), Eiríks
saga rau›a and Grœnlendinga saga (ÍF IV 209–23, 241–68).
108 Eyjólfr Valger›arson is listed in Landnámabók (ÍF 1 396), Heimskringla(ÍF XXVI 271) and ch. 1 of Kristni saga among the most important chieftains in
Iceland. Jómsvíkinga saga (1969: 99–100) cites a libellous verse he composed
about King Haraldr Gormsson of Denmark. He appears, together with his equallywell-known son Gu›mundr the Powerful, in Reykdœla saga, Ljósvetninga saga,
Valla-Ljóts saga, Víga-Glúms saga and Njáls saga.
109 Other accounts of the Yngling dynasty of kings can be found in Ynglingataland Ynglinga saga (in ÍF XXVI 9–83), HN 12–13, Langfe›ga tal frá Nóa (AÍ III
57–8), Ættartala Haralds frá Ó›ni (in Flb I 27–8), Af Upplendingakonungum (inHauksbók 1892–6: 456–7), and in Resen’s manuscript (Faulkes 2005: 117–19).
The relationship between these is complex and Ari stands closest to Historia
Norwegie (see Ellehøj 1965: 109–41). It seems likely that the deviations in Snorri
are due to his use of an earlier version of the lists in Resen’s manuscript, which
are mostly derived from English sources presumably not available to Ari (Faulkes
1977 and 2005).
110 HN 12 follows Ari, but has Yngvi as ‘the first to rule the kingdom of Sweden’;in Snorri, Ó›inn precedes Njƒr›r, and Freyr is identified with Yngvi (ÍF XXVI
24, cf. Hauksbók 1892–6: 457, AÍ III 58, Faulkes 2005: 118). Flb I 27 has theorder Ó›inn–Freyr–Njƒr›r–Freyr.
111 Ari seems to have imagined a migration to Scandinavia from the Black Sea
area (Thrace), in accordance with classical writings about the origin of the Germanic
nations; he may also have been influenced by continental traditions whereby theorigins of nations were traced back to the fall of Troy (Turks and Trojans being
closely identified; see Faulkes 1978–9, especially 110–24). Compare Ynglinga
saga (ÍF XXVI 14–16) and Snorri Sturluson (2005: 4–6).
112 On the presence of euhemerised gods like Njƒr›r and Freyr in Icelandic
genealogies, see Faulkes 1978–9: 94–95, 106–110. One might wish to compare
West-Saxon genealogies tracing English kings back to Woden (Ó›inn); it is clear
from lists in Resen’s manuscript that royal genealogies of this kind were wellknown in Iceland (Faulkes 1977 and 2005: 117–18).
113 Ynglingatal (as we have it) begins with Fjƒlnir. Snorri tells how he accidentally fell into a vat of mead whilst drunk on a visit to Fri›-Fró›i in Denmark (ÍFXXVI 25–6; see also HN 12).
114 Cf. Langfe›gatal (AÍ III 58), HN 12, 89 and Faulkes 2005: 118; Heimskringla(ÍF XXVI 31) and Ættartala (Flb I 27) both have the form Dómaldi.
115 Cf. HN 12 and Faulkes 2005: 118. Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 37–9), Ættartala(Flb I 27) and Langfe›gatal (AÍ III 58) all have the order Agni–Alrekr.
116 According to Snorri, Aun sacrificed nine of his ten sons to Ó›inn for long
life, and became so old that he had to be carried around on a chair and drink milk outof a drinking horn like an infant (ÍF XXVI 47–50; see also HN 13 and Flb I 27).
117 Snorri correctly gives this nickname to Egill’s son, Óttarr, who was killed inbattle in Vendel in Jutland: the Danes left his body out to rot and sent a wooden
crow back to the Swedes to show how little they thought him worth (ÍF XXVI 54,

32

The Book of the Icelanders

cf. Flb I 27, AÍ III 58 and Faulkes 2005: 118). However, it is likely that the Vendel
in question is actually the one in Swedish Upplƒnd, where Óttarr is traditionallybelieved to be buried (Nerman 1925: 145–8).
118 A›ils is one of three kings whom Snorri says were buried at Uppsala, thecentre of the old Swedish kingdom (ÍF XXVI 57–9). Both he and his fatherÓttarr are named among the Swedes in the Old English poem Beowulf (as Ohthere
and Eadgils; 1950: 90). A›ils (Athislus) is also mentioned in books II and III of
Saxo Grammaticus, The History of the Danes (1979–80: I 52–5, 73).
119 Braut means ‘road (cut through rocks, forest, etc.)’, related to the Icelandic
verb brjóta ‘to break up’. Snorri describes how ¯nundr cleared the forest land andbuilt roads throughout Sweden during his reign (ÍFXXVI 62–3).
120 According to Snorri, Ingjaldr got this nickname because it was rumouredthat ‘he killed twelve kings and broke faith with them all’ (ÍF XXVI 71).
121 Hálfdan is the last name Ari has in common with Ynglingatal, though Go›rø›r
is later mentioned by Snorri (ÍF XXVI 75). Óláfr and Helgi appear to have beenborrowed from a different genealogy (that of the descendants of King Dagr) andinserted here in order to link Ari’s ancestors with the Ynglings (Steffensen 1970–73:
67–9). In Laxdœla saga and Fóstbrœ›ra saga (ÍF V 3; VI 124), Óleifr the Whiteis described as ‘son of Ingjaldr, son of Fró›i’.
122 In ﬁáttr af Ragnars sonum (FN I 161–2) and Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 87–8),
Helgi’s son by Sigur›r’s daughter (Áslaug) is Sigur›r Hart.
123 Óleifr (early form of the name Óláfr; Irish Amlaibh) raided in the British
Isles and became king of Dublin and the surrounding area; he appears in Irish
annals in 853–71. The genealogy given by Ari, which would make him contemporary with Haraldr the Fine-Haired, is chronologically incorrect at this point:Óleifr in fact belongs earlier and it has been suggested that he should be identified
with Óláfr Geirsta›aálfr, son of Go›rø›r the Hunter-king, on whom see note 7
above (Steffensen 1970–73: 63–7; Smyth 1977: 101–12). According to Icelandic
tradition, Óleifr was married to Au›r the Deep-minded (ÍF I 136; IV 4, 195).
124 ﬁorsteinn was a petty king who raided widely in Scotland, but was eventually
betrayed and killed by the Scots; Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 7) names Ari as an authorityon ‘the death of ﬁorsteinn, that he fell at Caithness’ (cf. ÍF I 136; XXVI 122;
XXXIV 8).
125 Eyjólfr the Grey figures in Gísla saga and Eyrbyggja saga as Gísli’s killer(ÍF IV 23–4; VI 111–17) and his son ﬁorkell plays an important role in Laxdœla
saga as Gu›rún’s fourth husband (ÍF V 171–5, 199–207, 215–24); his grandson
Gellir Bƒlverksson was lawspeaker 1054–62 and 1072–4. Ari marks Eyjólfr out as
the first Christian in his family line, just as he marks out Óleifr feilan as the firstsettler.
126 Gellir ﬁorkelsson, a chieftain at Helgafell, plays a role in Ljósvetninga saga
(ÍF X 83, 89–92, 102) and Bandamanna saga (ÍF VII 326, 338–45, 351–2, 359)
and was emissary for St Óláfr in his demand for control over Iceland (ÍF XXVII
220, 240–41). His mother was Gu›rún Ósvífrsdóttir, and his journeys abroad anddescendants are mentioned towards the end of Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 204, 215–16,
227–9). Ari’s cousin, Brandr ﬁorkelsson, appears in a list of priests dated to1143 (DI I 186).

KRISTNI SAGATHE STORY OF THE CONVERSION

C HAPTER ONE : H ERE BEGINS THE STORY OF THE C ONVERSIONOW [the story of] how Christianity came to Iceland begins with aman called ﬁorvaldr Ko›ránsson, son of Atli the Strong’s brother.
They [Ko›rán and Atli] were the sons of Eilífr Eagle, son of Bár›r fromÁll, son of Ketill Fox, son of Skí›i the Old.1 Ko›rán lived at Giljá in
Vatsdalr and was an excellent man. His son ﬁorvaldr went abroad andwas on raids at first, but he used the booty he got for the release of men
taken captive in battle—whatever he did not need to have for his own
provisions. Because of this, he became famous and well loved.2 ﬁorvaldr
travelled far and wide in the southern lands.3 In Saxland, in the south, he
met a bishop called Fri›rekr and accepted from him baptism and the true
faith, and stayed with him for a while.4 ﬁorvaldr asked the bishop to go to
Iceland with him to baptise his father and mother and others of his relatives
who were willing to follow his advice. The bishop granted him this.
Bishop Fri›rekr and ﬁorvaldr came to Iceland the summer that the land
had been inhabited for one hundred and seven years.5 ﬁorkell Moon thenheld the office of lawspeaker, and these were then the greatest chieftains
in the country: Eyjólfr Valger›arson in the north and Víga-Glúmr, Arnórr
kerlingarnef, ﬁorvar›r Spak-Bƒ›varsson and Starri and his brothers inGu›dalir, ﬁorkell krafla in Vatsdalr. And in the west, there was then Ari
Másson, Ásgeirr Knattarson, Eyjólfr Grey, Gestr the Wise, Óláfr Peacock,Víga-Styrr; Snorri go›i was eighteen years old and had taken over thefarm at Helgafell; ﬁorsteinn Egilsson. And in the south, Illugi the Red andﬁorkell Moon and ﬁóroddr go›i, Gizurr the White, Ásgrímr Elli›aGrímsson, Hjalti Skeggjason, Valgar›r at Hof, Runólfr Úlfsson and thesons of ¯rnólfr in Skógar. And in the east, the sons of ﬁór›r Freysgo›i,
Sí›u-Hallr, Helgi Ásbjarnarson, Víga-Bjarni and Geitir.6
It is said that the bishop and ﬁorvaldr travelled around the Northern
Quarter, and ﬁorvaldr preached the faith to people because the bishop did
not at the time understand Norse. And ﬁorvaldr preached God’s message
boldly, but most people made little response to their words. ¯nundr the
Christian, son of ﬁorgils Grenja›arson from Reykjardalr, accepted thefaith, as did Hlenni the Old, son of Ormr Bag-Back, and ﬁorvar›r SpakBƒ›varsson in Áss in Hjaltadalr;7 and Eyjólfr Valger›arson had himself
prime-signed.8

N

C HAPTER TWO : A BOUT ﬁ ORVALDR AND THE BISHOPThe bishop and ﬁorvaldr stayed at Giljá with Ko›rán for the first wintertogether with thirteen men. ﬁorvaldr asked his father to be baptised, but
he was slow to respond. At Giljá there stood a stone to which he and his

36

The Story of the Conversion

kinsmen used to sacrifice, and they claimed that their guardian spirit lived
in it.9 Ko›rán said that he would not have himself baptised until he knew
who was more powerful, the bishop or the spirit in the stone. After that,the bishop went to the stone and chanted over it until the stone brokeapart. Then Ko›rán thought he understood that the spirit had been
overcome. Ko›rán then had himself and his whole household baptised,
except that his son Ormr did not wish to accept the faith.10 He then went
south to Borgarfjƒr›r and buys land at Hvanneyrr. Ormr married ﬁórvƒr,daughter of ¯zurr and Bera, Egill Skalla-Grímsson’s daughter. Theirdaughter was Yngvildr, who was married to Hermundr Illugason. Ormr
later married Geirlaug, daughter of Steinmó›r from Djúpadalr. Theirdaughter was Bera, who was married to Skúli ﬁorsteinsson.11
The bishop and ﬁorvaldr set up house at Lœkjamót in Ví›idalr andlived there for four years. They travelled far and wide throughout Iceland
to preach the faith. The bishop and ﬁorvaldr were at an autumn feast in
Vatsdalr at Giljá with Óláfr.12 ﬁorkell krafla and many other people hadcome there.13 Two berserks turned up there, who were both called Haukr.
They threatened to use force against people, went around howling, andstrode through fire.14 Then people asked the bishop to destroy them. Afterthat the bishop consecrated the fire before they strode through, and they
were severely burned. After that people attacked them and killed them,and they were carried up onto the mountain by the gill. That is why it has
since been called Haukagil.15 After that, ﬁorkell krafla had himself primesigned, but many who had been present at this event were baptised.16
ﬁorvaldr and the bishop went to the Western Quarter to preach the faith.
They came to Hvammr during the Althing, to the home of ﬁórarinn fylsenni,
and he was then at the assembly, but his wife Fri›ger›r was at home with
their son Skeggi.17 ﬁorvaldr preached the faith to people there, but meanwhile Fri›ger›r was in the temple and sacrificed and each of them heard
the other’s words, and the boy Skeggi laughed at them.18 Then ﬁorvaldr
uttered this verse:
I preached the precious faith,
no man paid heed to me;
we got scorn from the sprinkler—priest’s son—of blood-dipped branch.
And without any sense,
old troll-wife against poet—may God crush the priestess—shrilled at the heathen altar.19

The Story of the Conversion

37

No one had themselves baptised as a result of their words in the Western
Quarter, as far as is known, but in the Northern Quarter many people left off
sacrifices and broke up their idols, and some refused to pay the temple tax.20
C HAPTER THREE : A BOUT ﬁ ORVAR‹R
ﬁorvar›r Spak-Bƒ›varsson had a church built on his farm in Áss. That
greatly displeased those people who were heathen.
There was a man called Klaufi, son of ﬁorvaldr Refsson from Bar›. He
was a chieftain.21 He is greatly displeased with ﬁorvar›r over this, and hewent to see Arngeirr, ﬁorvar›r’s brother, and gave him a choice of whether
he would rather burn down the church or kill the priest the bishop had
provided for it.22
Then Arngeirr answers: ‘I am against any of my friends harming the priest,
because my brother has ruthlessly avenged lesser wrongs. But I think it agood plan to burn down the church, although I want nothing to do with it.’
A little later, Klaufi went there at night, and planned to burn down the
church. There were ten of them altogether, and when they came into thechurchyard, it seemed to them as if fire were flying out of all the church
windows, and they went away because the whole church seemed to themfull of fire.23 But when he heard that the church had not burned down, hewent there on another night with Arngeirr, with the intention of burning
down the church. And when they had broken into the church, then hetried to light a fire with dry birch-wood. The fire was slow to kindle. Thenhe lay down and blew at it across the threshold. Then an arrow flew over
his head into the floor beside him, and a second came between his shirt
and his side. Then he leaped up and said that he would not wait for thethird.24 Arngeirr then went home.
And this church was built sixteen years before Christianity was madelaw in Iceland, and it was still standing when Bótólfr was bishop at Hólar,without any repairs having been made to the turf on the outside.25
C HAPTER FOUR : A BOUT ﬁ ORVALDR
Bishop Fri›rekr and ﬁorvaldr went to the assembly, and the bishop askedﬁorvaldr to preach the faith to people at the Law-Rock while he was present
but ﬁorvaldr spoke. Then He›inn from Svalbar› in Eyjafjƒr›r, a wellborn man, answered him with many evil words. He›inn was the son ofﬁorbjƒrn Skagason. He was married to Ragnhei›r, stepdaughter and nieceof Eyjólfr Valger›arson.26 Then they asked poets to libel ﬁorvaldr and thebishop. This verse was then uttered:

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The Story of the Conversion
The bishop hasborne nine children;ﬁorvaldr’s fatherof them all.27

Because of that libel, ﬁorvaldr killed two men. The bishop asked why he
had killed them.
‘Because they said that the two of us had children together.’
The bishop answered: ‘They lied about us, but you have misinterpreted
their insult, because I might well have borne your children on my back.’
And when ﬁorvaldr and the bishop wished to ride to the assembly at
Hegranes, the heathens came to meet them and pelted them with stones sothat they did not manage to get any further. After that they were madeoutlaws according to heathen laws.
And that summer, after the Althing, the chieftains assembled a company
and rode off with two hundred men, and intended to burn the bishop andﬁorvaldr in their home. They stopped to graze their horses before theyrode up to the homestead at Lœkjamót. But when they were about toremount, birds flew up past them. At that their horses shied, and men fell
from horseback, some broke their arms and some their legs or injured
themselves on their own weapons. The horses ran away from some ofthem, and with that they went back home.28
The bishop and ﬁorvaldr did not become aware of this armed gathering
until afterwards. They had then lived at Lœkjamót for three years. They
lived there for one more year. After that they went abroad. And when they
got to Norway, they lay at anchor in a certain harbour. Then He›inn camefrom Iceland to the same harbour and went straight up into the forest to
cut wood. And when ﬁorvaldr became aware of this, he went with his
slave and had him killed there. And when the bishop discovered this, he said
now it would end their partnership that ﬁorvaldr was eager to take revenge.
The bishop then went south to Saxland and died there, and he is truly asaint. But ﬁorvaldr spent some time on trading expeditions at first.

C HAPTER FIVE : A BOUT ﬁ ANGBRANDRIn the days of King Haraldr Gormsson, Bishop Albert went from Bremento Áróss in Jutland and took up residence there;29 his chaplain was calledﬁangbrandr, son of Count Vilbald of Bremen. And when ﬁangbrandr was
fully-grown, Bishop Hubert of Canterbury invited his brother Albert tovisit him; at that feast Hubert gave gifts to Albert and all his companions.30

The Story of the Conversion

39

Then the bishop said to ﬁangbrandr: ‘You have the manners of a knight,
so I am giving you a shield, and on it is depicted a cross with the image of
our Lord; that represents your clerical learning.’
A little later, ﬁangbrandr met Óláfr Tryggvason in Wendland.31 Óláfr
asked:‘Who is the man tortured on the cross that you Christians worship?’ﬁangbrandr answers: ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ.’
The king asks: ‘Why was he tortured, or what crime did he commit?’
Then ﬁangbrandr told King Óláfr in detail about the passion of ourLord and the miracles of the cross. The king then asked to buy the shield,
but ﬁangbrandr gave the shield to him, and the king gave him the value ofthe shield in refined silver, and said:‘If you ever need help or support, then come to me, and I will thenrepay you for the shield.’
Shortly afterwards, King Óláfr had himself baptised in the Scillies in
Ireland.32
ﬁangbrandr buys a beautiful Irish girl with the silver. But when he got
back with her, a man whom Emperor Otto the Young had sent there as a
hostage wanted to take the girl off him, but he [ﬁangbrandr] was not willingto let her go.33 The hostage was a great fighter, and challenged ﬁangbrandr
to a battle, but ﬁangbrandr had the victory and killed him. Because of thatﬁangbrandr was not able to stay in Denmark, and he then went to KingÓláfr Tryggvason, and he [Óláfr] received him well and he was ordained
priest there and served as the king’s chaplain for a while.
C HAPTER SIX : A BOUT S TEFNIRKing Óláfr left Ireland and [went] east to Hólmgar›r, and from Hólmgar›r
to Norway, as it is written in his saga, and preached Christianity there to
the whole population.34 He had the first church built on an island called
Mostr. There he appointed ﬁangbrandr to sing mass on the island, andgave him a homestead and lands. He [ﬁangbrandr] was a very extravagant
man and open-handed, and his money soon ran out. He then got himself along ship and raided the heathen and plundered far and wide, and used themoney to pay for his company of men.
King Óláfr came to Norway at the beginning of Gói.35 With him weremany Icelanders. One of them was called Stefnir. He was the son of ﬁorgils,
son of Eilífr, son of Helgi bjóla from Kjalarnes.36 King Óláfr sent Stefnir
to Iceland the first summer he came to Norway, to preach God’s message
there. But when he got to Iceland, then people received him badly, and his
kinsmen worst of all, because all people were then heathen in this country.

