The White Falcon - 19.03.1971, Blaðsíða 12

Page 12
THE WHITE FALCON
March 19, 1971
Iceland in Art...
Country rich in Viking influence
stant work.
Early accounts of life in this
new land were recorded in the
Landnamabok or Book of the Set-
tlements. The Landnamabok told
of the settlers, their ancestors,
ways of life, and the mass mi-
gration that ensued the permanent
settling.
Many of the early settlers
were similar to the American Pil-
grims. Chieftains of many tribes
in Norway sought the refuge of
Iceland to escape an attempt of
unification by Haraldr Finehair,
the first Prince of Norway. Un-
ification of Norway was finally
achieved in a battle about 885
A. D. at Hafrsjordr, in which the
remaining chieftains succumbed to
Finehair's power.
Although Iceland was settled
by the Norwegians, many of the
settlers came from the Hebrides
Islands and northern Ireland and
were of a semi-Celtic strain.
The migration of Norsemen led them
to the British Isles where many of
the men took Celtic concubines.
Helgi the Lean, a native of Ire-
land and the son of a Norseman,
is an illustrious example of Cel-
tic influence in Iceland. He was
responsible for the first settle-
ments in northern Iceland. He
was both pagan and Christian,
which explains
why the nan^
Kristnes o H
"Christ's Head^
land" still re-
mains from the
firstsettleraent.
The Icelandic
language still
remains as the
purest form of
Germanic dia-
lects. There is
however,a slight
Celtic influence.
The first
forms of govern-
ment in Iceland
were basically
feudal. Chief-
tains maintained
their authority
as the leaders,
taking the title
o f Godi o r
"Priest". Sub-
jects were re-
quired to attend
the sacrificial
rituals in the
temples and were
also given the
privilege o f
membership i n
various token
legislativecoun-
cils. The lim-
its of the Godar
were not terri-
torial for whc
ever served
Gadar remained’"
under his pro-
(See ART, Page 13)
1
By OT3 Ken Burrows
The remoteness and unpredict-
able climate of Iceland offered
both challenge and refuge to the
early Viking explorers in search
for new lands. Inspiration bom
from legend is perhaps the great-
est motivation of the adventurer,
and no doubt the tales of a mist-
shrouded and mysterious isle to
the north drew many a man in quest
of the land that would soon be-
come Iceland.
The first attempt to establish
a settlement in Iceland was made
in the latter part of the ninth
century by a Norwegian Viking
chieftain,Floki.
He arrived in
Iceland with a
handful of set-
tlers, only to
discover that
the land was
harsher than ex-
pected . Being
accustomed to a
sailor's life,
no attempt was
made to prepare
for winter and
the settlers re-
turned disheart-
ened. During Flo-
ki 's brief stay
it is said that
he stood atop
a ridge and look-
ing with a light*
of discourage-
ment in his eyes
at the fjords
filled with pack
ice, he named the
island Iceland.
Ingolf, an-
other chieftain
of western Nor-
way, made a sec-
ond attempt to
establish a set-
tlement about
874 A.D. The
current site of
Reykjavik i s
said to be the
original site
chosen, and the
permanent set-
tling took about
15 years of con-