The History of Iceland

The History of Iceland

Iceland has a short but rich history. Here we are going to tell you a small part of that history.

Once home to the Vikings, Iceland boasts a fascinating and diverse history. If you are visiting this magnificent country for the first time, it would help to understand its geographic and political history. Although the country has a small population, it still has many stories to tell. Its unique position and varying climate all contribute to its history.

Geographic Location

Situated in the Mid-Atlantic Rift, it is no surprise that Iceland is home to so much geothermal activity. In fact, it boasts over 200 geothermal hotspots including volcanoes and geysers. Originally, just under half of the country’s land was dominated by forests. Adorned in birchwood trees, these forests soon decreased as the settlers moved in and sourced the wood for building houses and making fires.

Iceland’s First Settlers

According to the Book of Settlements the very first settlers in Iceland were Irish monks, also known as “The Papar” or wandering Christians. They are said to have been here before the official settlement. When the Norse settlers came to Iceland they found remains of their culture.

The country’s first Norse settlers are believed to have arrived sometime between the 9th and 10 century. Naddodd the Viking is said to have found Iceland in 861, after being blown off course when going to the Faroe Islands.  Hrafna-Flóki (Flóki Vilgerðarson) went on a expeditions six years after Naddodd came to Iceland. He came to the West Fjords and gave Iceland its name (more on that here below).

The very first man to settle in Iceland is believed to be Ingólfur Arnarson. He settled with his family in the city of Reykjavik in the year 874. As many chiefs from Norway began to follow Arnarson, the country soon became populated. This also resulted in the start of the Alþingi, one of the world’s oldest parliaments.

Iceland’s Name

It is often said that Iceland was wrongly named as it has far warmer temperatures than this name might suggest. Well, the name was given to the country by Flóki Vilgerðarson, a sailor who experienced a particularly icy winter one year and thought that Iceland would be a fitting name. When looking at the name, one might think that Hrafna-Flóki was trying to repel people from settling in the country.

The most northerly island’s location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography is called Thule. Some scholars believe that the island the ancient Greek and Romans were referring to was Iceland.

The Icelandic Flag

Did you know that Iceland has had a few flag designs throughout the years?

In the beginning of the 1800’s Jorgen Jorgensen, called “The Dogs Days King” declared himself the de facto ruler and protector of Iceland after arresting the Danish governor of Iceland. Jorgen hoisted the first known flag of Iceland. It had a blue background and 3 fish stocks in the upper left corner. Blue was perceived the national colour of Iceland back then.

Link to flag: Flag of Iceland – Wikipedia

The next flag design (the flag ended as unofficial) was proposed by Sigurður Guðmundsson, an Icelandic artist, in 1870. The flag had a blue background and in the center of the flag was a white falcon with open wings. The open wings on the falcon symbolized that the nation was ready to take a flight towards independence. This flag became very popular among politically active students in 1874, that is during Iceland’s 1000-year settlement anniversary.

Link to flag: File:Icelandic falcon flag (unofficial).png – Wikimedia Commons

Einar Benediktsson, an Icelandic poet, was not a fan of the falcon design flag. He said that the flag did not follow an international pattern or represent Iceland as a nation. Einar proposed a different design than the other previous designs. In 1897 his design came out, the background was blue and it had a white cross in the middle. The Danish monarch refused to sign off on the design due to the similarities to the Greek national flag. Another reason was that the flag was said to be similar to the Swedish national flag and that they were concerned in a stormy weather the flags might be confused.

In 1913 a flag committee was formed and under the instruction of the Prime minister they asked the public to send in designs of the Icelandic flag, how they want it to be. They received 46 designs back. The majority included a Nordic Cross as the centerpiece and two designs featured Mjölnir (Thor’s hammer). Out of the Nordic Cross designs about 13 of them included the colours red, blue and white. In 1914 the committee finalized 2 designs for the Icelandic national flag. One of the designs resembles the flag we know today, the other design had a white background and a blue cross.

The flag Iceland has today was originated in 1906 by Matthías Þórðarson. He went over what each colour represents, the red cross is an allusion to the lave and fire of Iceland’s geology, the white cross is the snow and the blue background is the Atlantic Ocean.

Link to flags: Iceland – Flag History (crwflags.com)

War

At the turn of the 13th Century, in 1220, Iceland found itself in an extensive battle that is known as the Age of Sturlungs. It was a civil war between the chieftains about whether Iceland should belong to the King of Norway. The Sturlung clan were an important family in Iceland who supported the Norwegian king. They led the largest battle that Iceland has ever witnessed, named the Battle of Örlygsstaðir. Although the Sturlungs were defeated, Iceland was claimed by Norway in 1262 via the Old Covenant. The country was then handed over to Denmark in the 14th Century.