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The Story of the Conversion

And he travelled boldly both north and south, and taught people the true
faith, but they were not much moved by his teaching. And when he sawthat it was not making headway, then he began to destroy temples andplaces of worship and to break up idols.37 Then the heathens assembled acompany of men and he then escaped with difficulty to Kjalarnes andstayed there with his kinsmen.
His ship lay ashore at Gufáróss. It was carried out to sea during thewinter in floods and violent gales. The heathens uttered this verse about it:
Now Stefnir’s prow-falcon (seastreams through the hollow ship)
is by fierce mountain flurry—fell weather—entirely destroyed.
But we believe that—bonds
must be in our land—such roaring(the river rages with ice)
is ruled by the Æsir’s power.38
The ship came ashore not much damaged, and Stefnir had it repaired in
the spring.
That summer at the Althing, it was made law that kinsmen of Christians
who were closer than fourth and more distantly related than second cousins
must prosecute them for blasphemy.39 That summer Stefnir was prosecutedfor being a Christian. His kinsmen conducted the suit, because Christianity
was then called a disgrace to one’s family. The sons of Ósvífr the Wise,ﬁórólfr and Áskell, Vandrá›r and Torrá›r, prosecuted him, but Óspakr
wanted no part in it.40
But Stefnir said: ‘No harm will come to me from my outlawry. But
because of this lawsuit, great misfortune will befall you in the space of afew years.’41
Stefnir went abroad in the summer and King Óláfr received him well.
C HAPTER SEVEN : A BOUT ﬁ ANGBRANDRWhen King Óláfr heard of the unruly things ﬁangbrandr was doing, hesummoned him to him and laid charges against him, and said that heshould not be in his service, when he was a robber. ﬁangbrandr asked the
king to assign to him some difficult mission.
The king said: ‘We two shall be reconciled, if you go to Iceland andmanage to convert the country.’ﬁangbrandr said: ‘I will take the risk.’42
That summer ﬁangbrandr went to Iceland. He landed at Selvágar in

The Story of the Conversion

41

northern Álptafjƒr›r to the north of Melrakkanes. And when people realisedthat ﬁangbrandr and his men were Christian, then the inhabitants refused
to speak to them or to direct them to harbour.
Sí›u-Hallr was then living at Á. He had been to Fljótsdalr, and when hecame home, ﬁangbrandr went to see him and told him that King Óláfr had
directed him to Hallr, if he landed in the Eastern Fjords, and asked him toguide them to harbour and give them any other assistance they needed.
Hallr had them moved to Leiruvágr in southern Álptafjƒr›r and drew their
ship ashore at the place that is now called ﬁangbrandshróf. And Hallrmoved the cargo to his infield and put up a tent there in which ﬁangbrandr
and his men stayed. ﬁangbrandr sang mass there. The day before Michaelmas,
ﬁangbrandr and his men began to observe the feast at nones.43
Hallr was there in the tent at the time. He asked:‘Why are you stopping work now?’
ﬁangbrandr says: ‘Tomorrow is the feast of the Archangel Michael.’Hallr asked: ‘Of what nature is he?’ﬁangbrandr answers: ‘He is appointed to receive the souls of Christians.’
Then ﬁangbrandr said many things about the glory of God’s angels.44
Hallr said:‘The one whom these angels serve must be powerful indeed.’ﬁangbrandr says: ‘God has given you this understanding.’
In the evening, Hallr said to his household: ‘Tomorrow ﬁangbrandr andhis men are observing a feast-day for their God, and I now wish you tobenefit from this, and you shall not work tomorrow, and we shall now go
and see the rites of Christians.’
In the morning, ﬁangbrandr held the divine service in his tent, and Hallrand his household went to see their rites, and heard the sound of bells, andsmelled the scent of incense, and saw men clothed in costly material andfine cloth.45 Hallr asked his household how they liked the rites ofChristians, and they spoke well of them. Hallr was baptised the Saturday
before Easter together with his whole household in the river there.46 It has
since been called ﬁváttá.
C HAPTER EIGHT : A BOUT ﬁ ANGBRANDRIn the summer, ﬁangbrandr rode to the Althing with Hallr. But when theycame to Skógahverfi, the heathens paid a man called Galdra-He›inn tomake the ground fall away beneath ﬁangbrandr. On the day they [ﬁangbrandr and Hallr] rode away from Kirkjubœr from the home of Surtr, sonof Ásbjƒrn, son of Ketill the Foolish—all his forebears on the father’s

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The Story of the Conversion

side were baptised47—then ﬁangbrandr’s horse fell down into the ground,but he jumped off its back and stood on the brink unharmed.48
ﬁangbrandr baptised many people on that journey, Gizurr the Whiteand Hallr in Haukadalr (he was then three years old) and Hjalti Skeggjason.
ﬁangbrandr preached God’s message outstandingly at the assembly, andmany people then accepted the faith in the Southern Quarter and theNorthern Quarter. He travelled on after the assembly, and intended to go
to Eyjafjƒr›r by the eastern route. He baptised many people in ﬁangbrandslœkr in Øxarfjƒr›r and in ﬁangbrandspollr by M‡vatn. But he did not
manage to get any further than Skjálfandafljót because of the power of thepeople of Eyjafjƒr›r. He then turned back to the Eastern Fjords and taught
the faith there. ﬁangbrandr went west from there by the southern route.
C HAPTER NINE : T HE KILLING OF S KEGGBJ ƒ RN
And when ﬁangbrandr taught the faith to people in Iceland, many began tolibel him. ﬁorvaldr veili, who lived at Vík in Grímsnes, did so.49 He composed verse about ﬁangbrandr, and he spoke this verse to Úlfr the poet:50
To the unshakable Úlfr,Uggi’s son (I have no hate
for the wielder of steel), I send,straight out of hand, a message,
that the spear-storm’s strengthener drive out
the spineless wolf of God
to appease the divine powers,
and we repulse the other.51Úlfr uttered this verse in reply:
I’ll not catch the cormorantto cave of teeth flown, although
the sender’s a well-tried swimmer
in Hárbar›r’s sanctuary’s fjord.
Of the heeder of sail-yard’s horse—
great harm I guard against,
evil is underway—it’sunlike me to snap at the fly.52
Vetrli›i the poet also composed libellous verse about ﬁangbrandr, as did
many others. And when they came to Fljótshlí› in the west—and Gu›leifr
Arason from Reykjahólar was with him—they learned that Vetrli›i thepoet was cutting turf together with his servants. ﬁangbrandr and Gu›leifr
went and killed him there.53 This was composed about Gu›leifr:

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43

The shields’ tester went southin the land, battle tools
to thrust into poetry’s smithyof Baldr of rust-hater’s bed.
The manly sword-tester made,out for blood, the murderous hammer
repay Vetrli›i the poeton the anvil of battle-hat’s place.54
From there they went west to Grímsnes and found ﬁorvaldr veili at
Hestlœkr and killed him there. They turned back from there and stayed asecond winter with Hallr. And in the spring ﬁangbrandr prepared his shipfor departure.
That summer, ﬁangbrandr was sentenced to outlawry for these killings.
He put out to sea, and was driven back to Hítará in Borgarfjƒr›r; thatplace is now called ﬁangbrandshróf, down from Skipahylr, and the boulder
to which he fastened his ship’s cable still stands there on a rock. But once
they had arrived there, the inhabitants of the district held a meeting inorder to bar them from all trade. ﬁangbrandr went to Krossaholt and sangmass there and put up crosses.
There was a man called Kolr who lived in Lœkjarbugr. He had so muchfood that he hardly knew what to do with it. ﬁangbrandr went there andasked to buy food from him, but he refused to sell any. They took the foodand left behind payment for it. Kolr went down to Hítarnes, and made acomplaint to Skeggbjƒrn, who lived there. He went with Kolr to meetﬁangbrandr, and [they] asked him to have what he had stolen restored andto pay compensation for it, but ﬁangbrandr refused flatly. They fought on
the meadow land down from Steinsholt. Skeggbjƒrn fell there with eight
other men. Skeggbjƒrn’s burial-mound is there on the meadow, but theothers were buried in Landraugsholt beside the meadow there, and thecairns can still be clearly seen. Two of ﬁangbrandr’s men fell.55
And when Gizurr the White heard of these events, he invited ﬁangbrandr
to stay with him, and he spent the third winter there. That winter, ﬁangbrandr’s ship was carried out to sea from Hítará and was badly damaged,
and came ashore south of Kálfalœkr. Steinunn, mother of Skáld-Refr,
composed this about it:56ﬁórr drew ﬁvinnill’s animal,ﬁangbrandr’s long ship, from land,
shook the prow’s horse and hit it,
and hurled it against the sand.

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The Story of the Conversion
On sea the ski of Atall’s land
will not swim henceforth,
for a harsh tempest sent by him
has hewn it into splinters.
Before the bell’s keeper (bonds
destroyed the beach’s falcon)
the slayer of giantess-son
broke the ox of seagull’s place.
Christ was not watching, when
the wave-raven drank at the prows.
Small guard I think God held
—if any—over Gylfi’s reindeer.57

In the spring, ﬁangbrandr went west to Bar›astrƒnd to meet Gestr theWise. There a Norwegian berserk challenged him to a duel. ﬁangbrandr
agreed to this.
The berserk said: ‘You will not dare to fight with me once you see what
I can do. I walk barefoot through burning fire and I let myself fall unprotected onto the point of my sword, and neither harms me.’ﬁangbrandr answers: ‘God will decide that.’ﬁangbrandr consecrated the fire and made the sign of the cross over thesword. The berserk’s feet were burned when he strode through the fire
and when he fell onto the sword, it pierced him through, and that brought
about his death. Many good men were delighted at this, even though they
were heathen. Gestr then had himself prime-signed together with some of
his friends.58
ﬁangbrandr left the west and had his ship repaired. He called it Járnmeis.59
He sailed south across the fjord to Hƒfn and put into the bay and lay there
waiting to put out to sea. The place between Hƒfn and Belgsholt has since
been called Járnmeishƒf›i. He went abroad in the summer to join KingÓláfr in ﬁrándheimr.
C HAPTER TEN
At the assembly that summer there was much discussion about the faith
ﬁangbrandr had preached and some people then blasphemed greatly, but
those who were baptised spoke out against the heathen gods, and becauseof this great divisions arose. Then Hjalti Skeggjason uttered this little
verse at the Law-Rock:I don’t wish to bark at the gods:
It seems to me Freyja’s a bitch.

The Story of the Conversion

45

Runólfr go›i, son of Úlfr, son of Jƒrundr go›i, took up that verse andprosecuted Hjalti for blasphemy.60 He showed in this his tyranny andintransigence more than justice, because he was not able to hold the court
until he convened it on Øxará bridge and had both ends of the bridge
defended with weapons. Then nobody came forward to sum up the caseuntil ﬁorbjƒrn, son of ﬁorkell from Gu›dalir, joined the court and summed
it up.61 In that court, Hjalti was convicted as a lesser outlaw for blasphemy.
That summer he went abroad on a ship he had had made at his home inﬁjórsárdalr and took the ship along western Rangá to the sea. And as they
travelled down along the river, then a man ran along the bank and had in
his hands a spear and shield. Hjalti said to him:
‘There is a wisp of straw where your heart should be.’62
He threw the spear at Hjalti, but Hjalti grabbed his shield and the spear
went into it. Hjalti’s men leaped onto the bank and seized him, and asked
who he was. He said that he was called Narfi and that Runólfr had sent
him for Hjalti’s head, and thus he was to free himself from outlawry.
Hjalti said: ‘I have a better plan for you. Come abroad with me, and I
will get you reprieved.’
Hjalti went abroad and came north to ﬁrándheimr in the autumn to meet
King Óláfr. His father-in-law, Gizurr the White, also arrived from Iceland then.
C HAPTER ELEVEN : A BOUT K JARTANKing Óláfr had made Hálogaland Christian and he came to Ni›aróss inthe autumn.63 There were then many Icelanders there who were incommand of ships. Kjartan, son of Óláfr Peacock, Kálfr Ásgeirsson and
Bolli ﬁorleiksson owned one ship. Halldórr, son of Gu›mundr thePowerful, also had his own ship there, as did Kolbeinn, son of ﬁór›rFreysgo›i, and Svertingr, son of Runólfr go›i, Hallfrø›r Óttarsson andﬁórarinn Nefjólfsson.64 These men were all heathen. They lay at anchor
in front of the town and intended to go south along the coast, but they did
not get a wind before the king arrived from the north.65
One fine day, people from the town went swimming, and those on board
the ships noticed that one man was a much better swimmer than the others.
Bolli ﬁorleiksson said to his kinsman Kjartan:‘Why don’t you try your hand at swimming against that able man?’
Kjartan said: ‘I don’t want to contend with him.’‘Where’s your competitive spirit, then?’ says Bolli, and threw off his
clothes.
Then Kjartan leaped up and took off his clothes, and told Bolli to staywhere he was. Kjartan jumped into the water and went for the man and

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The Story of the Conversion

pulled him down and held him under for a while. After that they came tothe surface, and Kjartan pulled him down a second time. And when Kjartan
wanted to come up, the man took hold of Kjartan and held him under fora while. The third time he pulled Kjartan down and held him under for solong that he was on the point of suffocating. Then they headed for shore,
and this man asked Kjartan whether he knew with whom he had competedat swimming. He said that he did not know. The man gave Kjartan ascarlet cloak, and said that he must know now with whom he had competedat swimming. Kjartan realised that this man was King Óláfr. He thanked
him for the gift in a fitting manner. The heathens were displeased that
Kjartan had accepted gifts from the king.66
On Michaelmas day, many Icelanders went to hear the divine service
and to see the customs of Christians. And when they had returned, they discussed amongst themselves what they thought of their rites. Kjartan spoke
well of them, but few others did. The king soon became aware of this andsent for Kjartan, and asked whether he wished to accept Christianity.
Kjartan said that he could make the offer such that he would not refuse it.
The king asked what he wanted.
‘That you give me no less honour here than I can expect in Iceland,even if I do not return there.’
The king agreed to this. Kjartan was then baptised and was entertainedat the king’s table while he was in white robes.67
At the same time, the priest ﬁangbrandr came to the king from Icelandand told what animosity people had shown him there, and declared that
there was no hope that Christianity would make progress there. Then the
king became so angry that he had many Icelanders seized and put in chains,
threatened some with death and some with maiming, and others were strippedof their possessions. The king said that he would repay them for how
disrespectfully their fathers in Iceland had received his communications.
Hjalti and Gizurr then spoke up on behalf of everyone, said that theking had declared that no one could previously have done anythingdeserving of punishment that there would not be pardon for, if they werewilling to have themselves baptised.68
Gizurr claimed kinship with the king: his mother Ólƒf was the daughterof the lord Bƒ›varr, son of Víkinga-Kári, and Ástrí›r, mother of KingÓláfr, was the daughter of Bƒ›varr’s brother, Eiríkr.69
Gizurr said that he fully expected that Christianity would make progressin Iceland, if wise counsel were followed.
‘But ﬁangbrandr behaved there as here, in a very unruly manner; he killed
several men there, and people thought it hard to take that from a foreigner.’

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47

King Óláfr said: ‘Everyone shall have peace, if you and Hjalti pledge
that Christianity will make progress in Iceland. But I will take hostage
those men who seem to me most highly bred among the Icelanders until it
is found out which way this matter will go.’For this the king named Kjartan Óláfsson, Halldórr, son of Gu›mundr
the Powerful, Kolbeinn, son of ﬁór›r Freysgo›i, brother of Brennu-Flosi,and Svertingr, son of Runólfr go›i.70
When Svertingr was mentioned, one man said: ‘Svertingr does notdeserve that Hjalti should speak up on his behalf, when his father prosecuted Hjalti without cause.’71
ﬁangbrandr answers: ‘It will often prove true that Hjalti will behave
better than those given to passionate anger; and treat Hjalti and Gizurr
well, sir, because they often repay evil with good.’72
Hjalti and Gizurr agreed to plead the king’s cause in Iceland, and afterthat all the Icelanders who were there were released and baptised. KingÓláfr stood sponsor to Hallfrø›r at his baptism, because he refused tohave himself baptised otherwise. The king then named him ‘Troublesome
Poet’ and gave him a sword to confirm the name.73
Gizurr and Hjalti stayed with the king during the winter, and Gizurr sat
opposite the king as his drinking partner, further in than the landed men.74
The Icelandic hostages also stayed with the king [and received] goodtreatment.
C HAPTER TWELVE : A BOUT G IZURR AND H JALTIIn the spring, Hjalti and Gizurr prepared their ship to go to Iceland. Many
people tried to dissuade Hjalti from going, but he paid no attention to this.
That summer King Óláfr left the country to go south to Wendland. It wasalso then that he sent Leifr Eiríksson to Greenland to preach the faith
there. Then Leifr discovered Vínland the Good. He also came across somepeople on a wreck in the sea. Because of this he was called Leifr the Lucky.75
Gizurr and Hjalti arrived off Dyrhólmaóss the same day that BrennuFlosi rode across Arnarstakkshei›r to the Althing. He then learned fromthe people who had rowed out to them that his brother Kolbeinn had beentaken hostage and all about the mission of Hjalti and his companions, andhe communicated this news to the Althing.
They reached Vestmannaeyjar on the same day and moored their shipby Hƒrgaeyrr.76 There they carried their baggage ashore, along with thewood King Óláfr had had cut for a church, and [he had] stipulated that the
church should be built at the place where they put up the gangplanks toland. Before the church was erected, lots were cast for which side of the

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The Story of the Conversion

bay it should stand on and the lots indicated the north. There had previously
been sacrifices and heathen places of worship there.77
They stayed two nights on the islands before they crossed to the mainland. That was on the day people were riding to the assembly. They wereunable to get hold of any transport or riding horses east of Rangá, because
every house there belonged to Runólfr’s assembly men. They walked until
they came to Skeggi Ásgautsson’s home at Háfr. He provided them withhorses to ride to the assembly, but his son ﬁorvaldr, who was married to
Hjalti’s sister Koltorfa, had already ridden from home.78 And when they
got to Laugardalr, they managed to persuade Hjalti to stay behind witheleven other men, because he had been convicted as a lesser outlaw.
Gizurr and his men rode on until they came to Vellankatla near ¯lfusvatn. Then they sent word to the Althing that their friends and relations
should ride to meet them. They had then heard that their enemies intended
to bar them from the assembly field. But before they rode off from
Vellankatla, Hjalti and his men arrived there and their kinsmen and friends
had then come to meet them. They then rode to the assembly with a large
company of men and went to the booth belonging to Ásgrímr Elli›aGrímsson, son of Gizurr’s sister.79 Then the heathens thronged together
fully armed and it came very close to them fighting, and yet there weresome who wished to prevent trouble, even though they were not Christians.
The priest whom King Óláfr had provided for Hjalti and Gizurr wascalled ﬁormó›r. He sang mass the next day on the brink of the gorge up
above the booth belonging to the people of the Western Fjords. From
there they proceeded to the Law-Rock. There were seven men wearing
vestments. They had two crosses that now stand in eastern Skar›. One ofthem marks the height of King Óláfr, the other the height of Hjalti
Skeggjason.80
The whole assembly was at the Law-Rock. Hjalti and his men hadburning incense, and the scent could be smelt as strongly upwind as
downwind. Hjalti and Gizurr then announced their mission outstandingly
well. And people were amazed by how eloquent they were and how wellthey spoke, and such great fear came with their words that none of theirenemies dared speak against them.81 But what happened there was that
one man after another named witnesses and each side, the Christians andthe heathens, declared itself under separate laws from the other.
Then a man came running up and said that there had been a volcanic
eruption at ¯lfus and it was about to engulf the homestead of ﬁóroddr
go›i.82 Then the heathens spoke up:‘It is no wonder that the gods are enraged by such talk.’

