page_title: Ingólfr Arnarson
hierarchical_section_title: Ingólfr Arnarson
caption_attribution_description: English: The painting depicts Ingólfr Arnarson, the first settler of Iceland, newly arrived in Reykjavík. He appears to be commanding his men, perhaps his slaves, to erect his high seat pillars. Several other people and a dog look on while others are unloading a nearby ship. In the background there are mountains. At the time the photograph was taken, the painting was on public display in Viðeyjarstofa in Viðey. A plaque explains that it was a gift to the City of Reykjavík from Eimskipafélag Íslands on the occasion of the 200th birthday of Reykjavík (which was in 1986). The plaque does not give any information about the artist but a quick Googling for the signature "P. Raadsig" and "Ingolf" reveals the name of the painting and information about the artist. The picture was taken under natural lighting with a hand-held digital camera. The right side of the painting was placed closer to a window when the picture was taken. These factors contribute to the mediocre quality of the reproduction.
context_page_description: Ingólfr Arnarson and his wife, Hallveig Frodesdatter, are commonly said to be the first permanent Nordic settlers of Iceland. According to tradition, they founded Reykjavík in 874.
  According to the Landnámabók, he built his house in modern-day Reykjavík and named the city as well. Medieval historian Ari Þorgilsson claimed that Arnarson was the first Nordic settler in Iceland, but Irish monks and hermits lived there before he arrived. He also claimed that the they left because they did not want to live with the newly arrived Norse pagans.
  The Landnámabók claims that Arnarson left modern-day Norway after becoming involved in a blood feud. He had heard about an island that Garðar Svavarsson, Flóki Vilgerðarson and others found while sailing in the Atlantic ocean. With his step-brother, Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson, he sailed for Iceland. When land was in sight, he threw his high seat pillars overboard and promised to settle where the gods decided to bring them ashore. Two of his slaves then searched the coasts for three years before finding the pillars in the small bay which eventually became Reykjavík.
context_section_description: Ingólfr Arnarson (Icelandic: Ingólfur Arnarson) and his wife, Hallveig Frodesdatter, are commonly said to be the first permanent Nordic settlers of Iceland. According to tradition, they founded Reykjavík in 874.
  According to the Landnámabók (a book which describes the settlement of Iceland by the Norsemen), he built his house in modern-day Reykjavík and named the city as well. Medieval historian Ari Þorgilsson claimed that Arnarson was the first Nordic settler in Iceland, but Irish monks and hermits lived there before he arrived. He also claimed that the they left because they did not want to live with the newly arrived Norse pagans.
  The Landnámabók claims that Arnarson left modern-day Norway after becoming involved in a blood feud. He had heard about an island that Garðar Svavarsson, Flóki Vilgerðarson and others found while sailing in the Atlantic ocean. With his step-brother, Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson, he sailed for Iceland. When land was in sight, he threw his high seat pillars overboard and promised to settle where the gods decided to bring them ashore. Two of his slaves then searched the coasts for three years before finding the pillars in the small bay which eventually became Reykjavík. 
  Meanwhile, Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson was murdered by his Irish slaves because of how badly he was treating-them. Ingólfr hunted them down and killed them in Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands). The islands got their name from that event, but vestmenn (west men) is a name that the Norsemen at this time sometimes used for Irishmen. He continued to live in southwestern Iceland, but nothing is known about what happened to him after settling. His son, Torstein (Þorsteinn Ingólfsson), was said to have founded the first parliament, in Iceland. It later became known as the Althing.
caption: Painting of Ingólfr Arnarson by Johan Peter Raadsig (1850).
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