Þorskastríðin or The Cod Wars were territorial conflicts between Iceland and the United Kingdom. These conflicts started in the late 1950’s and ended in 1976. Each Cod War started when Iceland expanded its area of sea that they controlled. That forced the British to fish further away from Iceland’s productive waters. Britain fought to retain access to Icelandic waters, they even send Royal Navy warships to protect their trawlers, which lead to serious incidents of vessels being rammed, live rounds fired and seamen from both sides being injured.

The first Cod War started when Iceland extended the sea mile zone from 4 miles to 12 miles in August 1958. Iceland lacked a full fledged navy, so seven vessels were used to make up a coast guard to protect the newly established zone. The first Cod War lasted for 3 years. In 1972 the 12 mile limited was extended to 50 miles, that started the second Cod War. The British along with West Germany ignored the implementation of the zone, that lead to Iceland sending its coast guard (which had been strengthened with new vessels). The British government sent large and fast tugboats to protect it trawlers instead of escalating the situation by sending the Royal Navy. That plan did not go well as the Icelanders had a new weapon for this Cod War, they had net cutters. They put the net cutters on the coast guard vessels. Because the Icelandic coast guard had the means to cut the fishing net from the British trawlers, this Cod War was more violent than the first one. Iceland even suggested leaving NATO if the 50-mile zone would not be recognized. The second Cod War ended in September 1973. If you thought the Cod Wars were over by this, there is one more. The third Cod War began in July 1975 when Iceland extended their miles from 50 to 200. The extension on the miles was accepted by international law, but Britain refused to recognize the new zone and the third war began. This was the shortest war but had some of the most serious and violent confrontations between Iceland and Britain. NATO again mediated talks between Iceland and Britain. Under pressure, Britain had little option than to accept the new mile zone and the demands from Iceland.

Religion

Today, Iceland is a predominantly Lutheran country. The religion began to dominate the country during the 14th Century when Iceland was ruled by the Danish. Since then, Lutheran is the most practiced religion in the country, although many people choose not to follow a religion at all.

Natural Disasters

With so many volcanoes, it should come as no surprise that Iceland has witnessed its fair share of natural disasters. Perhaps the most notable disaster was the eruption of Laki in 1783, which killed 9000 people. On top of that, this eruption resulted in a nationwide famine that killed even more of the country’s population. The Laki eruption is also said to have been one of the causes of the French Revolution. The eruption caused a monsoon cycle across Egypt and Europe. This then resulted in a widespread famine in France, which was one of the factors that led to the Revolution.

Independence

Iceland gained independence from Denmark on June 17th 1944. This was decided via a public referendum. An impressive 97% of the country voted for Iceland to become a republic. This is a notable historic event that is still celebrated to this day.

Historic Celebrations & Events

Now that you know a little more about Iceland’s diverse history, you may be interested to learn about their national celebrations too. If you find yourself in the country during these events, be sure to join in. These events offer a wonderful cultural experience to visitors and locals alike.

Þorrablót

Þorrablót is a huge feast that takes place in January every year. It originated from the Viking era where they would get together for a sacrificial meal for the pagan gods. This is a fantastic way to sample traditional Viking dishes, accompanied by poetry, games, and song. Although Þorrablót is generally celebrated at home, you can also experience the feast at many restaurants throughout the country.

Independence Day

On June 17th every year, the nation continues to mark its independence from Denmark. It was on this day that Iceland became the nation we know and love today. As the event takes place in the summer, you can expect an entire day of street celebrations with parades, parties, and live entertainment.

Jónsmessa

Another notable event that dates to the Viking era, Jónmessa is certainly not to be missed. It takes place on the longest day of the year, in June, and involves a range of festivals and activities. Legend has it that on this night the seals take a human form and the cows gain the ability to speak. You’ll probably witness lots of bonfires on this day as friends and families gather to celebrate the midnight sun.

Seafarers Day

Celebrating the nation’s fishing heritage, Seafarer’s Day is a fun-filled family-friendly event. Also known as Fishermen’s Day, this event takes place on the first Sunday in June. The celebrations take place across the country with parades and free boating and fishing activities. In Reykjavik, the celebration takes place at the Old Harbour with an exciting programme of activities, competitions, music, and food stalls.

Reykjavik Culture Night

Taking place every August, the Reykjavik Culture Night is an exciting ten-day festival dedicated to the city’s arts and culture. It is a great way to fully understand Icelandic culture, with a whole range of events and parties to choose from. Discover local artists, photographers, poets, and performers, at this jam-packed festival.