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49

Then Snorri go›i said: ‘What were the gods enraged by when the lava
we are standing on here and now was burning?’
After that people left the Law-Rock. Then the Christians asked Sí›uHallr to speak their law, the one that was to go with Christianity. Hallragreed with ﬁorgeirr go›i, who then held the office of lawspeaker, for sixty
ounces of silver, that he [ﬁorgeirr] should speak both laws, the Christianand the heathen, and he was not yet baptised at the time. And when people
had returned to their booths, ﬁorgeirr lay down and spread a cloak over his
head, and lay like that all day and all night, until the same time the next day.
The heathens then held a well-attended meeting and made a decision tosacrifice two people from each Quarter, and called on the heathen gods
not to let Christianity spread throughout the country.
Gizurr and Hjalti held another meeting with the Christians, and theysaid that they also wished to hold a sacrifice of as many people as theheathens. They said this:‘Heathens sacrifice the worst people, and push them over cliffs andcrags, but we shall make our selection on the basis of people’s virtues andcall it a victory offering to our Lord Jesus Christ.83 We must therefore
live better lives and be more careful to avoid sin than before, and Gizurr
and I will come forward as the victory offering for our Quarter.’And for the Eastern Quarter, these men came forward: Hallr from Sí›aand ﬁorleifr from Krossavík, north of Rey›arfjƒr›r, brother of ﬁórarinn
from Sey›arfjƒr›r. Ingileif was their mother. Digr-Ketill had summonsed
him for being a Christian at the direction of Brodd-Helgi. Then the weather
had become so bad that Ketill was delighted when he arrived at ﬁorleifr’s
home in the evening and received good hospitality there. Because of thisthe summons was dropped.84
And from the Northern Quarter, Hlenni the Old and ﬁorvar›r SpakBƒ›varr’s son came forward as the victory offering, and from the Western
Quarter, Gestr Oddleifsson. There was no other volunteer. This displeased
Hjalti and Gizurr. Then Ormr Ko›ránsson spoke up. He was staying at Gilsbakki, because Hermundr Illugason had married his daughter Gunnhildr:85‘There would be someone to volunteer for this if ﬁorvaldr the FarTraveller, my brother, were living in the same country as myself. But I
will now come forward, if you are willing to accept me.’
They agreed to this, and he was baptised at once.
And the next day, ﬁorgeirr got up and sent word to the booths thatpeople should go to the Law-Rock. And when people had come to the
Law-Rock, he said that he thought matters had come to a bad pass in theland, ‘if people are not to have the same law in this country’, and asked

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The Story of the Conversion

that they should not do so, and said that battles and warfare would arise
from it, and that would clear the way for the laying waste of the land. He
also spoke about two kings, one called Dagr who was in Denmark, andthe other called Tryggvi who was in Norway.86 They had for a long time
been at war with each other, until inhabitants from both kingdoms had
deprived them of power and made peace between them without themwanting it. And that policy had worked out in such a way that in the spaceof a few years they were sending gifts to one another, and their friendship
had lasted as long as they both lived.
‘And it seems advisable to me not to let those who oppose each other
here with most vehemence prevail, and let us arbitrate between them, sothat each side has its own way in something, but we all have the same law
and the same religion, because this will prove true: if we tear apart thelaw, then we tear apart the peace.’ﬁorgeirr brought the speech to an end in such a way that both sides
agreed to observe the law he chose to proclaim. It was then ﬁorgeirr’s
proclamation that all people in Iceland should be baptised and believe in
one God, but the old laws should stand as regards the exposure of children
and the eating of horse-flesh. People had the right to sacrifice in secret if
they wished, but it would be punishable by the lesser outlawry if witnesses
were produced. These heathen provisions were abolished some years later.
All the people from the Northern and Southern Quarters were baptised inReykjalaug in Laugardalr when they rode away from the assembly, because
they did not want to be immersed in cold water. When Runólfr was
baptised, Hjalti said:‘Now we are teaching the old chieftain to nibble on the salt.’ 87That summer the whole assembly was baptised when people rode home.
Most of the Westerners were baptised in Reykjalaug in southern Reykjardalr. Snorri go›i had most success with people of the Western Fjords.88
C HAPTER THIRTEEN
The summer Christianity was made law in Iceland, one thousand years
had passed from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. That summer,
King Óláfr disappeared from the Long Serpent by Svƒl›r in the south on
the fourth [day] before the ides of September.89 He had then been king in
Norway for five years. Earl Eiríkr Hákonarson took power after him.
ﬁorvaldr Ko›ránsson and Stefnir ﬁorgilsson met up after the disappearance of King Óláfr.90 They travelled both together far and wide aroundthe world and all the way out to Jerusalem, and from there to Miklagar›r
and then to eastern Kœnugar›r along the Dnieper.91

The Story of the Conversion

51

ﬁorvaldr died in Russia a short way from Pallteskja.92 He is buried on a
mountain there at the church of John the Baptist, and they call him a saint.
Brandr the Far-Traveller says this:I have comewhere Christ grants
rest to ﬁorvaldr
Ko›rán’s son.
He is buried there
on a high mountainup in Drafn
at John’s Church.93
Stefnir then went north to Denmark.94 And when he got to Denmark, heuttered this verse:
I will not name,I’ll take close aim:
hooked is the noseof the nithing
who lured King Sveinn
from the landand drew Tryggvi’s son
into a trap.95
Earl Sigvaldi thought he recognised a reference to himself in this verse,and because of that he had Stefnir killed.96
Ari the Old has said this.97
C HAPTER FOURTEEN : A BOUT G IZURR
Gizurr the White lived in Hƒf›i before he built a farm in Skálaholt andmoved his household there.98 He set his whole mind on strengthening
Christianity. He sent his son Ísleifr south to Saxland, and [Ísleifr] went toschool there in a town called Herfur›a.99 And when he returned to Iceland,
he married Dalla ﬁorvaldsdóttir, and their sons were Gizurr and Teitr theEnterprising of Haukadalr and ﬁorvaldr.100
At first there were foreign bishops here teaching Christian doctrine.
But when the people of the country realised what an excellent cleric Ísleifr
was, they asked him to go abroad and have himself consecrated bishop,and he granted them this. He was fifty years old when he was consecrated
bishop. Leo IX was then pope. He spent the following winter in Norway,
and then went to Iceland, and was bishop for twenty-four years. He taught
many excellent men and had them ordained priests, and two of them

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The Story of the Conversion

later became bishops: St Jón ¯gmundarson and Kolr, bishop of the peopleof Vík.
Bishop Ísleifr died in Skálaholt on the third [day] before the nones ofJuly;101 that was on a Sunday. He had then been bishop for twenty-four
years, and eighty years had then passed from the disappearance of KingÓláfr Tryggvason. Ari the Learned, who has said most about the events
written down here, was present at his burial when he was twelve years old.
C HAPTER FIFTEEN : G IZURR CONSECRATED BISHOP
After the death of Bishop Ísleifr, the people of the country asked his son
Gizurr to be consecrated bishop. He went abroad and was consecrated
bishop two years after the death of Bishop Ísleifr, in the days of KingÓláfr the Peaceful, king of Norway. Gregory VII was then pope in Rome.
Gizurr spent the winter after his consecration in Denmark, and returned to
Iceland the following summer.102 And when he had been in Iceland for
one year, Markús Skeggjason took up the office of lawspeaker. He has
been the wisest of Iceland’s lawspeakers apart from Skapti.103
Bishop Gizurr was so popular with the people of the country thateveryone was willing to obey his commands and prohibitions,104 andthrough the popularity of Bishop Gizurr and the persuasions of the priestSæmundr the Learned, who has been the best cleric in Iceland, and withthe guidance of the lawspeaker Markús and other chieftains, it was madelaw that everyone should reckon up and value their property, whether it
was in land or in movable possessions, and swear an oath that the valuation
was correct and pay a tithe on it. It is a great mark of how obedient thepeople of the country were to the man who brought this about, that all theland was valued and all the property that was on it, and it was made lawthat it should be so as long as the land was inhabited.
C HAPTER SIXTEEN : O N TITHING
Bishop Gizurr also laid down a law that the episcopal see in Iceland should
be in Skálaholt, and he endowed the see with the estate there and manyother assets both in land and movable property.
And when he thought that the see had become as rich as he wished, thenhe gave more than a quarter of his diocese to the end that there should be
two episcopal sees in Iceland rather than one, just as the Northerners had
asked him. And he had first had all the householders in Iceland counted,
and there were then a full 840 in the Eastern Quarter and 1200 in theSouthern Quarter and 1080 in the Western Quarter and 1440 in the Northern

The Story of the Conversion

53

Quarter, and only those who had to pay the assembly attendance dues
were counted.
When Bishop Gizurr had been bishop for twenty-five years, Úlfhe›inn
Gunnarson took up the office of lawspeaker, for Markús was then dead.
Then Bergﬂórr Hrafnsson took up the office of lawspeaker. And the firstsummer he spoke the law, a new pronouncement was made that the laws
should be written down the following winter at the home of Hafli›i Másson
with the guidance of Bergﬂórr and other wise men. And they were to
make new provisions in all cases where these seemed better to them thanthe old laws, and they were to be proclaimed the following summer andall those were to be kept which a majority of people did not oppose. Thenthe Treatment of Homicide law and many other things in the laws were
written down and read aloud the following summer in the Law Council,
and everyone was very pleased with this.
The bishop was forty when he was consecrated bishop, and when hehad been bishop for twenty-four years, Jón, son of ¯gmundr and ﬁorger›r,daughter of Egill, son of Hallr from Sí›a, was consecrated bishop. Jón
was then fifty-four. He was the first bishop at Hólar in Hjaltadalr.
C HAPTER SEVENTEEN : T HE DEATH OF B ISHOP G IZURR
Bishop Gizurr made the land so peaceful, that no great conflicts arose
between chieftains, and the carrying of weapons almost ceased.105 At
that time, most men of high rank were educated and ordained priests,
even though they were chieftains, as was Hallr Teitsson in Haukadalr andSæmundr the Learned, Magnús ﬁór›arson in Reykjaholt, Símon Jƒrundarson in Bœr, Gu›mundr Brandsson in Hjar›arholt, Ari the Learned, Ingimundr
Einarsson at Hólar, Ketill ﬁorsteinsson at Mƒ›ruvellir in the north and
Ketill Gu›mundarson, the priest Jón ﬁorvar›sson and many others, though
their names are not written down [here].106
Bishop Gizurr had ﬁorlákr, son of Runólfr ﬁorleiksson, consecrated
bishop during his lifetime. ﬁorlákr was then thirty-two years old. Bishop
Gizurr died in Skálaholt when he had been bishop for thirty-six years.
That was thirty nights after Bishop ﬁorlákr had been consecrated. It was
the third day of the week on the fifth [day] before the calends of June.107
That year Pope Paschal died, as did Kirjalax king of the Greeks108 andBaldwin king of Jerusalem and Arnulf patriarch in Jerusalem and Philip
king of the Swedes. Iceland had then been inhabited for two hundred andforty years, the first half in heathendom and the second in Christianity.
1118 years had then passed from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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The Story of the Conversion

C HAPTER EIGHTEENThe year that Bishop Gizurr died, there was a severe famine in Iceland.109
There was such a violent storm during the ‘quiet-bell’ days that people
were not able to hold the divine service in churches in some districts inthe north of the country.110 And on Good Friday, a merchant ship was
hurled ashore beneath Eyjafjƒll and turned over in the air and came down
upside down. It had twenty-seven rowing benches. On the first day ofEaster, few people were able to go to the divine service to receive communion, and some died of exposure.
There was another storm the summer after Gizurr’s death on the day
people were riding to the assembly. The church at ﬁingvƒllr, for which
King Haraldr Sigur›arson had had wood cut, was then destroyed.111 Thatsummer, thirty-five ships came out here and many were wrecked against
the coast, and some broke apart in the sea beneath people, but only eight
got away, including those that were already here, and none of them reachedland before Michaelmas. Because of the large number of people [on theships], there was a severe famine here.112
When Bishop Gizurr died, these were the greatest chieftains in Iceland:
Hafli›i Másson in the north and the sons of Ásbjƒrn Arnórsson in
Skagafjƒr›r, ﬁorgeirr Hallason and the priest Ketill ﬁorsteinsson. And in
the east, Gizurr Einarsson, Sigmundr ﬁorgilsson—he died that year on
pilgrimage to Rome. And in the south, Hallr Teitsson, Skúli Egilsson.
And in the west, Styrmir Hreinsson, Halldórr Egilsson, ﬁorgils Oddason,ﬁór›r Gilsson, ﬁór›r ﬁorvaldsson in Vatsfjƒr›r.113
One year after the death of Bishop Gizurr, ﬁorsteinn Hallvar›sson, afine man, was killed.114 And the following year there were many people
at the assembly. There had been such great loss of life that year that thepriest Sæmundr the Learned said at the assembly that no fewer people
must have died of illness than had then come to the assembly.
That summer there was a great throng at the courts. Then ﬁorgils Oddason wounded Hafli›i Másson. The case did not reach legal judgement.
ﬁorgils was outlawed for the injury, and remained in Iceland as an outlaw
over the winter.115 There was then so little carrying of weapons that there
was only one steel cap at the Althing, and almost every householder who
was then in Iceland rode to the assembly.
And in the spring three years after the death of Bishop Gizurr, Bishop
Jón at Hólar died on the ninth [day] before the calends of May.116 Thatsummer, Hafli›i Másson rode to the assembly with 1440 men, and ﬁorgils
Oddason with 840 men. They reached a settlement at the assembly with

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55

ﬁorgils giving Hafli›i sole arbitration. And he awarded sixty hundreds of
six-ell ounce-units of marketable wares to be paid in gold or refined silver
or suitable goods.117 Hafli›i himself was to value them, or those heappointed.
That summer Ketill ﬁorsteinsson of Mƒ›ruvellir was elected bishop inplace of Bishop Jón, and he went abroad that summer.118
Hafli›i Másson was first married to ﬁurí›r, daughter of ﬁór›r Sturluson.
Their son was called ﬁór›r. He married Solvƒr, daughter of Ásgrímrﬁórhallsson. Their son was called Ívarr.119 Hafli›i later married Rannveig,daughter of Teitr from Haukadalr. Their daughter was called Sigrí›r, whomﬁór›r in Vatsfjƒr›r married. Their sons were ﬁór›r and Páll. Hafli›i and
Rannveig’s second daughter was called Valger›r; the priest Ingimundr,son of Illugi and Oddn‡, daughter of ﬁorkell Gellisson, married her.120
Their son was Illugi, who drowned when he was moving lime for thestone church he had intended to build at Brei›abólsta›r in Vestrhóp.121
Earl Rƒgnvaldr kali was killed five nights after the first feast-day ofMary, and King Óláfr Tryggvason fought on the Long Serpent the day
after the second feast-day of Mary.122

NOTES TO THE STORY OF THE CONVERSION
1 The same genealogy is given in Njáls saga (ÍF XII 285), but Eilífr’s descent isslightly different in Landnámabók (ÍF I 227–8) and ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr ví›fƒrla (ÓTMI 280), where he is the son of Atli, son of Skí›i the Old, son of Bár›r in Áll (jarlin Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta). Only the Hauksbók version of Landnámabók
mentions that Ko›rán is fa›ir ﬁorvalds ví›fƒrla (see ÍF I 227, note 9).
2 According to a long and eulogistic account of ﬁorvaldr’s youth in ﬁorvalds
ﬂáttr, ﬁorvaldr travelled to Denmark, became one of Sveinn Forkbeard’s men andraided with him in the British Isles (ÓTM I 282–4). He won fame and popularity
through giving his money to the poor and releasing captives, and eventually madegood use of this by saving the king from captivity in Bretland (probably Wales).
ASC 126–9, 134–6, 143–4 also mentions that Sveinn raided in England, but thiswas much later than the raids mentioned here.
3 I.e. Saxony (which is south of Norway). On spatial orientation outside of
Norway in the sagas, see Jackson 1998–2001: 76–81.
4 For other sources on Fri›rekr, see note 77 to Íslendingabók ch. 8 above.
5 This looks back to the dating of the settlement to 874 in the Sturlubók and Hauksbók redactions of Landnámabók (ÍF I 42; see p. 16, note 14 above). Following Kristni
saga, most Icelandic annals date Fri›rekr’s arrival in Iceland to 981; Flateyjarbók
dates it to 982. At the end of ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr, the missionaries’ arrival in Icelandis dated to the year 981, one hundred and six years after the settlement (ÓTM I 300).
6 The saga’s lists of the greatest chieftains in the land should be compared withthose in the Sturlubók and Hauksbók redactions of Landnámabók (ÍF I 209–10,
286, 334–6, 394–7). If, as seems likely, they are original to the saga, they suggest
a close link with Landnámabók and confirm the strong historical interests of theauthor. Over half the chieftains here are sons or descendants of the settlers andchieftains in the lists in Landnámabók, and others are mentioned elsewhere in that
work; some are also well known from sagas of Icelanders. On Víga-Glúmr, see
Víga-Glúms saga and Reykdœla saga (ÍF IX and X). On Arnórr kerlingarnef,
grandson of Hƒf›a-ﬁór›r and great-grandfather of the lawspeaker Úlfhe›inn
Gunnarsson’s wife, see ÓTM II 180–84 and Flb I 484–8. Starri and his brothers(ﬁorkell, Hróaldr and ﬁorgeirr) are mentioned in Njáls saga (ÍF XII 300, 352) andStarri in Grettis saga (ÍF VII 227); their sister Gunnhildr was the great-grandmotherof Hafli›i Másson. Ari Másson was father of ﬁangbrandr’s companion Gu›leifr
and ancestor of Bishop Gu›mundr Arason; Landnámabók (ÍF I 162) tells on theauthority of ﬁorkell Gellisson that he was baptised in ‘the land of white men’,probably Scotland (Alba). On Ásgeirr Knattarson and his father-in-law Óláfr
Peacock, see Egils saga (ÍF II 242) and Laxdœla saga (ÍF V). On Víga-Styrr, seeHei›arvíga saga (ÍF III). Snorri’s takeover of the farm at Helgafell is mentionedin Eyrbyggja saga and Ævi Snorra go›a (ÍF IV 24–6, 186) and Gísla saga (ÍF VI
117). On ﬁorsteinn, son of Egill Skalla-Grímsson, see Egils saga (ÍF II 274–300)
and Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 114, 156–8). On Illugi the Red, whose brother Sƒlvi was
the grandfather of the priest Magnús ﬁór›arson (ch. 17), see Har›ar saga (ÍFXIII). On Valgar›r at Hof and his nephew Runólfr, whose son Svertingr was ahostage in 998, see Njáls saga (ÍF XII) and Kristni saga chs 10–12. On the sons of58

Notes to the Story of the Conversion¯rnólfr (Arnórr and Halldórr), see Njáls saga (ÍF XII 142, 291) and Droplaugarsona saga (ÍF XI 156). On the sons of ﬁór›r Freysgo›i, two of whom appear laterin this saga (Brennu-Flosi and Kolbeinn), see Njáls saga (ÍF XII 238). On HelgiÁsbjarnarson, his brother-in-law Víga-Bjarni, son of Brodd-Helgi, and BroddHelgi’s brother-in-law Geitir, see Vápnfir›inga saga, Droplaugarsona saga andFljótsdœla saga (all in ÍF XI); Geitir’s grandson was ﬁorsteinn uxafótr ‘ox’s foot’(Flb I 275–8). On ﬁorkell Moon, Gizurr the White, Hjalti Skeggjason, Sí›u-Hallr(Hallr on Sí›a), Eyjólfr Valger›arson and Eyjólfr the Grey, see notes 52, 61, 108,125 to Íslendingabók. On ﬁorvar›r Spak-Bƒ›varsson, ﬁorkell krafla, Gestr theWise, ﬁóroddr go›i, and Ásgrímr Elli›a-Grímsson, see notes 7, 13, 58, 79, 82 below.
7 ¯nundr and Hlenni are both mentioned in Landnámabók (ÍF I 270–71, 278–9).
Hlenni also appears in Ljósvetninga saga (ÍF X 54), Njáls saga (ÍF XII 271) and
Víga-Glúms saga (ÍF IX 36), where he is said to be the son of ¯rnólfr. On ﬁorvar›r
Spak-Bƒ›varsson, see ÓTM II 178–80 and Flb I 487, where his ancestry is traced
back to King Eiríkr at Uppsala and King Burizleifr of Russia (cf. ÍF I 236–7). The
compiler of ÓTM nicknames him hinn kristni ‘the Christian’ and comments: ‘Most
people say that ﬁorvar›r Spak-Bƒ›varsson was baptised by Bishop Fri›rekr, but
the monk Gunnlaugr mentions that some people think he was baptised in Englandand brought from there wood for the church he had made on his farm’. This
alternative tradition is not mentioned in ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr or elsewhere.
8 Prime-signing (Latin primum signum or prima signatio, cf. OF primseignier,
ME primseinen) was originally a rite accompanying entry into the catechumenate
and later one of the rituals accompanying baptism; it consisted in making the signof the cross (signare) on the forehead (Molland 1968). Norse sources suggest that
it was adopted prior to or even instead of baptism during the conversion period,
because it gave the recipient the right to have dealings with Christians. Egill andGísli, for example, were both prime-signed abroad (ÍF II 128–9, ÍF VI xlvi) and,in some accounts, Óláfr Tryggvason was prime-signed in Greece (Flb I 127).
According to Valla-Ljóts saga (ÍF IX 237), Eyjólfr was prime-signed in Iceland
just before his death.
9 The Norse term is árma›r, which in prose usually means ‘steward’, and perhaps
we are meant to understand that the spirit is a steward to Ko›rán’s goods. However,
the evidence of place-names (e.g. Ármannsfell) and folk-tales suggests that árma›r
could also refer to a landvættr or nature spirit living in mountains, hills and rocks(see Einar Ól. Sveinsson 2003: 161–3, and Jón Árnason 1954–61: I 201–2 onJƒrundr, Ásmundr and Ármann). These beings later developed into elves and trolls,
who typically oppose the coming of Christianity in kings’ sagas, bishops’ sagas
and later folk-tales (see, for example, Oddr Snorrason 1932: 174–9, and Gu›mundarsaga byskups in BS I 560–61, 598–9). Similar beings are mentioned in Landnámabók (ÍF I 330–31), Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 270–72) and ﬁi›randa ﬂáttr ok
ﬁorhalls (ÓTM II 150); and in a sermon in Hauksbók (1892–6: 167), women are
forbidden to offer sacrifices to nature spirits living in stones. Sacrifice to stones isalso mentioned in Landnámabók and Har›ar saga (ÍF I 273; XIII 90–91). In
ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr, the spirit is called spáma›r ‘prophet’, a term not usually applied
to non-humans, but which aids comparison with the Christian bishop, and sounderlines the opposition between paganism and Christianity (ÓTM I 285–6).

