The settlement of Iceland is traditionally believed to have begun around 874 CE, led by a Norwegian chieftain, Ingólfur Arnarson, who established the first permanent settlement at Reykjavík. This account, recorded in the Landnámabók, tells how Ingólfur settled where his sacred pillars landed, and it marks the start of Iceland's Age of Settlement. However, some sources suggest that Náttfari, a man left behind by the explorer Garðar Svavarsson, may have been the first to settle in Iceland.
Traditionally, it is believed that the first settlers arrived in 870 or 874, spurred by King Harald I's unification of Norway, though modern historians suggest broader factors such as a shortage of land in Scandinavia. Unlike other regions like Britain and Ireland, Iceland was uninhabited, making it attractive for settlement. The period from 874 to 930 saw a wave of Norse settlers, primarily from Norway, but also from the British Isles. Many of these settlers were of mixed Norse and Celtic heritage, with some Irish and Scottish slaves brought along by their Norse masters. Estimates of the initial population range from around 4,300 to 24,000 people.
Icelandic Settlements c.870-1263 CE. @ Anonymous
According to medieval sources like Íslendingabók and Landnámabók, the Age of Settlement lasted from 874 to 930, during which time most of the island was claimed, and the Alþingi, Iceland’s national assembly, was established at Þingvellir. Archaeological evidence supports these dates, but also reveals earlier, seasonal settlements in Iceland before permanent Norse colonization. Some evidence suggests that Gaelic monks, known as the papar, may have lived in Iceland before the Norse arrived, but they left when the Norse settlers came.
By 930, the land had been fully claimed, marking the end of the Age of Settlement and the beginning of the Icelandic Commonwealth period. Though settlement slowed, immigration continued into the 10th century, contributing to the growth of the early Icelandic society.