Ingólfr Arnarson | |
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 Ingolf tager Island i besiddelse byJohan Peter Raadsig (1850) | |
| Born | c. 849 Rivedal,Sunnfjord,Kingdom of Fjordane |
| Died | c. 910 |
| Occupation | Seafarer |
| Known for | First permanentNorse settler in Iceland |
| Children | Þorsteinn Ingólfsson [is] (son) Þórny Ingolfsdóttir (daughter) |
| Relatives | Örn Björnólfsson (father);Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson (blood brother) |
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Ingolfr Arnarson, in some sources namedBjǫrnolfsson,[a] (c. 849 –c. 910)is commonly recognized as the first permanentNorsesettler of Iceland, together with his wifeHallveig Fróðadóttir and foster brotherHjǫrleifr Hróðmarsson. According to tradition, they settled inReykjavík in 874.[1][2]
Ingolfr Arnarson was from the valley of Rivedal inSunnfjord in western Norway. According to the IcelandicBook of Settlements, he built his homestead in and gave name to Reykjavík in 874. However,archaeological finds in Iceland suggest settlement may have started somewhat earlier. The medieval chroniclerAri Þorgilsson said Ingolfr was the first Nordic settler in Iceland, but mentioned thatIrish monks had been in the country before the Norsemen. He wrote that they left because they did not want to live among the newly arrivedNorse pagans.[3]
The Book of Settlements (written two to three centuries after the settlement) contains a story about Ingolfr's arrival. The book claims he left Norway after becoming involved in ablood feud. He had heard about a new island whichGarðar Svavarsson,Hrafna-Flóki and others had found in theAtlantic Ocean. With hisblood brotherHjörleifr Hróðmarsson, he sailed for Iceland. When land was in sight, he threw hishigh 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 the site ofReykjavík.[4]
In the meantime, Hjǫrleifr had been murdered by his Irish slaves. Ingolfr hunted them down and killed them in theWestman Islands. The islands got their name from that event, withwestmen (Old Norse:vestmenn) being a name that the Norsemen used for the Irish. Ingolfr was said to have settled a large part of southwestern Iceland, although after his settlement nothing more was known of him.
His son, Þorsteinn Ingolfsson, was a major chieftain and was said to have founded theKjalarnesþing [is], the firstthing, or parliament, in Iceland. It was a forerunner of theAlthingi.[5]
In 1924, a statue of Ingolfr Arnarson, designed by Icelandic sculptorEinar Jónsson (1874–1954), was erected in Reykjavík. A copy of the statue was erected at Rivedal in 1961.[6]
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