Notes to the Story of the Conversion

59

10 Compare the much longer and more didactic version of these events inﬁorvalds ﬂáttr (ÓTM I 284–8). Ko›rán’s conversion is also mentioned briefly in
Vatnsdœla saga (ÍF VIII 124).
11 This information about Ormr only occurs in Kristni saga, one of many
indications that the author was well acquainted with traditions from the west of
Iceland. Ormr is not known from elsewhere, but married into well-known families:
his first father-in-law ¯zurr was the brother of ﬁóroddr go›i (ÍF I 392–3, II
241–2 and note 85) and his son-in-law, Hermundr Illugason, was the brother ofGunnlaugr ormstunga ‘Serpent-Tongue’ (ÍF III 58–9). Ormr’s grandson, also
called Ormr, married Herdís Bollason, the granddaughter of Gu›rún fromLaxdœla saga (ÍF V 226–7). Ormr’s second father-in-law, Steinmó›r, was the
grandson of Úlfljótr (ÍF I 266; Íslendingabók ch. 2, note 24) and his son-in-law
Skúli was son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson and a well-known poet; he was bowman to
Earl Eiríkr at the Battle of Svƒl›r (ÍF II 276, 300; Oddr Snorrason 1932: 209–
10). The genealogy conflicts with that given later in the saga (ch. 12), where
Ormr’s daughter is called Gunnhildr instead of Yngvildr. In ÓTM II 194, Hermundr
Illugason is said to be married to Ormr’s sister Gunnhildr, but naming patterns in
the family line suggest that Kristni saga is more correct (see ÍF XV clxxvii).
12 Óláfr’s farm is elsewhere called Haukagil (ÍF VIII 98) and has probably been
confused here with the name of Ko›rán’s farm Giljá. Óláfr, grandfather and fosterfather of Hallfre›r vandræ›askáld ‘the troublesome poet’ appears in Vatnsdœla
saga and Hallfre›ar saga. In ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr, the feast is given in honour ofﬁorvaldr’s marriage to his daughter Vigdís, but other sources state more reliablythat she was married to ﬁorkell krafla (ÓTM I 288; II 306; Skar›sárbók 1958: 96).
13 ﬁorkell krafla (‘pawing’) was the illegitimate son of ﬁorgrímr Kárnsárgo›iand got his nickname from his exposure at birth, when he krafla›i ‘pawed,
scratched’ at the cloth laid over his face (ÍF VIII 98). He plays a central role in
Vatnsdœla saga, and also appears in Landnámabók (ÍF I 223), Hallfre›ar saga(ÍF VIII 188–90, 193) and Grettis saga (ÍF VII 35).
14 These are all typical characteristics of berserks in sagas of Icelanders, where
they are primarily seen as a social menace, rather than the formidable warriors of
the kings’ sagas (Blaney 1982). Here, as in other conversion narratives, the berserks
are representatives of paganism, and Fri›rekr must use consecrated objects toovercome them. Indeed, in ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr, the berserks are guests among theheathens rather than intruders. It is likely that this scene is modelled on ﬁangbrandr’s
defeat of a berserk in similar fashion at Gestr the Wise’s (Kristni saga ch. 9 andÍF XV 140, note 3).
15 Both berserks are called ‘Hawk’ and the place is therefore called ‘Hawks’
Gill’ after them. It seems likely that this is an example of back-formation, whereby
an event is created out of a place-name.
16 The scene with the berserks also occurs in ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr (ÓTM I 288–90)
and in Vatnsdœla saga (ÍF VIII 124–6), but Kristni saga is closest to (and probably
borrows from) the version in Vatnsdœla saga, where ﬁorkell krafla is the main
character (see Ólsen 1893: 311; Duke [Grønlie] 1998–2001: 350–53; ÍF XV clxxv).
In the saga, ﬁorkell refuses to be baptised until the legal conversion of Iceland in
the year 1000, but does admit an affinity with the new religion (en kvazk ﬂó hyggja,

60

Notes to the Story of the Conversion

at sjá mundi gó› ‘but said, however, he thought that it must be good’). ﬁorvalds
ﬂáttr includes an additional scene in which Bishop Fri›rekr, in full vestments,
strides through the fire himself unharmed. This combines elements of the ordeal
and the trial of strength, and recalls the fiery furnace scene in Daniel 3 and its
many retellings in saints’ lives.
17 ﬁórarinn fylsenni was the son of ﬁór›r gellir, and his wife Fri›ger›r was thedaughter of Hƒf›a-ﬁór›r. Her sister Herdís was married to ﬁorvaldr’s uncle, Atlithe Strong (ÍF I 241–2; V 13; VII 90–91). There are some later folk-tales about
Skeggi, according to which he remained obdurately pagan throughout his life
(Jón Árnason 1954–61: I 143–4).
18 The version of this scene in ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr locates Fri›ger›r inni ‘inside’,probably at home (ÓTM I 290). The confrontation between Christian missionary
and pagan female is a motif found elsewhere (compare ﬁangbrandr’s encounter
with Steinunn in ch. 9) and seems likely to reflect the historical role women playedin home-based cults during the pagan period (Steinsland 1985–8; Grønlie 2006).
19 This verse appears slightly differently in two manuscripts of ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr,where the third and fourth lines run: ‘We got moderate praise from the distributorof rings (generous man)’ (ÍF XV clxxi–clxxiv). Although the reading in Kristni
saga is probably more original, the other is thought-provoking in the contrast it
draws between men and women’s response to the new faith. ‘Sprinkler of blooddipped branch’ (hlauttein) is a kenning for a pagan priest, a branch (tein) being
used like an aspergillum, to sprinkle blood from the sacrificed animal (hlaut)around the temple (cf. ÍF IV 8–9). Old Norse gy›ja is the feminine form of go›i‘priest-chieftain’ and can mean either ‘priestess’ or ‘goddess’.
20 The legal obligation under paganism for householders to pay tax for the supportof the temple is mentioned in a number of sagas of Icelanders (ÍF II 293; IV 9;
XI 33; XIII 193) and in the account of Úlfljótr’s law in Hauksbók and related
texts (ÍF I 315). It seems likely, however, that this is modelled on the Christiantithes or on Church taxes raised before tithes were introduced (Olsen 1966: 43–8).
21 Klaufi is mentioned in Víga-Glúms saga (ÍF IX 35–6). His father was married
to ﬁurí›r, daughter of Hƒf›a-ﬁór›r and sister to the above Fri›ger›r.
22 ﬁorvar›r’s brother Arngeirr is mentioned in Sturl I 56, 117 as ancestor to thepowerful family of Ásbirnings. In ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr, where the story is told slightly
differently, a third brother, ﬁór›r, is also mentioned (ÓTM I 292–3).
23 Ólafur Halldórsson notes that this may be the first literary example of the folktale motif whereby a hidden power protects itself by making a church or otherbuilding appear to be on fire (ÍF XV clxxix and references there). These may berelated to the well-known story in Gregory’s Dialogues of how an idol, thrown intoa monastery kitchen, caused the illusion that it was on fire (HMS I 165–6). Whatis unusual here is that God, rather than heathen spirits, causes the illusion: ﬁorvalds
ﬂáttr explicitly makes it an example of how ‘God protected his house’ (ÓTM I 292).
24 The folk-tale motif of the arrows is told almost unchanged of Earl Eiríkr inOddr Snorrason 1932: 227 (cf. ÍF XXVI 362 and ÓTM II 274–5) and, using apples
rather than arrows, in Yngvars saga ví›fƒrla (FN III 386).
25 The date at which this church was built is also mentioned in ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr(ÓTM I 292–3) and the Icelandic annals (anno 984). Recent excavations haveNotes to the Story of the Conversion

61

shown that three churches stood on this site between the early eleventh and thelate thirteenth centuries, but there is no evidence of anything earlier (ÍF XV 10,note 1). Bótólfr was a Norwegian and came to Hólar, where he was bishop 1238–
46, from the Augustinian monastery of Helgisetr in Ni›aróss (Sturl I 445).
26 In Landnámabók (ÍF I 269–70), He›inn is given the nickname inn mildi ‘thegenerous’ and said to have built Svalbar› ‘sixteen years before the conversion’,
which suggests some confused memory of the date of ﬁorvar›r’s church. It is
likely that his role here has been influenced by that of his namesake Galdra-He›innin the accounts of ﬁangbrandr’s mission (see ch. 8 and ÍF XV clxxviii–clxxix).
27 Old Norse bera, like English ‘to bear’ can mean both ‘to carry’ and ‘to givebirth to’ and this play on words is central to the meaning of the verse. On the one
hand, it states quite innocently that the bishop has carried nine children (to baptism?)and perhaps that ﬁorvaldr was their godfather. On the other, ﬁorvaldr is accusedof fathering children on the bishop in a homosexual relationship. This appears to
be a conventional and symbolic insult, implying cowardice and effeminacy, andparallels to the wording of the verse can be found in both Eddic verse and saga
literature (Kuhn 1962: 103, 136; ÍF XII 314). The ambiguity is probably intended
as some form of protection against legal retribution, since the law allowed thevictims of such libel (ní›) to kill the perpetrator(s) with impunity (see Grágás
1980–2000: II 197–9).
28 The helpfulness of birds is a common motif in Irish saints’ lives (VSH I
cxlvi), although no exact parallel to this miracle is found there. It is perhaps morereminiscent of the sudden mists that are conjured up to prevent attacks in thesagas, and of which Njáls saga (ÍF XII 38) provides a good example.
29 Haraldr Gormsson, nicknamed ‘Bluetooth’ (died 985/8), proclaimed on hismonument at Jelling that he had ‘made the Danes Christian’. He was probably
baptised some time before 965, when Otto I recognised him as Christian ruler ofDenmark (Lund 1997: 164–5). According to Adam of Bremen ii.3–4 (2002: 55–7,71), Archbishop Adaldag of Bremen (937–88) had set up three episcopal sees inJutland in 948 at Schleswig, Ribe and Aarhus, and consecrated a number of bishops
without sees, including a certain Adalbrecht. There is no evidence that these bishops
ever made it to Denmark and no historical account of a Bishop Albert (Adalbert)of Bremen at this time; possibly Archbishop Adaldag is meant, and what lies
behind this account is a tradition that he visited Jutland when he established thesees there. In Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta, the scene is set in Bremen, not in
Jutland, perhaps because it has an alternative account of the establishment of thesesees under Archbishop Unni (ÓTM I 121; ÍF XV clxxxv–clxxxvi).
30 There was no Archbishop Hubert of Canterbury before Hubert Walter (1193–
1205).
31 According to Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 262–3), Óláfr spent three years in
Wendland immediately after his participation in the conquest of Denmark. Whatﬁangbrandr is doing there is not clear. ÓTM I 148–9 places the meeting in Saxonyin the context of Óláfr’s raids in Frisia, Saxony and Flanders.
32 In fact, the Scilly Isles are off the coast of Cornwall; the author was perhaps
misled by Oddr Snorrason, who says that they are ‘a short way from Ireland’. The
saga follows here the account of Óláfr’s baptism given in Theodoricus 1998: 10,

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Notes to the Story of the Conversion

HN 19–20, Oddr Snorrason 1932: 43–5, Fagrskinna 2004: 114 and Heimskringla(ÍF XXVI 266–7). Ágrip 1995: 28–31 sets the scene in England.
33 In ÓTM I 132–44, Otto the Young (reigned 983–1002) is credited withconquering Denmark and converting Haraldr Gormsson; Kristni saga perhaps
shares this error when it refers to Otto having sent a hostage to Denmark. Other
Icelandic sources refer either to an unspecified Otto (ÍF XXVI 255–62) or to Otto
the Red, probably Otto II, who did in fact carry out a punitive raid against Haraldr
in 974 (Jómsvíkinga saga 1969: 85–97; Oddr Snorrason 1932: 47–53; ÍF XXXV
93–4; see further Ólafur Halldórsson 2000: 72). Veraldar saga (1944: 71) follows
Adam of Bremen (ii.3; 2002: 55–6) in attributing the conquest to Otto I, but thisis not right. Óláfr is involved in this military conquest in most of the Icelandic
sources, despite the fact that he was not, according to Heimskringla, as yet baptised.
34 Hólmgar›r is the Norse name for Novgorod, where Snorri tells us that Óláfr
spent his youth (ÍF XXVI 231); it became a major trading centre for Scandinavians in Russia during the ninth century. The only saga of Óláfr in which hetravels to Norway from Russia is Oddr Snorrason’s, but Oddr does not mention
the church on Mostr until later, after Óláfr has made a trip to England to acquiremissionaries (1932: 65–6, 187). According to Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 291–3; cf.
ÓTM I 208–10, 220–21), on the other hand, Óláfr goes straight from Ireland to
Norway, and first takes land on Mostr, where he later has a church built. Either
the compiler is using another saga of Óláfr (i.e. Gunnlaugr’s) or he is conflating
the information provided by Oddr Snorrason and Snorri Sturluson. On stories
about the island Mostr, see further Ólafur Halldórsson 1990: 409–14.
35 Gói, the second month in the Icelandic winter half-year, began on the Sunday
between 8th and 14th February every year—that is, 10th February in 995 (Sveinbjƒrn Rafnsson 2001: 103–04).
36 Helgi bjóla (or bjólan; from the Irish proper name Béol(l)án ‘alive and safe’,perhaps confused with Icelandic bjóla ‘bucket?’), son of Ketill Flatnose, came to
Iceland from the Hebrides and was a Christian (ÍF I 50–51, 396). His sons are
named differently in Landnámabók and Kjalnesinga saga, but Eilífr is not
mentioned in either, unless he can be identified with the Eilífr on Helgi’s ship
who lived at Eilífsdalr (ÍF XIV 3). Although one might expect a link between
Stefnir’s Christianity and that of his great-grandfather, none is made, and ÓTM I
301 says that he was baptised in Denmark during travels abroad. Stefnir ismentioned only in Oddr Snorrason’s Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar, Kristni saga andÓláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta, and the name Stefnir does not appear to havebeen used in Iceland before the fourteenth century, except as a rendition of the
English name Stephen (ÍF XV 103, note 3). If there is a deliberate parallel withthe biblical proto-martyr Stephen, it resides in little more than the name (Sveinbjƒrn
Rafnsson 2001: 101, note).
37 This is not unusual behaviour for a medieval missionary. The destruction of
temples and idols served as proof of the power of the Christian God over heathengods, and is a common feature in saints’ lives (cf. HMS I 559–60, 571).
38 The verse uses the following two kennings: ‘ship’s hollow’ (hold) and ‘prowfalcon’ (ship). The Norse for this last is stafnvalr and there is probably a deliberate
pun on Stefnir’s name, which may mean either ‘steersman’ from the verb stefnaNotes to the Story of the Conversion

63‘to steer’ or ‘man in the bows’ from stafn ‘prow’. Æsir (sg. Áss) is a name for one
race of Norse gods, and the word bƒnd (literally ‘bonds’) relates to the gods intheir power to hold all things together, which contrasts neatly with the dissolution of
Stefnir’s ship. The authenticity of this verse has been questioned because of its
similarity to the verses composed about ﬁangbrandr’s shipwreck (see ch. 9 and ÍF XV
cxxxii), but it has also been suggested that there may have been a tradition of invective against missionaries using the motif of the failed sea-voyage (Jesch 1987: 12–13).
Interestingly, the content of the verse is undermined by the prose frame, whichstates that Stefnir’s ship was not so badly damaged after all (Grønlie 2004: 464–6).
39 The specificity of this law has to do with the structure of the kinship system
in Iceland, which stretched to collaterals at the fifth remove (Hastrup 1985: 76; cf.
Grágás 1980–2000: I 175). Brothers and first cousins were too close to prosecute
family members, but prosecution by those more distantly related than fourth cousins
would lead to wealth and property passing outside the family.
40 The sons of Ósvífr are named in Landnámabók as Óspakr, ﬁórólfr, Torrá›r,
Einarr, ﬁorkell and ﬁorbjƒrn (ÍF I 123), and in Laxdœla saga as Óspakr, Helgi,
Vandrá›r, Torrá›r and ﬁórólfr (ÍF V 85–6). Sveinbjƒrn Rafnsson (2001: 105–06)
has pointed out that Torrá›r and Vandrá›r are made-up names generally used as
substitutes for unknown names or for people in disguise. The report that Óspakr
refused to join the prosecution is often attributed to the status of Archbishop
Eysteinn of Ni›aróss (1160–88), who was his great-great-grandson (ÍF V 157;
XXVIII 120). Ósvífr was the great-grandson of Helgi bjóla’s brother Bjƒrn the
Easterner, and was therefore Stefnir’s third cousin.
41 This must be a reference to the part played by the sons of Ósvífr in the deathof Kjartan Óláfsson. They were all, with the possible exception of Óspakr, outlawedfor his killing (ÍF V 156, 158).
42 This account of how ﬁangbrandr came to be sent to Iceland is also found in
Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 319) and ÓTM II 65–6. It draws upon a common motif
in short stories about Óláfr Tryggvason and Óláfr Haraldsson, wherein those who
fall into the king’s disfavour are assigned evangelising missions in order to regainit (cf. Flb I 421–2, II 231).
43 28th September at 3 pm.
44 This replaces a long speech in ÓTM II 152–3. Runic inscriptions suggest that
St Michael was a popular saint in Scandinavia during the conversion period, andthere is an early reference to him in an eleventh-century skaldic verse by the
Icelandic poet Arnórr jarlaskáld (Edwards 1982–5: 40–41; Whaley 1998: 312). St
Michael was believed to aid the individual Christian against the devil and to escort
souls to God after death. Njáls saga (ÍF XII 257) describes him as weighing up
good and evil deeds and he is often depicted with scales in church art. There are
twelfth-century sermons on St Michael in the Icelandic and Norwegian Homily
Books and a fourteenth-century life by Bergr Sokkason (Homiliu-bók 1872: 88–92;
Gamal Norsk Homiliebok 1931: 136–43; HMS I 676–713).
45 The impression made by the rituals of Christian worship is emphasised in a
number of related narratives, including Ko›rán’s conversion in ﬁorvalds ﬂáttr(ÓTM I 284) and Kjartan’s conversion in Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 329–30).
46 Easter and Pentecost were the canonical seasons for baptism until the twelfth

