Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
did eventually come back to Iceland, settling in the Skagafjörður district on the north
coast.
Credit for the first intentional settlement, according to the 12th-century
Íslendingabók,
goes to Ingólfur Arnarson, who fled Norway with his blood brother Hjörleifur. He landed
at Ingólfshöfði (southeast Iceland) in 871, then continued around the coast and set up
house at a place he called Reykjavík (Smoky Bay), named after the steam from thermal
springs there. Hjörleifur settled near the present town of Vík, but was murdered by his
slaves shortly after.
As for Ingólfur, he was led to Reykjavík by a fascinating pagan ritual. It was traditional
for Viking settlers to toss their high-seat pillars (a symbol of authority and part of a chief-
tain's paraphernalia) into the sea as they approached land. The settler's new home was es-
tablished wherever the gods brought the pillars ashore - a practice imitated by waves of
settlers who followed from the Norwegian mainland.