64Notes to the Story of the Conversion

century and beyond, but it was performed out of season from an early date inemergencies and during missions to the pagans (Cramer 1993: 137–8).
47 Ketill the Foolish was the grandson of Ketill Flatnose and came to Icelandfrom the Hebrides, where his family had been baptised. This genealogy is missing
a link: according to Landnámabók and Laxdœla saga, Surtr was the son ofﬁorsteinn, son of Ásbjƒrn (ÍF I 234–5; V 3), while in Njáls saga (ÍF XII 259)and ÓTM II 156, Surtr is the son of Ásbjƒrn, son of ﬁorsteinn. Landnámabók
states that papar had previously dwelt at Kirkjubœr and that ‘heathens could notlive there’ (ÍF I 324–5).
48 Njáls saga (ÍF XII 259–60) gives a longer and more dramatic account of thisevent, ending with the killing of Galdra-He›inn at the hands of Gu›leifr. It bears
a striking resemblance to the many Irish tales in which criminals are swallowed
alive by the earth (VSH I clxviii). Sigur›ur Nordal (1928), however, has shownthat it is possible for a horse to sink into the ground in precisely this area (and only
this area), since volcanic eruptions from Katla cause the formation of glacial cavities
covered over by sand (jƒkulhvörf ), which can give way when ridden over.
49 ﬁorvaldr is also mentioned in Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 320), Njáls saga (ÍFXII 261–4) and ÓTM II 157–8. According to Háttatal in Snorri Sturluson 1999:
18, he invented the poetic metre skjálfhenda ‘shivering’ when he was shipwreckedon a skerry. This may explain his nickname (veill ‘ailing, wretched’) and perhaps
there is a link between the name of the verse-form and the occurrence of theadjective úskelfr ‘unshakable’ in his only surviving verse.
50 Úlfr Uggason is a well-known poet, also mentioned in Landnámabók(ÍF I 111), Njáls saga (ÍF XII 152, 263) and ÓTM II 158. Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 80)
says that he composed a poem (Húsdrápa) about the depictions on the wall ofÓláfr Hƒskuldsson’s hall. The 12 stanzas or parts of stanzas that survive of thisare found only in Skáldskaparmál (see Snorri Sturluson 1998: 157, note to verse 8).
51 This verse also appears in Njáls saga (ÍF XII 262) and ÓTM II 158, where
there are some variant readings that affect its interpretation. The kennings inthis version are the following: ‘wielder of steel’ (warrior), ‘spear-storm’s
strengthener’ (warrior: the spear-storm is battle), ‘wolf of God’ (God’s messenger).
For this last kenning, Njáls saga has the better reading go›vargr ‘god-wolf’,
which can be interpreted as ‘enemy’ or ‘outcast’ of the gods; the word vargr has
connotations of savagery, criminality and outlawry. The word argr, translated
here as ‘spineless’, implies sexual deviancy and effeminacy; like the insult toFri›rekr, it was an extremely offensive term and its use carried heavy legal
penalties (Grágás 1980–2000: II 198, 354, where it is translated ‘womanish’).
The meaning of the verse as a whole is far from clear: some have argued from thevariant readings that ﬁorvaldr is urging Úlfr to push ﬁangbrandr off a cliff, perhaps
as a sacrifice to the gods; others that he is to drive him from the land, either byoutright violence or through verbal abuse (see Grønlie 2004: 467–8).
52 This verse, unlike the first, is found in a very similar form in Njáls saga (ÍFXII 263) and ÓTM II 158. The kennings are as follows: ‘the cormorant to cave ofteeth flown’ (fly, bait: the teeth’s cave is the mouth), ‘a well-tried swimmer in Hárbar›r’s sanctuary’s fjord’ (poet: Hárbar›r is a name for Ó›inn and his sanctuary’s
fjord is the mead of poetry), ‘heeder of sail-yard’s horse’ (sailor: the sail-yard’s

Notes to the Story of the Conversion

65

horse is a ship). The consistency of maritime imagery throughout this verse (fishing,swimming, sailing) is striking.
53 The killing of Vetrli›i is also mentioned in Landnámabók (ÍF I 348), Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 320), Njáls saga (ÍF XII 260–61) and ÓTM II 157. ﬁór›arbók(in Skar›sárbók 1958: 164) adds the following information: ‘Vetrli›i libelledﬁorbrandr; because of that ﬁorbrandr killed him at the turf-cutting; he defended
himself with a turf-cutter from Gu›leifr Arason of Reykjanes. ﬁorbrandr stabbed
him with a spear. Ljó›arkeptr composed a praise-poem about Gu›leifr.’ Ljó›arkeptr
appears to be the same person as Ó›ar- or Óttarr keptr, mentioned in Skáldatal
among the poets of Knútr the Great (Edda Snorra Sturlusonar 1848–87, III 258,
267, 283). It seems likely that the stanza about Vetrli›i’s death, and perhaps otherinformation about the missionaries’ killings, comes from his poem (Sveinbjƒrn
Rafnsson 1977: 26–8). The only surviving fragment of Vetrli›i’s work, probably
from a poem addressing ﬁórr, is preserved in Snorri Sturluson 1998: 17.
54 This verse is also found in Njáls saga (ÍF XII 260–61) and ÓTM II 157. The
kennings in the Kristni saga text are as follows: ‘shields’ tester’ (warrior), ‘battle
tools’ (weapons), ‘poetry’s smithy’ (breast), ‘Baldr of rust-hater’s bed’ (warrior: therust-hater or enemy is armour, and armour’s bed is the sword), ‘sword-tester (ofblood)’ (warrior, killer), ‘murderous hammer’ (probably axe), ‘anvil of battle-hat’s
place’ (nape of the neck: battle-hat’s place is the head). It seems likely that theaggressors in this verse (tester of shields and sword-tester) are ﬁangbrandr andGu›leifr, both of whom took part in the killing, while the ‘smithy (of the vessel)of poetry’ refers to Vetrli›i’s breast, source of his libellous poetry. The parallel between
poetry, violence and ironwork runs throughout the verse (see Grønlie 2004: 469–70).
55 This story is told only in Kristni saga and is probably derived from oral
tradition, as the link with place-names and landscape suggests (Ólsen 1893: 322–4;
Sveinbjƒrn Rafnsson 1977: 26; ÍF XV cc). It once again shows the author’s
familiarity with Borgarfjƒr›r and the west of Iceland. Neither Kolr nor Skeggbjƒrn
are known from elsewhere, but similar conflicts arising from refusal to sell foodoccur in both Hœnsa-ﬁóris saga and Njáls saga (ÍF III 13–16; XII 121–2).
56 Steinunn is mentioned in Landnámabók (ÍF I 100–01) and her son Skáld(Poet-) or Hofgar›a-Refr is also mentioned in Eyrbyggja saga (ÍF IV 30, 114) andHeimskringla (ÍF XXVII 358, 382). His poetry is frequently quoted in Skáldskaparmál (see Snorri Sturluson 1998: 155, note to verse 4). Steinunn was both descended
from and married into a powerful family of priest-chieftains (go›ar); her son’s
by-name Hofgar›a- means ‘of temple-courts’. Her two surviving verses are alsopreserved in ÓTM II 159 and Njáls saga (ÍF XII 265–7), where her encounter
with ﬁangbrandr is expanded into an antagonistic exchange ending with the sametwo verses (in reverse order).
57 The kennings are as follows: ‘ﬁvinnill’s animal’ (ship: ﬁvinnill is the nameof a sea-king), ‘prow’s horse’ (ship), ‘ski of Atall’s land’ (ship: Atall is a sea-kingand his land is the sea), ‘bell’s keeper’ (priest, ﬁangbrandr), ‘beach’s falcon’ (ship),‘slayer of giantess-son’ (ﬁórr), ‘ox of seagull’s place (ship: the sea-gull’s place isthe sea), ‘wave-raven’ (ship), ‘Gylfi’s reindeer’ (ship: Gylfi is a sea-king). These
verses have been generally admired for their metrical perfection, elegant kennings
and mocking inversion of the motif of the successful sea-voyage in skaldic praise-

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Notes to the Story of the Conversion

poetry. They are discussed in Ohlmarks 1958: 306–08, Gu›rún Helgadóttir
1961: 119–22, Jesch 1987: 10–12, Straubhaar 2002: 267–9 and Grønlie 2006.
58 This event is also described in ÓTM II 160 and Njáls saga (ÍF XII 267–9). It
differs slightly in Njáls saga, where three fires are built, one consecrated byheathens, one by ﬁangbrandr and the third left unconsecrated. In a typical ‘trial ofstrength’, Gestr and his men agree to be converted if the berserk is afraid of thefire consecrated by ﬁangbrandr, which proves to be the case. ﬁangbrandr thenstrikes the berserk’s arm with a crucifix—using the sign of the cross literally—
before he and Gu›leifr kill him. Gestr is well known in the sagas for his wisdom
and prophetic skills: according to Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 196), he asks to be buried
at Helgafell ‘because that place will be the greatest in this district’: a monastery
was later built there.
59 ‘Iron basket’. In Njáls saga (ÍF XII 265, 269), ﬁangbrandr’s ship is called
Vísundr (Ox), presumably because of the kenning in Steinunn’s verses (ox of thegull’s place), but the heathens name it ‘Iron basket’ after it has been repaired.
60 Runólfr’s role in Hjalti’s outlawry is also mentioned in Landnámabók(ÍF I 368), Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 125–6), and ÓTM II 162–3. It is not mentioned in
Njáls saga, where Runólfr has a more extensive, and more sympathetic, role (ÍFXII 133, 135, 288–9, 308).
61 ﬁorkell was one of the brothers of the chieftain Starri, mentioned in ch. 1. His
son ﬁorbjƒrn is named only here and in ÓTM II 162.
62 This comment alliterates in Icelandic (ﬁér liggr hálmsvisk ﬂar er hjartat
skyldi) and Vigfússon and Powell (1905: I 375) have suggested it belongs alongside Hjalti’s other poetic utterances; see pp. 8, 24 (note 69), 44, 50 and 69 (note 87).
63 The conversion of Hálogaland is described in Oddr Snorrason 1932: 140–43,
Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 324–8) and ÓTM II 127–34.
64 There are conflicting accounts of these Icelanders in Norway. The A-text of
Oddr Snorrason 1932: 122 says that there were three ships, one owned by ﬁórarinn
Nefjólfsson and Kjartan Óláfsson, one by Hallfre›r and one by Brandr Vermundarson and ﬁorleifr Brandsson. The S-text, however, gives the owners of the ships as
Kjartan and Bolli, Hallfre›r and ﬁórarinn and the brothers Brandr and ﬁorkell Styrsson.
In Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 116), Kjartan arrives on a ship together with Bolli andKálfr Ásgeirsson, and they join three other ships owned by Brandr Vermundarson,
Hallfre›r and the brothers Bjarni and ﬁórhallr Skeggjason. In Heimskringla (ÍFXXVI 328–9), the men Óláfr later takes hostage are mentioned first (Kjartan,
Halldórr Gu›mundarson, Kolbeinn ﬁór›arson and Svertingr Runólfsson), andﬁórarinn, Hallfre›r, Brandr and ﬁorleikr Brandsson are also said to be ship-owners.
ÓTM II 161 mentions only the hostages and ﬁórarinn Nefjólfsson (Kjartan andHallfre›r are treated separately). Kristni saga probably follows Heimskringla in including the hostages in its list of Icelanders, but has in common with Laxdœla saga
the ship owned by Kjartan, Bolli and Kálfr (cf. Duke [Grønlie] 1998–2001: 353–8).
65 Oddr Snorrason 1932: 122–3 says that the men tried three times to leave but‘they never got a good wind’; Snorri (ÍF XXVI 329) mentions one attempt ‘but
the wind was against them’. In Laxdœla saga, the king has forbidden all
unconverted Icelanders to leave Norway (ÍF V 116). Typically, ÓTM II 161
incorporates both the weather motif and the king’s ban.

Notes to the Story of the Conversion

67

66 The swimming contest and accompanying dialogue occur in many different
sources, including Oddr Snorrason 1932: 122–4, Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 116–18),
the text of Heimskringla in Fríssbók (1871: 148–9), where it appears to have beeninterpolated from a manuscript of Oddr Snorrason’s saga, and ÓTM I 359–61. In
the earliest version of the scene (the A-text of Oddr Snorrason’s saga), the dialogue
is between Hallfre›r and Kjartan, and it is Hallfre›r who, with a premonition of
his later troublesome relationship with Óláfr, refuses to compete. In Laxdœla saga,
Bolli replaces Hallfre›r, but he and Kjartan have opposite roles to the ones here
(perhaps the author was relying on his memory of the scene in the saga). In Óláfs
saga Tryggvasonar in mesta, the different versions are conflated: a dialogue
between Kjartan and Hallfre›r (from Oddr Snorrason) is followed by an exchange
between Kjartan and Bolli (from Laxdœla saga). It seems likely that the swimmingcompetition carries a symbolic value: Kjartan’s immersion at the hands of Óláfr
and the gift of a cloak foreshadow his later baptism and clothing in white robes(Weber 1987: 125–6; ÍF XV cl–cliv).
67 This is closest to the account of Kjartan’s baptism in Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI
329–30), which also takes place at Michaelmas and is preceded by bargaining:
Kjartan asks for the king’s friendship. In Oddr Snorrason 1932: 124–5 and Laxdœla
saga (ÍF V 121–3), the conversion takes place at Christmas and in Laxdœla saga,
Kjartan seeks out King Óláfr himself. A white robe (Latin alb) was traditionallyworn for a week after baptism to symbolise ‘the joy of regeneration and purity oflife and the beauty of angelic splendour’ (Fisher 1965: 60; quoted from Alcuin,
epistle 134).
68 Again, this is close to Hjalti and Gizurr’s speech in Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI332): ‘You will not, king, go against your words, because you declared that noone shall have done so much to anger you that you will not forgive those whowish to have themselves baptised and to abandon heathenism.’
69 This would make Óláfr and Gizurr second cousins. In Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI328), Bƒ›varr’s brother is named Sigur›r and his son is Eiríkr, but this Sigur›r is
not mentioned elsewhere.
70 Each of these hostages comes from a different quarter of Iceland: Kjartan
from the west, Halldórr from the north, Kolbeinn from the east and Svertingr
from the south. They appear for the first time in Oddr Snorrason 1932: 127, whereÓláfr’s involvement in the conversion is emphasised; the A-text says that there
are four, but names only two, while the S-text gives all four names. They are alsomentioned in Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 126), Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 347) and ÓTM
II 165. The attempt to involve all four quarters of Iceland in the conversion begins
with the genealogies in Ari’s Íslendingabók and is notable in this incident and in
the sacrifice planned by Gizurr and Hjalti in ch. 12 below.
71 In ÓTM II 165–6, Hjalti speaks up on behalf of the hostages, asking Óláfr totreat them well. It seems likely that such a speech has been dropped from Kristni
saga, leaving only this one reference to it.
72 Cf. Romans 12: 17, 21; 1 Peter 3: 9.
73 Hallfre›r’s baptism is also mentioned in Oddr Snorrason 1932: 125–6,
Laxdœla saga (ÍF V 123) and Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 330–32). There is anextended account in Hallfre›ar saga (ÍF VIII 151–5), which shares some features

68

Notes to the Story of the Conversion

with that of Kjartan’s baptism (Lindow 1997a). There are many references inthe sagas to the giving of ‘naming gifts’ along with a nickname (ÍF VI 171–2;
IX 157; Flb I 234, 289, 464), and this presumably derives from the custom ofgiving children gifts at their naming or, in Christian times, baptism.
74 This was a great honour, as descriptions of Norse drinking customs in othersagas suggest (cf. ÍF II 122; Msk 280).
75 Leifr’s mission to Greenland, his rescue of people from a shipwreck anddiscovery of Vínland are also described in Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 347–8), Eiríks
saga rau›a (ÍF IV 211–12) and AÍ I 12. Greenland, however, is not mentioned
among the countries converted by Óláfr Tryggvason in the oldest sources, and it
has been suggested that it is more likely to have been converted by St Óláfr c.1015(Ólafur Halldórsson 1978: 381–9; 1981). Leifr’s role is probably a fiction, perhaps
to be attributed to Gunnlaugr Leifsson.
76 Hƒrgr is a heathen place of worship, probably ‘a pile of stones set up in the
open as an altar’ (Turville-Petre 1964: 239); eyrr is a spit of sand or gravel juttingout into the sea.
77 This is reminiscent of the church Óláfr has built on Mostr, and the building ofchurches on the ruins of pagan temples is not uncommon in hagiography (e.g.
HMS I 560). A document from 1269 mentions a church named Klemenskirkja‘Clement’s church’ on Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar (DI II 66), and the (nowobsolete) place-name Klemenseyri probably once indicated its location (ﬁorkell
Jóhannesson 1938: 57). Hofmann (1994) has argued that this church was the one
erected by Gizurr and Hjalti and that it was modelled on Óláfr Tryggvason’s‘Clement’s church’ in Ni›aróss.
78 Skeggi and his son ﬁorvaldr are mentioned in Landnámabók (ÍF 1: 367–8),
as is their aid to Hjalti and his companions. ﬁorvaldr’s daughter, ﬁorlaug, wasmarried to Egill Sí›u-Hallsson, and their daughter was ﬁorger›r, mother of Bishop
Jón ¯gmundarson.
79 Ásgrímr Elli›a-Grímsson’s genealogy is given in Landnámabók (ÍF I 264, 267)
and he is mentioned in a number of sagas, most notably Njáls saga (ÍF XII 72–3).
80 These crosses are also mentioned in Oddr Snorrason 1932: 128. Whether
they mark the physical height of the two men or their spiritual stature is not clear;see the different opinions expressed by Groth 1895: xxxv and Finnur Jónsson(Oddr Snorrason 1932: xxxi). The term hæ› ‘height’ is used symbolically for
Latin maiestas in various homilies and saints’ lives (Leifar 1878: 62; Homiliubók 1872: 14, 90; Thomas saga 1869: 458), but there are other examples where it isclearly literal (AÍ I 25; ÍF XXVIII 230).
81 This contradicts what is said in ÓTM II 190 about the ‘great noise and uproar’following Gizurr and Hjalti’s announcement; but there is a similar scene in
Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 305–06), where three opponents of Óláfr Tryggvason
rise to oppose him at an assembly, but find themselves unable to speak a word.
82 ﬁóroddr was father of Skapti the Lawspeaker and father-in-law of Gizurr
the White (ÍF I 392–3), and this anecdote implies that he had been converted toChristianity. Theodoricus (1998: 16) lists ‘ﬁorgils of ¯lfus’ as one of the first converts.
This may mean ﬁóroddr’s son-in-law, ﬁorgils Ørrabeinsstjúpr (Jón HnefillA›alsteinsson 1999: 64–5; Lange 1989: 137–8), or it may be a mistake for ﬁóroddr

Notes to the Story of the Conversion

69

himself or represent a conflation of ﬁorgils and ﬁóroddr (Jón Jóhannesson 1974:
129; Perkins 1985: 793–5). Flóamanna saga mentions that ﬁorgils ‘was among
the first to accept the faith’, but it is probable that the saga is using Theodoricus
as a source (ÍF XIII 274, cxlix–cl). Cf. Theodoricus 1998, 70 (note 93).
83 Cf. Romans 12: 1; Hebrews 13: 15–16. This passage has been used to support
the theory that the death penalty was originally sacral in character; it can beconnected with the reading of ﬁorvaldr veili’s verse whereby Úlfr is urged to pushﬁangbrandr off a cliff (see note 51 above and Ólafur Lárusson 1928). There areother references in Norse literature to throwing people off cliffs (Skar›sárbók
1958: 189; Gautreks saga in FN III 6–7), as well as to human sacrifice at legal
assemblies (ÍF I 126; IV 18), and there is some evidence that the elderly anddependents could be sacrificed during famines (ÍF X 169–70; ÓTM II 178, 180).
The practice, however, does not seem to have been widespread and noarchaeological evidence has as yet been found in Iceland (Briem 1945: 167–72;
Turville-Petre 1964: 252–5; Jón Hnefill A›alsteinsson 1999: 184–98).
84 The full story is told in Vápnfir›inga saga (ÍF XI 33–5), where ﬁorleifr ismore specifically said to be prosecuted um hoftoll (for not paying the temple-tax)
rather than for being a Christian. ﬁórarinn from Sey›arfjƒr›r is also mentioned inLandnámabók (ÍF I 298) and Droplaugarsonar saga (ÍF XI 158).
85 On Gunnhildr, see note 11 to ch. 2 above.
86 These two kings are not named in other versions of ﬁorgeirr’s speech, andattempts to identify them have not been successful; they are most likely invented
types.
87 In Icelandic, this forms two lines of alliterative verse: Gƒmlum kennu vér nú
go›anum | at geifla á saltinu (Vigfússon and Powell 1905: I 375). It refers to thesalt traditionally placed on the tongue of the catechumen during initiation rites asa symbol of divine wisdom (Fisher 1965: 7, 83, 160).
88 Eyrbyggja saga says that ‘Snorri go›i pleaded most with the people of theWestern Fjords that Christianity should be accepted’ (ÍF IV 136).
89 10th September. Ari says that Óláfr ‘fell the same summer’ (see Íslendingabók
ch. 7 and note 76 above). Rumours that he survived the battle of Svƒl›r seem tohave circulated early (they are recorded by Hallfre›r in his Erfidrápa and Rekstefja)
and are mentioned in HN 23, Theodoricus (1998: 18), Ágrip (1995: 32–5) and,with citation of Hallfre›r’s stanzas, in Snorri’s Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 367–70).
For later traditions that Óláfr ended his life as a monk in Syria or Greece, see
Oddr Snorrason 1932: 240–47 and ÓTM II 318–21, 340–49.
90 ÓTM I 301 places ﬁorvaldr and Stefnir’s travels together between their
missions, and mentions separately (I 300) that ﬁorvaldr travelled to Jerusalem,
Greece, Constantinople and the East, where he founded a monastery on a mountaincalled Drƒfn. Flb I 300–302 dramatically abridges his journeys, but includes ameeting between ﬁorvaldr and Óláfr Tryggvason that supposedly took place whenÓláfr accompanied Otto III on a mission to the East. If there is any historicalreality behind all this, then ﬁorvaldr was perhaps among the clerics who arrived in
Russia after the marriage of Princess Anna, sister of Basil II and Constantine
VIII, to Vladimir of Kiev in 989. Vladimir’s conversion was one of the conditions
for this marriage (Ellis Davidson 1976: 254–5; Blöndal 1978: 197–9).

70Notes to the Story of the Conversion

91 The first element of Kœnugar›r, the Norse name for Kiev, is probably a
corruption of the Old Russian name for the inhabitants of the area, Kijane (Blöndal
1978: 3; Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon 1989:536; in Kjan-gorod, the Old Russianname of the town, gorod = ON gar›r). Together with Jerusalem and Constantinople, it became an important site of pilgrimage for Scandinavians during the
Middle Ages (Franklin and Shepherd 1996: 303–13).
92 Polotsk, in modern-day Belorus. It lay on an important trading route along
the Western Dvina, and was the seat of a Scandinavian magnate by the 970s; by
the mid-eleventh century it was the seat of a bishop and possessed a cathedral of
St Sophia (Franklin and Shepherd 1996: 152, 250–51).
93 Neither Brandr nor his verse is known from elsewhere, though ‘far-traveller’
is a common by-name of travellers in the East (cf. ﬁorvaldr, Yngvarr, ¯rvarOddr). Vigfússon and Powell (1905: I 372) connect him with the prior Brandr inLandnámabók (ÍF I 137) who compiled a genealogy of the people of Borgarfjƒr›r, but this is based on the mistaken description of ﬁorvaldr as ‘a sainted Borgfrith man’. The place-name Drafn has not been identified.
94 According to ÓTM II 305, Stefnir made his way to Denmark after a pilgrimage
to Rome.
95 This verse also occurs in Oddr Snorrason 1932: 194–5, with a parallel translation
into Latin, and in ÓTM II 305. The A-text of Oddr Snorrason’s saga does not
attribute it to Stefnir, and Bætke (1970) has suggested that the Latin version may
in fact be Oddr Snorrason’s own composition, only later ‘translated’ into Icelandic.
This is contested by Andersson in his translation (2003: 20–21). A nithing (fromON ní›ingr) is a coward or villain; in ON it could also be used of an apostate,
which is how Oddr Snorrason translates it into Latin. Andersson (2003: 22–4)
suggests that the ‘hooked’ nose is a veiled reference to the archetypal traitor, Judas
Iscariot.
96 Sigvaldi was Earl of Jómsborg in Wendland and his treacherous acts towards
Sveinn Forkbeard and Óláfr Tryggvason are told in Jómsvíkinga saga (1969:
154–9)—which also mentions his ugly nose (132), Oddr Snorrason 1932: 109–12,
193–4, Heimskringla (ÍF XXVI 272–3, 350–53) and ÓTM I 175–7, II 248–58.
The same account of Stefnir’s death occurs in ÓTM II 305, but according to Oddr
Snorrason 1932: 195 (S-text), he was killed after composing an insulting verse
about Sigvaldi’s daughter. Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in mesta seems to register anawareness of this when it insists upon the exclusivity of its own version: ‘This
alone was the cause of Stefnir’s death.’
97 Ari ﬁorgilsson ‘the Learned’. It is not clear whether this refers to what comes
before it (the death of Stefnir) or to what comes after (the lives of Ísleifr andGizurr), the main source for which is chs 9 and 10 of Ari’s Íslendingabók. Stefnir’s
death is not otherwise mentioned in Ari’s writings, but might conceivably havebeen part of his konunga ævi (see Ellehøj 1965: 50–51).
98 Landnámabók and Flóamanna saga (ÍF I 378; XIII 267, 318) confirm that
Gizurr and his father Teitr lived at Hƒf›i. According to Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI 5 andnote 3), however, Teitr was the first to build a farm at Skálaholt, though Gizurr
later had the first church built there. In fact, archaeological research has shownthat Skálaholt was settled before the time of either man.

Notes to the Story of the Conversion

71

99 Ísleifr’s schooling at Herfur›a (Herford in Westphalia) is mentioned in
Hungrvaka and Jóns saga helga (ÍF XV 176–7, XVI 6), which also says that his
son Gizurr was sent to school there. The convent at Herford was probably founded
c.789 and later ceded to Ludwig the Pious. It had close links to Corvey (foundedin 822), from where Ansgar was sent to Denmark and Sweden, and was animportant centre for mission and education. The abbess during Ísleifr’s time wasGodesti (1002–40), daughter of Bernhard I of Saxony (973–1011) and sister ofBernhard II (1011–59), whose son Ordulf (1059–72) was married to the daughterof St Óláfr (Adam of Bremen ii.79; 2002: 108; ÍF XXVII 447). The link betweenÍsleifr and Herford can also be documented from other sources: the appendix toSkar›sárbók (1958: 189) mentions that Ísleifr instituted a fast observed in Herford,
and two Icelandic calendars, one from Skálaholt, record the feast day of St Pusinna,
Herford’s patron saint (Gjerløw 1980).
100 The Icelandic marglátr usually means ‘changeable, inconstant, loose’, but
may also carry the meaning ‘enterprising’ (i.e. one who takes up many tasks), andthis seems likely here in view of Teitr’s studies and status as Ari’s foster-father(Kahle 1905: 45).
101 5th July 1080.
102 According to Hungrvaka and Jóns saga helga (ÍF XV 192; XVI 15–16),
Gizurr went to see Gregory VII in Rome before his consecration, because theArchbishop of Hamburg–Bremen, Liemar, had been excommunicated by the pope.
He was eventually consecrated by Archbishop Hartwig of Magdeburg. Jóns saga
adds that Gizurr spent the following year in Denmark and Gautland, but this isprobably a misunderstanding of ch. 10 of Íslendingabók, according to which Gizurr
spent the year before his consecration in Gautland and the year after in Denmark.
103 On Markús Skeggjason, see note 93 to ch. 10 of Íslendingabók above, andcompare Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI 17): ‘He was a very wise man and a very great poet.’
104 Compare Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI 16): ‘Everyone wished to sit or stand as hecommanded, young and old, rich and poor, women and men, and it was right tosay that he was both king and bishop over the land while he lived.’ This echoes
Haraldr Sigur›arson’s famous comment on Gizurr: ‘He could be a viking chieftain,
and has the makings for it. Given his temperament, he could be a king, and thatwould be fitting. The third possibility is a bishop, and that is probably what hewill become, and he will be a most outstanding man’ (Msk 255).
105 On the idea of a ‘Golden Age’ during the reign of Gizurr, see Orri Vésteinsson
2000: 63–7.
106 A large number of chieftains were ordained priests in the early and midtwelfth century, but the practice was condemned by Archbishop Eiríkr Ívarssonof Ni›aróss in 1190 (DI I: 290–91). This list moves clockwise from south to north.
Magnús ﬁór›arson was the great-grandfather of Gu›n‡, mother of the Sturlungs,
and his daughter Oddn‡ was the step-mother of Bishop Magnús Einarsson at
Skálaholt (ÍF I 78–9, XVI 28). Gu›mundr Brandsson (d. 1151) was descended
from ﬁór›r Víkingsson, who was rumoured to be a son of Haraldr the FineHaired. He was a close relative and friend of ﬁorgils Oddason, as well as second
cousin to Ari the Learned (ÍF I 180, 183; Sturl I 13, 36; ÍF XVI 33). Ingimundr
Einarsson (d. 1169/70), a descendant of Ari Másson from ch. 1, was a cousin of

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Notes to the Story of the Conversion

ﬁorgils Oddason and a well-known poet and story-teller; some of his verses arepreserved in ﬁorgils saga ok Hafli›a (BS I 418; Sturl I 13–4, 23–7). On Hallr
Teitsson, Sæmundr the Learned and Ketill ﬁorsteinsson, see notes 1, 2 and 84 toÍslendingabók. Hallr, Ingimundr, Ketill Gu›mundsson (d. 1158) and Jón
ﬁorvar›sson (d. 1150) all appear in a list of priests from 1143 sometimes attributed
to Ari and compiled for bishops Ketill ﬁorsteinsson and Magnús Einarsson; thisalso includes the sons of Sæmundr (Eyjólfr and Loptr), Ari’s son ﬁorgils and
Ketill’s son Rúnólfr (DI I 185–6).
107 28th May 1118.
108 Kirjalax is the Norse name for Alexius, on whom see ch. 10 of Íslendingabók
and note 104.
109 The whole of this chapter can also be found in the appendix to Skar›sárbók
(1958: 193–5), where it is somewhat fuller and seems to be copied from a source
other than Hauksbók (Jón Jóhannesson 1941: 16–19; Skar›sárbók 1958: xxxix–xl,
ÍF XV cxxxvi–vii).
110 Dymbildagar is the Icelandic name for the three days before Easter (Maundy
Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday). Dymbil may be derived from theadjective dumbr ‘dumb, silent’, although it is perhaps more likely related to demba
and dumpa from Gmc *demb- ‘to strike, fall with a thump’; it refers to having awooden tongue in a bell, because bells were rung in Holy Week with a wooden
tongue rather than a metal one (cf. Danish dimmeluge, Swedish dymmelvecka).
This custom of damping or silencing the sound of church bells from Maundy
Thursday until the Mass of the Easter Vigil dates from at least the eighth century,
cf. Old English swigdagas, French semaine muette, German die stille Woche(Hardison 1965: 126, 161).
111 According to Heimskringla (ÍF XXVII 214), St Óláfr sent the wood for the
church at ﬁingvellir, but Msk 204 and Flb IV 120 both say that Haraldr sent a bell.
112 The catastrophes of 1118 are also related in Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI 20–21)
and mentioned briefly in some Icelandic annals. Hungrvaka adds: ‘It seemed to thewisest men that Iceland drooped after the fall of Bishop Gizurr in the same way as
the Roman Empire after the fall of Pope Gregory.’ The pope referred to is Gregory
I and the state of Rome after his death is described in John the Deacon’s Gregoriivita, translated into Icelandic c.1200 (HMS I 395–6; see also the reference in ÍF
XVII 134). Páls saga biskups (ÍF XVI 328) gives Ari as the source of the remarksin Hungrvaka and, if this is right, it might explain the reference to Gregory in ch.
10 of Íslendingabók (Louis-Jensen 1976).
113 The sons of Ásbjƒrn, grandson of Arngeirr Spak-Bƒ›varsson in ch. 3, wereArnórr, ﬁorsteinn and Bƒ›varr (Sturl I 53). ﬁorgeirr Hallason (d. 1169), a chieftain
in Eyjafjƒr›r, was married to Ingimundr Einarsson’s sister and their son Ari wasfather of Bishop Gu›mundr at Hólar (ÍF I 266; Sturl I 35, 66, 116–17, 124).
Gizurr Einarsson is not known from elsewhere, though he may be the Gizurr
mentioned in ÍF I 182, 295. Sigmundr ﬁorgilsson was ancestor of the Svínfellingdynasty and married to Markús Skeggjason’s sister (Sturl I 53). Skúli Egilssonand Halldórr Egilsson were second cousins and descendants of Egill SkallaGrímsson (ÍF I 95–7; XIV 247; Sturl I 74). Styrmir Hreinsson was grandson of
Hermundr Illugason in ch. 2 and his cousin’s daughter was married to ﬁorgils

Notes to the Story of the Conversion

73

Oddason (Sturl I 40, 49). On ﬁorgils himself, see Melabók (ÍF I 153, 162), Msk
369–70, Sturl I 12–56 and later in this chapter. He was a grandson of Ari Másson
(whose sister Valger›r was Ari’s grandmother) and a friend of Sæmundr the
Learned, who fostered his son Oddi. ﬁorgils’s social standing is highlighted by
the story that the reputed son of the Norwegian king Magnús Bareleg, Sigur›rslembidjákn, spent a year with him in Iceland. He died at the monastery ofﬁingeyrar in 1151. ﬁór›r Gilsson was a descendant of Víga-Sturla and Snorrigo›i, and grandfather of Snorri Sturluson (ÍF I 166; Sturl I 52, 64). On ﬁór›r
ﬁorvaldsson, descendant of Snorri go›i and great-grandson of Ásgeirr Knattarson
in ch. 1, see Sturl I 54–5, the genealogies later in this chapter and note 120.
114 The killing of ﬁorsteinn Hallvar›sson is included among the important eventsof ﬁorlákr’s episcopate in Hungrvaka (ÍF XVI 27), and Landnámabók (ÍF I 388)
mentions ‘Hallvar›r, father of ﬁorsteinn, whom Einarr the Shetlander killed’.
115 The dispute between ﬁorgils and Hafli›i is also mentioned in Hungrvaka(ÍF XVI 27) during ﬁorlákr’s episcopate and related at length in ﬁorgils saga ok
Hafli›a in Sturl I 12–50.
116 23rd April 1121. There is a fuller description in Jóns saga helga (ÍF XV 238–9).
117 A ‘six-ell ounce-unit’ was the value of an ounce-unit of homespun, that is,six ells of cloth two ells wide and of stipulated quality (one ell was 49.2 cm). At
the standard rate, 8 such ounce-units of homespun were equivalent to one weighed
ounce of silver. A hundred in this context has the duodecimal value of 120, so
Hafli›i awarded himself 7200 ounce-units in all, that is 900 ounces of silver or
the price of 360 cows. ﬁorgils saga ok Hafli›a (Sturl I 49, 50) puts the price at
600 ounces of silver (or 240 cows) and specifies the means of payment as ‘landin the Northern Quarter, gold and silver, goods from the East, ironwork, valuableobjects costing no less than the price of a cow, gelded horses—an ungeldedhorse only if it were accompanied by a mare, and a mare only if accompanied bya stallion, and no horse older than twelve or younger than three years old’. Bothawards are unusually high.
118 In Skar›sárbók 1958: 194, the relevance of Ketill’s appointment as bishop
is made clearer by the fuller account of the disagreement between ﬁorgils andHafli›i and the comment that ‘Ketill managed to bring an end to the differencewith his persuasion’. In ﬁorgils saga ok Hafli›a (Sturl I 47–8), Ketill’s abilities
as peacemaker are explicitly said to qualify him for the role of bishop.
119 Hafli›i’s marriage to ﬁurí›r is mentioned in Landnámabók (ÍF I 182) andSturl I 12; ﬁurí›r’s father ﬁór›r, the son of Víga-Sturla was married to the daughterof Snorri go›i. Little is known about Hafli›i’s son ﬁór›r, ﬁór›r’s wife Solvƒr ortheir son Ívarr, but the ﬁorsteinn Ívarsson mentioned in Íslendinga saga (Sturl I
243) appears to be this Ívarr’s son.
120 Hafli›i’s marriage to Rannveig is mentioned in Sturl I 12, 54–5, as are thechildren of ﬁór›r and Sigrí›r, there called Páll, Snorri, Teitr and Ívarr. ﬁór›r is
probably an error for Snorri, since he and Páll are the most frequently mentioned of
the four sons. The death of Ingimundr Illugason is given in Icelandic annals under
1150 and that of Valger›r at Brei›abólsta›r is mentioned under 1154. It has beensuggested that Ingimundr’s father Illugi was the same Illugi that gave up his landat Hólar when the new bishopric was created there (ÍF XV 195–6; XVII 218–19).

74

Notes to the Story of the Conversion

121 Most Icelandic churches would have been constructed of turf with wooden
gable walls, if not built entirely of timber; stone churches were extremely rare in
Iceland in the Middle Ages. Excavations have shown that a stone church was
begun at Brei›abólsta›r, perhaps by Illugi, but it was never completed. Other
stone churches were begun at Hólar in the fourteenth century and perhaps in
Hítardalr (Lilja Árnadóttir and Kiran 1997: 36–8).
122 On Earl Rƒgnvaldr kali, see Orkneyinga saga, according to which (ÍF XXXIV140) he was originally called Kali. But it is likely that kali was at first a nickname(probably meaning ‘cold’) that only later came to be used as a proper name (Ásgeir
Blöndal Magnússon 1989: 442). He was joint ruler of Orkney from c.1127–9,
martyred in 1158/9, and recognised as a saint shortly after his death (ÍF XXXIV
xc, 282). The first feast-day of Mary is the Assumption (15th August) and thesecond is the Nativity (8th September), so Óláfr’s death is dated a day later than inch. 13. This statement has little to do with Kristni saga, and was most likely
copied into the saga by accident from a miscellany following it in Hauksbók (seeÓlafur Halldórsson 1990: 462).

Notes to the Story of the Conversion

75

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86

Index of Personal Names
INDEX OF PERSONAL NAMES

Abraham, bishop from Ermland 10 (see Aun the Old, son of Jƒrundr 14 (see note
note 78)
116)
A›ils [Eadgils/Athisl] at Uppsala, son Baldr, a god 43of Óttarr 14 (see note 118)
Baldwin I, king of crusader state of JeruAgni, son of Alrekr 14 (see note 115)
salem 1100–1118 13, 53
Albert [Adalbert], bishop in Bremen/ Bár›r from Áll, son of Ketill Fox 35 (seeÅrhus 38 (see note 29)
note 1)
Alexius I Comnenus, Byzantine em- Bera, daughter of Egill Skalla-Grímsperor 1081–1118 13 (see note 104), 53 son, wife of ¯zurr 36Álfr in the Dales [Eysteinsson], brother Bera, daughter of Ormr Ko›ránsson,of ﬁórólfr 6wife of Skúli ﬁorsteinsson 36
Alrekr, son of Dagr 14 (see note 115) Bergﬂórr Hrafnsson, lawspeaker 1117–
Ari Másson, father of Gu›leifr, chief- 22 12, 53
tain in 981 35 (see note 6)
Bjarnhar›r [Bernard, the Saxon], foreign
Ari ﬁorgilsson the Learned or the Old bishop in Iceland 10 (see note 77)(1067/8–1148) 3, 10, 11, 14, 51, 52, 53 Bjarnhar›r [Bernard, Vilrá›sson] theArngeirr Spak[‘Wise’]-Bƒ›varsson, Book-Learned, foreign bishop in Icebrother of ﬁorvar›r 37 (see note 22)
land 10 (see note 77)
Arnórr kerlingarnef [‘Old Woman’s Bjarni the Wise [ﬁorsteinsson], father
Nose’], [Bjarnarson], chieftain in 981 of Skeggi, born c.960 11
35 (see note 6)Bjƒrn, son of King Haraldr the FineArnulf [Arnaldus (Malecorne) of Rohea], Haired 10
Latin patriarch of Jerusalem 1099, Bolli ﬁorleiksson, Kjartan’s foster1112–18 13, 53
brother (died 1007) 45
Ásbjƒrn Arnórsson, father of Arnórr, Bótólfr, bishop in Hólar 1238–46 37
ﬁorsteinn and Bƒ›varr, chieftains in (see note 25)1118 54 (see note 113)
Brandr the Far-Traveller 51 (see noteÁsbjƒrn, son of Ketill the Foolish 41 93)(see note 49)
Brandr, son of ﬁorkell Gellisson, Ari’sÁsgeirr Knattarson, chieftain in 981 35 cousin 14 (see note 126)
(see note 6)
Braut-¯nundr, son of Yngvarr 14 (seeÁsgrímr Elli›a-Grímsson, chieftain in note 119)981 35, 48 (see note 79)
Brennu[‘Burning’]-Flosi, son of ﬁór›rÁsgrímr ﬁorhallsson, father of Solvƒr 55 Freysgo›i 47
Áskell, son of Ósvífr the Wise 40 (see Brodd[‘Spike’]-Helgi [ﬁorgilsson] (diednote 40)974) 49
Ástrí›r, daughter of Eiríkr Víkinga-Kára- Bƒ›varr, son of Víkinga-Kári, father ofson, mother of Óláfr Tryggvason 46
Ólƒf, lord (hersir) in Norway 46
Atall, sea-king (in kenning) 44
Christ 3, 9, 13, 39, 44, 49, 50, 51, 53
Atli the Strong, son of Eilífr Eagle, Dagr, Danish king 50 (see note 86)
brother of Ko›rán 35
Dagr, son of Dyggvi 14
Au›r [Unnr, the Deep-Minded], daugh- Dalla ﬁorvaldsdóttir, wife of Bishop
ter of Ketill Flatnose, settler 4 (see Ísleifr, mother of Bishop Gizurr 51
note 22), 13
Digr[‘Stout’]-Ketill 49

Index of Personal Names

87

Dómaldr [Dómaldi], son of Vísburr 14 Geirlaug, daughter of Steinmó›r, second
wife of Ormr Ko›ránsson 36(see note 114)
Geitir [L‡tingsson], chieftain in 981
Dómarr, son of Dómaldr 14(died 987) 35 (see note 6)
Dyggvi, son of Dómarr 14
Edmund, St, king of East Anglia 885– Gellir Bƒlverksson [grandson of Eyjólfr
the Grey], lawspeaker 1054–62, 1072–4
69/70 3 (see note 11) 5, 9, 13
10, 11
Egill Crow of Vendill, son of Aun the
Gellir ﬁorkelsson, Ari’s grandfather andOld 14 (see note 117)
foster-father, son of ﬁorkell EyjólfsEgill, son of Hallr on Sí›a 13, 53
son and Gu›rún Ósvífrsdóttir (1017–
Egill Skalla-Grímsson, father of Bera and73) 6, 10, 14 (see note 126)
ﬁorsteinn 36
Einarr [Au›unarson], son of Helga Helga- Gestr [Oddleifsson] the Wise, chieftain
in 981 (died 1019/20) 35, 44 (see notedóttir 1358), 49
Eilífr Eagle, son of Bár›r from Áll 35
Gisrø›r, see Gizurr Ísleifsson(see note 1)
Eilífr, son of Helgi bjóla 39 (see note 36) Gizurr Einarsson, chieftain in 1118 54(see note 113)
Eiríkr at Uppsala [Bjarnarson, the Victorious], Swedish king c.970(?)–95 9 Gizurr son of Ísleifr, bishop of Iceland
1082–1105 and in Skálaholt 1106–18
Eiríkr Hákonarson [the Powerful], Nor3, 10, 11 (see notes 91 and 92), 12,
wegian earl 1000–14, died 1022 9, 50
13, 51, 52, 53, 54
Eiríkr Víkinga-Kárason, brother of Bƒ›Gizurr the White, son of Teitr Ketilvarr 46
bjarnarson, father of Bishop Ísleifr 7
Eiríkr the Red [ﬁorvaldsson] 7 (see note(see note 61), 8, 10, 13, 35, 42, 43,54)
45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51
Eyjólfr, son of Go›mundr the Powerful
God 35, 36, 39, 41, 42, 44, 50
13
Eyjólfr Valger›arson [Einarson], chief- gods 8, 44, 48, 49
tain in 981 13 (see note 108), 35, 37 Go›iskálkr, foreign bishop in Iceland 10
Eyjólfr [the Grey], son of ﬁór›r Gellir, Go›mundr/Gu›mundr the Powerful,son of Eyjólfr Valger›arson (954–chieftain in 981 14 (see note 125), 351025) 13 (see note 108), 45, 47
Eysteinn, son of A›ils 14
Eysteinn Fart, son of Hálfdan Whiteleg, Go›mundr ﬁorgeirsson, lawspeaker
1123–34 12
king in Upplƒnd 3
Eysteinn, son of Magnús, Norwegian Go›rø›r the Hunter-King, son of Hálfdan the Bounteous 3 (see note 7)
king 1103–23 13
Eyvindr the Easterner [Bjarnarson], father Go›rø›r, son of Hálfdan Whiteleg 14(see note 121)
of Helgi the Lean 4 (see note 23)Fjƒlnir, son of Freyr 14 (see note 113) Go›rø›r, son of Bjƒrn, grandfather ofSt Óláfr 10
Freyja, goddess 8 (see note 69), 44
Gregory I, pope 590–604 13
Freyr, a god, son of Njƒr›r 14
Fri›-Fró›i, legendary Danish king 14 Gregory VII, pope 1073–85 12, 52
Fri›ger›r, wife of ﬁórarinn fylsenni 36 Grímr geitskor, Úlfljótr’s foster-brother4 (see note 27), 5(see note 17)
Fri›rekr, foreign bishop in Iceland 10 Grímr Svertingsson, lawspeaker 1002–3
10(see note 77), 35, 36, 37, 38
Gu›leifr, son of Ari Másson 42, 43
Galdra[‘Spells’]-He›inn 41

88

Index of Personal NamesGu›mundr Brandsson, priest and chief- Hallsteinn, son of ﬁórólfr Mostrarskeggi
tain (died 1151) 53 (see note 106)and Ósk ﬁorsteinsdóttir 5Gu›mundr the Powerful, see Go›mundr Haraldr [Bluetooth] Gormsson, Danish
the Powerfulking (died 985/8) 38 (see note 29)
Gunnarr [Hlífarson], husband of Helga Haraldr [of Grenland], son of Go›rø›r,Óleifsdóttir, father of ﬁórunn 6
father of St Óláfr 10
Gunnarr, son of Úlfljótr 4 (see note 24) Haraldr the Fine-Haired, son of Hálfdan
Gunnarr the Wise [ﬁorgrímsson], father
the Black, Norwegian king 3 (seeof Úlfhe›inn, lawspeaker 1063–65,
note 8), 4, 5, 7, 101075 10, 11, 12
Haraldr [the Hard-Ruler], son of Sigur›r,
Gunnarr, brother of ﬁorvaldr kroppinNorwegian king 1046–66 10, 11 (seeskeggi 5
note 87), 54
Gunnhildr, daughter of Ormr Ko›ráns- Hárbar›r, name for Ó›inn 42son, see Yngvildr
Haukr, name of two berserks 36
Gylfi, sea-king (in kenning) 44
He›inn [the Generous], son of ﬁorbjƒrn
Hafli›i Másson, Teitr Ísleifsson’s sonSkagason 37 (see note 26), 38
in-law, chieftain in 1118 (died 1130) Heinrekr, foreign bishop in Iceland
12 (see note 98) 53, 54, 55(died 1066?) 10 (see note 77)
Hálfdan the Bounteous but Stingy-with- Helga, daughter of Helgi the Lean 13
Food, son of Eysteinn Fart 3 (see note 6) Helga, daughter of Óleifr feilan, wife
Hálfdan the Black, son of Go›rø›r 3
of Gunnarr [Hlífarson] 6
Hálfdan Whiteleg, son of Óláfr Tree- Helgi Ásbjarnarson, chieftain in 981
feller 3, 14 (see note 121)(died 1008) 35 (see note 6)
Hálfdan, son of Sigur›r Bastard, grand- Helgi bjóla, son of Ketill Flatnose 39
father of King Haraldr Sigur›arson 10(see note 36)
Halldórr Egilsson, chieftain in 1118 54 Helgi the Lean, son of Eyvindr the East(see note 113)
erner, settler 4 (see note 22), 13
Halldórr, son of Gu›mundr the Power- Helgi, son of Óláfr Go›rø›arson 14 (seeful, hostage in Norway (died 1014)
note 121)
45, 47
Hermundr Illugason, son-in-law ofHallfre›r/Hallfrø›r Óttarson ‘TroubleOrmr Ko›ránsson 36 (see note 11),some Poet’ 45, 47 (see note 76)
49
Hallfrí›r, daughter of Snorri Karlsefnis- Hersteinn, son of ﬁorkell Blund-Ketilsson, mother of Bishop ﬁorlákr Runólfsson 6 (see note 45)
son 13
Hjalti Skeggjason, son-in-law of Gizurr
Hallr Órœkjuson, one of Ari’s inforthe White 7 (see note 61), 8, 35, 42,
mants 5 (see note 32)
44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50
Hallr, son of Teitr Ísleifsson (died 1150) Hlenni the Old, son of Ormr Bag-Back
10 (see note 84), 53, 54[or ¯rnólfr] 35 (see note 7), 49
Hallr in Haukadalr [ﬁórarinsson], Ari’s Hrafn, son of [Ketill] Hœngr, lawfoster-father (995/6–1089) 10 (seespeaker c.930–49 5
note 85), 11, 12, 42
Hrollaugr, son of Rƒgnvaldr, settler 4
Hallr ﬁorsteinsson on/from Sí›a, chief(see note 22), 13
tain in 981 7 (see note 61), 8, 13, 35, Hró›ólfr [Ro›ulf] foreign bishop in
41, 43, 49, 53
Iceland (died 1052) 10 (see note 77)

Index of Personal Names

89

Hubert, bishop of Canterbury 38 (see Jƒrundr, son of Yngvi Agnason 14
Kálfr Ásgeirsson 45
note 30), 39
Karlsefni [ﬁorfinnr], son of ﬁór›r HorseHœngr [Ketill ﬁorkelsson], settler 5head 13 (see note 107)Hœsna-ﬁórir (died 962) 6 (see note 44)Hƒr›a-Kári [Ásláksson], father of ﬁor- Ketilbjƒrn Ketilsson, settler 4 (see note
22), 7, 13
leifr the Wise 4
Illugi the Red [Hrólfsson], chieftain in Ketill Flatnose [son of Bjƒrn buna] 4(see note 22)981 35 (see note 6)
Illugi, father of Ingimundr 55 (see note Ketill Gu›mundarson, priest and chieftain (died 1158) 53 (see note 106)120)
Illugi, son of Ingimundr Illugason (died Ketill the Foolish [son of Jórunn], grandson of Ketill Flatnose 41 (see note 47)1171) 55
Ingileif, mother of ﬁorleifr and ﬁórarinn Ketill Fox, son of Skí›i the Old 35
Ketill, son of ﬁorsteinn, bishop in Hólar
Ásbjarnarson 49
1122–45 3 (see note 1), 13, 53, 54, 55
Ingimundr Einarsson, priest and chieftain (died 1169/70) 53 (see note 106) Kirjalax, see Alexius
Ingimundr, son of Illugi, husband of Kjartan, son of Óláfr Peacock, hostagein Norway (died 1003/4) 45, 46, 47
Valger›r Hafli›adóttir, priest (diedKlaufi, son of ﬁorvaldr Refsson 37 (see1150) 55 (see note 120)
note 21)
Ingjaldr the Evil, son of Braut-¯nundr
Ko›rán, son of Eilífr Eagle, father of
14 (see note 120)ﬁorvaldr the Far-Traveller 35, 36, 51
Ingjaldr, son of Helgi and great-grandson of Ragnarr lo›brók 14 (see note Kolbeinn Flosason, lawspeaker 1066–71
10, 11
122)
Ingólfr [Arnarson], first settler in Ice- Kolbeinn, son of ﬁór›r Freysgo›i, hostage in Norway 45, 47
land 4, 5Ísleifr Gizurarson, born 1006, bishop of Kolr, slave or freedman 5
Iceland 1056–80 3, 10 (see note 82), Kolr, foreign bishop in Iceland 10 (seenote 77)
11, 13, 51, 52
Ívarr [the Boneless], son of Ragnarr lo›- Kolr [ﬁorkelsson], bishop in Vík (diedc.1120) 10 (see note 83), 52
brók 3 (see note 10)Ívarr, son of ﬁór›r Hafli›ason 55 (see Kolr in Lœkjarbugr 43 (see note 55)
Koltorfa Skeggjadóttir, sister of Hjalti,
note 119)
wife of ﬁorvaldr Skeggjason 48
Jesus Christ, see Christ
Leifr the Lucky, son of Eiríkr the Red
Jóan, see Jón ¯gmundarson
47 (see note 75)
Jófrí›r, daughter of Gunnarr and Helga,
Leo VII, pope 936–9 11 (see note 89)
wife of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 6
Jóhan, foreign bishop in Iceland (died Leo IX, pope 1049–54 51
Magnús [the Good], son of King Óláfr
1066) 10 (see note 77)
Haraldsson, Norwegian king 1035–47
Jón ﬁorvar›sson, priest and chieftain
13(died 1150) 53 (see note 109)
Jón/Jóan ¯gmundarson, bishop at Hólar Magnús ﬁór›arson, priest and chieftain
53 (see note 106)1106–21 10, 13 (see note 101), 52,
Markús Skeggjason, lawspeaker 1084–
53, 54, 55
1107 11 (see note 93), 12, 52, 53
Jƒrundr go›i, father of Úlfr 45

90

Index of Personal Names

Michael, St, Archangel 41 (see note 44) Óspakr, son of Ósvífr the Wise 40 (seeNarfi, outlaw 45
note 40)Njƒr›r, son of Yngvi 14Ósvífr the Wise Helgason, grandfather
Oddn‡, daughter of ﬁorkell Gellisson,of Gellir ﬁorkelsson (died 1019/20)
mother of Ingimundr Illugason 55
6 (see note 39), 40[Tungu-]Oddr [¯nundarson], father of Óttarr [Ohthere], son of Egill 14 (seeﬁorvaldr (died c.965) 9 (see note 43)
notes 117 and 118)
Óláfr at Haukagil, grandfather and foster- Otto the Young, German king 983–1002,
father of Hallfre›r Óttarsson 36 (seeHoly Roman Emperor 996–1002 39
note 12)(see note 33)Óláfr, son of Go›rø›r, son of Hálfdan Páll, son of ﬁór›r ﬁorvaldsson (diedWhiteleg 14 (see note 121)
1171) 55 (see note 120)Óláfr the Peaceful Haraldsson, Nor- Paschal II, pope 1099–1118 13, 53
wegian king 1066–93 11, 52
Peter, bishop from Ermland 10 (see noteÓláfr the Stout Haraldsson, St, Nor78)
wegian king 1015/16–30 4 (see note Philip, Swedish king (died 1118) 13 (see20), 10, 13
note 104), 53
Óláfr, son of King Haraldr the Fine- Phocas, Byzantine emperor 602–10 13
Haired 7
Ragi, son of Óleifr hjalti, brother ofÓláfr Peacock [Hƒskuldsson], chieftainﬁórarinn 5 (see note 35), 7
in 981 (died 1006) 35 (see note 6), Ragnarr lo›brók [Sigur›arson] 3 (see45note 10), 14
Óláfr [the Swede], son of Eiríkr at Upp- Ragnhei›r, niece and step-daughter ofsala, Swedish king 995–1022 9
Eyjólfr Valger›arson 37Óláfr Treefeller, son of Ingjaldr the Evil, Rannveig, daughter of Teitr Ísleifsson,
father of Hálfdan Whiteleg 3 (seesecond wife of Hafli›i Másson 55
note 5), 14(see note 120)Óláfr Tryggvason, Norwegian king Runólfr, son of Úlfr Jƒrundarson, chief995–999/1000 7 (see note 59), 8, 9,
tain in 981 35 (see note 6) 45, 47,
10, 11, 13, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 47,
48, 5048, 50, 52, 55
Runólfr ﬁorleiksson, brother of Hallr inÓleifr [Óláfr] feilan, son of ﬁorsteinn
Haukadalr 12, 53
the Red (886–948) 6 (see notes 43 and Rƒgnvaldr [Eysteinsson], earl in Mœrr 446) 13, 14Rƒgnvaldr kali [Kolsson], St, earl in OrkÓleifr [Óláfr] hjalti, father of Ragi andney c.1127/9–58/9 55 (see note 122)ﬁórarinn 5 (see note 35)
Sí›u-Hallr, see Hallr ﬁorsteinssonÓleifr [Óláfr] the White, son of Ingjaldr Sighvatr Surtsson, lawspeaker 1076–83
Helgason 14 (see note 123)11Ólƒf [Álƒf], daughter of Bƒ›varr, mother Sigmundr ﬁorgilsson, chieftain in 1118
of Gizurr the White 46
54 (see note 113)
Ormr Bag-Back, father of Hlenni the Sigrí›r, daughter of Hafli›i Másson,
Old 35wife of ﬁór›r ﬁorvaldsson 55
Ormr, son of Ko›rán, brother of ﬁor- Sigur›r [Sow], son of Hálfdan Sigur›arvaldr the Far-Traveller 36 (see noteson (died 1018) 1011), 49
Sigur›r Bastard, son of King Haraldr theÓsk, daughter of ﬁorsteinn the Red 5
Fine-Haired 10

Index of Personal Names

91

Sigur›r [Crusader], son of King Magnús, Stephen, bishop from Ermland 10 (seeNorwegian king 1103–30 13
note 78)
Sigur›r [Snake-in-Eye], son of Ragnarr Styrmir Hreinsson, chieftain in 1118 54
lo›brók 14(see note 113)
Sigvaldi, earl of Jómsborg 51 (see note Surtr, son of Ásbjƒrn 41 (see note 47)
96)
Sveg›ir, son of Fjƒlnir 14
Símon Jƒrundarson, priest and chieftain Sveinn [Forkbeard], son of Haraldr Gorms53
son, king of Denmark 986–1014 andSkáld[‘Poet’]-Refr [Gestsson], son ofEngland 1013–14 9, 51
Steinunn 43 (see note 56)
Svertingr, son of Runólfr go›i, hostage
Skapti, son of ﬁóroddr go›i, lawspeakerin Norway 45, 47
1004–30 10 (see note 79), 52
Sæmundr Sigfússon [the Learned],
Skeggbjƒrn at Hítarnes 42, 43 (see notepriest and chieftain (1056–1133) 3
55)(see note 2), 9, 11, 52, 53, 54
Skeggi Ásgautsson, father of ﬁorvaldr Teitr, son of Bishop Ísleifr and Ari’s
48 (see note 78)
foster-father (c.1040–1110) 3 (seeSkeggi, son of Bjarni, father of Markús
note 9), 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 51, 55
and ﬁórarinn 11
Teitr, son of Ketilbjƒrn Ketilsson 7, 13
Skeggi, son of ﬁórarinn fylsenni and Torrá›r, son of Ósvífr the Wise 40 (seeFri›ger›r 36 (see note 17)
note 40)Skí›i the Old, father of Ketill Fox 35 Tryggvi, Norwegian king 50 (see note 86)
Skúli Egilsson, chieftain in 1118 54 (see Tryggvi, son of Óláfr, son of King Haraldr
note 113)
the Fine-Haired 7, 51
Skúli, son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson, son- Tungu-Oddr, see Oddr
in-law of Ormr Ko›ránson 36 (see Uggi, father of Úlfr 42
note 11)Úlfhe›inn, son of Gunnarr the Wise,
Snorri, son of Karlsefni 13
lawspeaker 1108–16 5 (see note 33),
Snorri go›i [ﬁorgrímsson], father of
7, 12, 53
ﬁurí›r, chieftain in 981 (963/4–1031) Úlfljótr, lawspeaker 4 (see note 24), 5
3, 35 (see note 6), 49, 50
Úlfr, son of Jƒrundr go›i 45Solvƒr, daughter of Ásgrímr ﬁórhalls- Úlfr, son of Uggi, poet 42 (see note 50)
son, wife of ﬁór›r Hafli›ason 55
Valgar›r at Hof [Jƒrundarson], chieftain
Spak(‘Wise’)-Bƒ›varr, father of ﬁorin 981 35 (see note 6)
var›r 49
Valger›r, daughter of Hafli›i Másson,
Starri or Hólmgƒngu[‘Duel’]-Starri,
wife of Ingimundr Illugason (died[son of Eiríkr in Gu›dalir], chieftain
1154) 55 (see note 120)in 981 35 (see note 6)
Vandrá›r, son of Ósvífr the Wise 40
Stefnir, son of ﬁorgils Eilífsson 39 (see(see note 40)
note 36), 40, 50, 51
Vanlandi, son of Sveg›ir 14
Steinmó›r [Gunnarsson], father-in-law Vetrli›i [Sumarli›ason], poet 42 (seeof Ormr Ko›ránsson 36 (see note 11)
note 53), 43
Steinunn [Dálksdóttir or Refsdóttir], Víga(‘killer’)-Bjarni [Brodd-Helgason],mother of Skáld-Refr, poet 43 (seechieftain in 981 35 (see note 6)
note 56)
Víga(‘killer’)-Glúmr [Eyjólfsson], chiefSteinn ﬁorgestsson, lawspeaker 1031–3
tain in 981 (died c.1003) 36 (see10note 6)

92

Index of Personal Names

Víga(‘killer’)-Styrr [ﬁorgrímsson], chief- ﬁór›r, son of Víga-Sturla, father oftain in 981 (died 1008) 35 (see note 6)
ﬁurí›r (1165–1237) 55 (see note 119)
Víkinga(‘Vikings’)-Kári, father of Bƒ›- ﬁór›r, son of ﬁór›r ﬁorvaldsson (diedvarr 461194) 55 (see note 120)
Vilbald, father of ﬁangbrandr, count of ﬁór›r ﬁorvaldsson, son-in-law of HafBremen 38li›i Másson, chieftain in 1118 54 (seeVísburr, son of Vanlandi 14
note 113), 55
Yngvarr, son of Eysteinn 14
ﬁorgeirr Hallason, chieftain in 1118
Yngvi, son of Agni 14(died 1169) 54 (see note 113)
Yngvi, father of Njƒr›r and progenitor ﬁorgeirr ﬁorkelsson [or Tjƒrvason, Ljósof Ynglings 14 (see note 110)vetningago›i], lawspeaker 985–1001
Yngvildr/Gunnhildr, daughter of Ormr
7 (see note 52), 9, 10, 49, 50
Ko›ránsson, wife of Hermundr Illuga- ﬁorger›r, daughter of Egill Hallsson,son 36 (see note 11), 49
mother of Bishop Jón ¯gmundarson
ﬁangbrandr [ﬁorbrandr, Theobrand],13, 53son of Vilbald, foreign priest 7 (see ﬁorgils, son of Eilífr Helgason, father
note 60), 8, 11, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43,
of Stefnir 39
44, 46, 47
ﬁorgils Grenja›arson, father of ¯nundrﬁórarinn Ásbjarnarson, son of Ingileif
the Christian 35
and brother of ﬁorleifr 49 (see note ﬁorgils Oddason, chieftain in 1118 (died84)1151) 54 (see note 113), 55
ﬁórarinn Nefjólfsson 45
ﬁorgils, son of ﬁorkell Gellisson andﬁórarinn Ragi’s brother, son of Óleifr
father of Ari 14 (see note 126)
hjalti, lawspeaker c.950–69 5 (see ﬁórhildr Ptarmigan, daughter of ﬁór›r
note 35), 7, 11
gellir 13
ﬁórarinn [Skeggjason], brother of Mar- ﬁórí›r (ﬁurí›r), daughter of Snorri go›ikús 11(1025/6–1112/13) 3 (see note 9)ﬁórarinn fylsenni [‘Foal’s Forehead’?], ﬁórir kroppinskeggi, uncle of ﬁorvaldr
son of ﬁór›r gellir, husband of Fri›5 (see note 31)
ger›r 36 (see note 17)
ﬁorkell [Eiríksson], father of ﬁorbjƒrn,ﬁorbjƒrn Skagason, father of He›inn 37
brother of Starri 45 (see note 61)
ﬁorbjƒrn, son of ﬁorkell [Eiríksson] 45 ﬁorkell, son of Eyjólfr the Grey (978/9–(see note 61)1026) 14 (see note 125)ﬁórdís, daughter of ¯zurr Hrollaugsson 13 ﬁorkell Gellisson, Ari’s uncle (b. c.1030)
ﬁór›r Freysgo›i [¯zurarson], father of
3 (see note 9), 4, 7, 14, 55
Brennu-Flosi and Kolbeinn, chieftain ﬁorkell Blund-Ketilsson, father of Herin 981 35 (see note 6), 45, 47
steinn (died c.962) 6 (see note 45)ﬁór›r gellir, son of Óleifr Feilan (died ﬁorkell Tjƒrvason [grandson of ﬁorgeirr
c.965) 6 (see notes 43 and 46), 7, 13, 14
ﬁorkelsson?], lawspeaker 1034–53 10
ﬁór›r Gilsson, grandfather of Snorri ﬁorkell krafla [ﬁorgrímsson], chieftain
Sturluson, chieftain in 1118 54 (seein 981 35, 36 (see note 13)
note 113)
ﬁorkell Moon, son of ﬁorsteinn Ingólfsﬁór›r, son of Hafli›i Másson and ﬁurí›rson, lawspeaker 970–84 5, 6, 7 (seeﬁór›ardóttir 55 (see note 119)
note 52), 35
ﬁór›r Horsehead, son of ﬁorhildr Ptar- ﬁorlákr [son of Runólfr], bishop in Skálamigan 13
holt 1118–33 3 (see note 1), 12, 13, 53

Index of Personal Names

93

ﬁorleifr, son of Ingileif and half-brother ﬁorvaldr, son of Bishop Ísleifr Gizurarof ﬁórarinn 49 (see note 87)
son 10 (see note 84), 51
ﬁorleifr the Wise, son of Hƒr›a-Kári 4 ﬁorvaldr the Far-Traveller, son of Ko›(see note 26)
rán Eilífsson 35, 36, 37, 38, 49, 50, 51
ﬁorleikr, Hallr in Haukadalr’s brother ﬁorvaldr kroppinskeggi, nephew of
12ﬁórir and brother of Gunnarr 5
ﬁormó›r [Thermo], foreign priest 8 (see ﬁorvaldr Refsson, father of Klaufi 37
note 65), 48
ﬁorvaldr, son of Skeggi, brother-in-lawﬁóroddr go›i [Eyvindarson], father ofof Hjalti 48 (see note 78)
Skapti, chieftain in 981 35, 48 (see ﬁorvaldr, son of Tungu-Oddr 6
note 82)
ﬁorvaldr veili, poet 42 (see note 49), 43
ﬁórólfr Fox [Eysteinsson], brother of ﬁorvar›r [the Christian] Spak-Bƒ›varsÁlfr in the Dales 6 (see note 47)
son, chieftain in 981 35 (see note 7),ﬁórólfr Mostrarskeggi [¯rnólfsson],37, 49settler (died 918) 5 (see note 38)ﬁórvƒr, daughter of ¯zurr and Bera Egilsﬁórólfr, son of Ósvífr the Wise 40 (seedóttir, first wife of Ormr Ko›ránsnote 40)
son 36ﬁórr, a god 43
ﬁurí›r, daughter of Snorri go›i, see ﬁórí›rﬁorsteinn Black, son of Hallsteinn 5 (see ﬁurí›r, daughter of ﬁór›r Sturluson, firstnote 38), 6
wife of Hafli›i Másson 55 (see noteﬁorsteinn, son of Egill Skalla-Grímsson,
119)chieftain in 981 (died 1015) 6, 35 (see ﬁvinnill, sea-king (in kenning) 43
note 6)
Æsir 40 (see note 38)
ﬁorsteinn, son of Eyjólfr Go›mundar- ¯gmundr, father of Bishop Jón 53
son, father of Bishop Ketill 13¯nundr the Christian, son of ﬁorgils
ﬁorsteinn Hallvar›sson (died 1119) 54
Grenja›arson 35 (see note 7)(see note 114)
¯rnólfr, foreign bishop in Iceland 10
ﬁorsteinn, son of Ingólfr, father of ¯rnólfr in Skógar, father of Halldórr
ﬁorkell Moon 5 (see note 30), 7
and Arnórr (died 997), chieftains inﬁorsteinn the Red, son of Óleifr the981 35 (see note 6)
White 5, 13, 14 (see note 124)
¯zurr, son of Hrollaugr 13ﬁórunn, daughter of Gunnarr and Helga, ¯zurr, brother of ﬁóroddr go›i, father
wife of Hersteinn ﬁorkelsson 6
of ﬁórvƒr 36 (see note 11)

94Index of Personal Names
INDEX OF PLACES AND PEOPLES

Á (river), see ﬁváttá
Eastern Fjords Quarter, see EasternÁll (Ål in Hallingdal, Buskerud?), in
Quarter
Norway 35
Eastern Quarter 12, 49, 52
Álptafjƒr›r (Northern, now Hamars- Easterner 4 (see note 23)
fjör›ur), fjord in eastern Iceland 41 Eiríksfjƒr›r (Tunugdliarfik), in GreenÁlptafjƒr›r (Southern, now Álftafjör›ur),land 7
fjord in eastern Iceland 41
England 11, 13
Angles, inhabitants of East Anglia in Ermland 10 (see note 78)
England 3, 13
Eyjafjƒll, mountains east of Rangá
Arnarstakkshei›r, coastal path between
district in southern Iceland 54
M‡rdalr and M‡rdalssandr in southern Eyjafjƒr›r, fjord and district in northern
Iceland 47
Iceland 4, 7, 13, 37, 42
Áróss (Århus), in Jutland 38
Eyjafjƒr›r Quarter, see Northern QuarterÁss (now Ne›ri-Ás), farm in Hjaltadalr Fljótsdalr, area in eastern Iceland 41
in Skagafjƒr›r 35, 37
Fljótshlí›, area south-east of Rangá
Bar›, farm in Fljót in Skagafjƒr›r 37
district in southern Iceland 42
Bar›astrƒnd, coastal area along north Frakkland 11 (see note 88)
coast of Brei›afjƒr›r 44
Gautland (Götaland, probably VästerBelgsholt, farm in Borgarfjƒr›r 44
götland), area in southern Sweden 11
Bláskógar (‘Black Woods’), wooded area Giljá (Stóra Giljá), farm in Vatsdalr innear ﬁingvellir in southwest Iceland 5
northern Iceland 35
Borgarfjƒr›r, fjord and district in western Giljá, see Haukagil
Iceland 5, 6, 36, 43
Gilsbakki, farm on Hvítá in M‡rar northBrei›abólsta›r, farm on Sí›a in southof Borgarfjƒr›r 49
east Iceland 13
Greenland 3, 7, 47
Brei›abólsta›r, farm in Vestrhóp 55
Greeks 13, 53
Brei›afjƒr›r, (‘broad’) fjord and district Grímsnes, area east of ﬁingvallavatn inin western Iceland 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14
south-west Iceland 42, 43
Brei›afjƒr›r Quarter, see Western Quarter Gu›dalir (Go›dalir), valleys in SkagaBremen, in northern Germany 38fjƒr›r (probably Svartárdalur, VesturBœr, farm in Borgarfjƒr›r 53árdalur and Austurdalur, see ÍF I 231)
Canterbury, in England 38
35, 45Dales (now Brei›afjar›ardalir), valleys Gufáróss, river mouth at head of Borgarin Brei›afjƒr›r in western Iceland 6fjƒr›r in western Iceland 40
Danes 9Gulaﬂing (‘Gula Assembly’), legal area
Denmark 9, 12, 39, 50, 51, 52
in western Norway that had its central
Djúpadalr (now Stóridalr), farm in Eyjaassembly on the island of Guløy infjƒr›r in northern Iceland 4, 36Hƒr›aland 4
Dnieper, river running through present- Háfr, farm near ﬁjórsá in south-west
day Ukraine to the Black Sea 50
Iceland 48
Drafn, near Polotsk (not identified) 51 Hálogaland (Hålogaland), in northern
Dyrhólmaóss (now Dyrhólaós), estuary
Norway 45
in M‡rdalr in southern Iceland 47
Haukadalr, farm in Biskupstunga in southEastern Fjords 5, 41, 42
west Iceland 10, 11, 12, 42, 51, 53, 55

Index of Place-Names

95

Haukagil (‘Hawks’ Gill’), farm in Vats- Irishmen 4, 10
dalr in northern Iceland 36 (see note Járnmeishƒf›i, cliff in a bay near Hƒfn12)
in Borgarfjƒr›r (see Kålund 1877–82:
Hegranes, headland in Skagafjƒr›r in
I 299) 44
northern Iceland, site of regional Jerusalem 13, 50, 53
assembly 38
Jutland 38
Helgafell, mountain and farm on Snæ- Kálfalœkr, stream south of Hítará infellsnes in western Iceland 35
western Iceland 43
Herfur›a (Herford), in Westphalia in Kirkjubœr, farm on Sí›a in south-east
present-day Germany 51 (see note 99)
Iceland 41
Hestlœkr (now Slauka), stream running Kjalarnes, headland north of Reykjarinto Hvítá in Grímsnes (see ÍF XV
vík in south-west Iceland 5, 39, 40
137) 43
Kolsgjá (‘Kolr’s gorge’), north of ﬁingHítará, river in M‡rar north of Borgarvellir (now unknown; see Kålund
fjƒr›r 43
1877–82: I 95) 5
Hítarnes, farm in Hnappadalr north of Kristnes (‘Christ’s Headland’), farm in
Hítará 43
Eyjafjƒr›r 13
Hjaltadalr, area in Skagafjƒr›r 35, 53 Krossaholt (‘Hill of Crosses’), on Hítará
Hjar›arholt, farm in Laxárdalr in westernin Hnappadalr 43
Iceland 53
Krossavík (now Kirkjuból), farm northHof, farm on Rangárvellir in southernof Rey›arfjƒr›r in eastern Iceland
Iceland 35(see ÍF XV 34) 49
Hólar (in Hjaltadalr), farm and bishop’s Kœnugar›r (Kiev), in present-day Uksee in Skagafjƒr›r in northern Icelandraine 50 (see note 91)
10, 13, 37, 53, 54
Landraugsholt (now Langdraugsholt?),
Hólar, see Reykjahólar
near Hítará in Hnappadalr 43
Hólmgar›r (Novgorod), in present-day Laugardalr, valley east of ﬁingvellir in
Russia 39
south-west Iceland 8, 48, 50
Hvammr, farm on Hvammsfjƒr›r off Leiruvágr (coast by Starm‡rarvogar?),Brei›afjƒr›r 13, 36
bay in Southern Álptafjƒr›r 41
Hvanneyrr, farm in Borgarfjƒr›r 36
Ljósavatn, lake and farm east of EyjaHƒf›i, farm near Skálaholt in Biskupsfjƒr›r in northern Iceland 7
tunga 51
Lón, area south of Álptafjƒr›r on southHƒfn, farm in Borgarfjƒr›r 44
east coast of Iceland 4Hƒrgaeyrr, spit of land on Heimaey in Lœkjamót, farm in Ví›idalr in northern
Vestmannaeyjar 47 (see note 79)
Iceland 36, 38
Ingólfsfell (‘Ingólfr’s Fell’), mountain Lœkjarbugr, farm south of Hítará inwest of ¯lfossá in south-west IceM‡rar 43
land 4
Melrakkanes, headland between SouthIngólfshƒf›i (‘Ingólfr’s Head’), headern and Northern Álptafjƒr›r 41
land in southern Iceland 4
Miklagar›r (Constantinople, now IstanIceland 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 35, 36, 37,bul) 13, 50
38, 39, 40, 42, 45, 46, 47, 50, 51, 52, Minﬂakseyrr, spit of land west of Ingólfs53, 54
hƒf›i on southeast coast of Iceland
Icelanders 3, 13, 39, 45, 46, 47(unidentified; see Kålund 1877–82: I
Ireland 39
344–5) 4 (see note 15)

96Index of Place-Names

Mosfell (Upper Mosfell), farm on Gríms- Scillies, islands off the coast of Cornnes in southwest Iceland 4, 7, 10, 13
wall in south-west England 39
Mostr, island off South Hƒr›aland in Selvágar, bay in Northern Álptafjƒr›r 40
Norway 39
Sey›arfjƒr›r (Sey›isfjör›ur), fjord inM‡vatn, lake east of Skjálfandafljót ineastern Iceland 49
northern Iceland 42
Sí›a, a wide area along western andMœrr (Møre, probably Sunnmøre), area
eastern Skaptafellss‡sla in south-east
north of Hƒr›aland in western NorIceland 4, 7, 8, 13, 49, 53
way 4
Skagafjƒr›r, fjord and district in northernMƒ›ruvellir, farm in Eyjafjƒr›r in norIceland 7, 54
thern Iceland 53, 55
Skálaholt (Skálholt), farm and bishop’sNi›aróss (Trondheim), in ﬁrándheimr 45
see in Biskupstunga in south-west
Northern Quarter 7, 12, 35, 37, 42, 49,
Iceland 11, 12, 13, 51, 52, 53
50, 52
Skar› (eastern), farm under Hekla on
Northerners 7, 12, 52
Rangárvellir (covered with lava 1389)
Northmen 4
48
Norway 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 38, 39, Skipahylr (now Skiphylur), farm south
50, 51, 52
of Hítará in M‡rar 43
Norwegians 4, 44
Skjálfandafljót, large river east of EyjaPallteskja (Polotsk), in present-dayfjƒr›r in northern Iceland 42
Belorus 51 (see note 92)
Skógahverfi (part of Sí›a), area in southPapar 4 (see note 18)
ern Iceland 41
Rangá district (Rangárvellir), area be- Skógar, farm under Eyjafjƒll in southern
tween Ytri- and Eystri-Rangá (rivers)
Iceland 35
in southern Iceland 5Skræling(j)ar 7 (see note 57)
Rangá Quarter, see Southern Quarter Southern Quarter 12, 42, 49, 50, 52
Rangá (western, now Ytri-Rangá), river Steinsholt (now Náttmálaholt?), nearin southern Iceland 45, 48
Hítará in Hnappadalr 43
Rey›arfjƒr›r, fjord in eastern Iceland 49 Svalbar›, farm on Eyjafjƒr›r in northern
Reykjahólar, farm west of Berufjƒr›r,
Iceland 37
off Brei›afjƒr›r 42, 53
Svƒl›r, river or island in/off Wendland 50
Reykjaholt, farm in Borgarfjƒr›r 53
Swedes 3, 9, 13, 14, 53
Reykjalaug, hot spring in Laugardalr 50 Turks 14 (see note 111)
Reykjalaug, hot spring in Southern Upplanders, inhabitants of Upplƒnd (OppReykjardalr 50land) in Norway 3, 14
Reykjardalr, valley east of Skjálfanda- Uppsala (Gamla Uppsala), seat of Swedfljót in northern Iceland 35
ish kings in eastern Sweden 9, 14
Reykjardalr (Southern) (now Lundar- Vatsdalr, valley down from Húnafjör›ur
reykjadalur), valley in Borgarfjƒr›r 50
in northern Iceland 35, 36
Reykjarvík (Reykjavík), in south-west Vatsfjƒr›r, fjord off Ísafjar›ardjúp in
Iceland 4
Western Fjords 54, 55
Rome 52, 54
Vellankatla (‘Boiling Kettle’), cove/creek
Russia 51
on north-east side of ¯lfossvatn 8, 48
Saxland, eastern part of present-day Vendill (Vendel, Vendsyssel), in northern
Germany around Saxony 35, 38, 51
Jutland in Denmark (but here confusedIndex of Place-Names
with Vendel in Swedish Upplƒnd) 14(see note 117)
Vestmannaeyjar (‘Islands of the Westerners’ (i.e. Irishmen), Westman Islands),
off the south coast of Iceland 8, 47
Vestrhóp, area south of Húnafjör›ur innorthern Iceland 55
Ví›idalr, valley west of Vatsdalr in
northern Iceland 36
Vík (now Eyvík or Heyvík), farm on
Grímsnes in south-west Iceland 42
Vík (inner part of Oslofjord), in eastern
Norway 10, 52
Vínland 7 (see note 56), 47
Wendland, area in present-day northern
Germany including Pommern, Mecklenburg and East Holstein and inhabited by Slavic peoples 39, 47
Western Fjords 48, 50
Western Quarter 12, 36, 37, 49, 52
Westerners, people from the Western
Quarter 50
Ynglings, descendants of Yngvi 14
ﬁangbrandshróf (‘ﬁangbrandr’s Boathouse’), by Leiruvág on Southern Álptafjƒr›r 41
ﬁangbrandshróf (‘ﬁangbrandr’s Boathouse’), down from Skipahylr in western Iceland 43
ﬁangbrandslœkr (‘ﬁangbrandr’s brook’,
now Brandslœkr), stream by Skinna-97

sta›ir in Øxarfjƒr›r (see ÍF XV 134,
note 1) 42
ﬁangbrandspollr (‘ﬁangbrandr’s pool’),
by Skútusta›ir near M‡vatn (see ÍF
XV 134, note 1) 42
ﬁingnes, headland near Hvítá in Borgarfjƒr›r, site of a regional assembly 6
ﬁingvƒllr (‘Assembly Field’), in southwest Iceland (now usually pl. ﬁingvellir) 54. Cf. ‘assembly field’ (translation of sing. ﬂingvƒllr) 8, 48
ﬁjórsárdalr, valley along ﬁjórsá (river)in southern Iceland (now uninhabited) 7, 45
ﬁrándheimr (Trøndelag), district in
Norway 44, 45
ﬁváttá (‘Washing River’), farm southof Southern Álptafjƒr›r in eastern
Iceland 41¯lfossvatn/¯lfusvatn (lake, now ﬁingvallavatn) 8, 48¯lfossá (Ölfusá), river flowing from¯lfossvatn in southwest Iceland 4¯lfus (¯lfoss), area in south-west Iceland 48¯rnólfsdalr, farm north of Hvítá onM‡rar in western Iceland 6Øxará, river running across ﬁingvellir
into ¯lfossvatn 45Øxarfjƒr›r, fjord and district in northeast Iceland 42