Iceland encyclopedia History

The settlement of Iceland

Iceland's settlement formed part of the Viking Age movement of people across the North Atlantic in the late ninth and early tenth centuries.

Illustration

An illustrated impression of Iceland

Overview

About The settlement of Iceland

Migration and the written tradition

Settlers reached Iceland from Scandinavia and the British Isles, bringing different backgrounds into a new island society. Later Icelandic historical writing associates Reykjavík with Ingólfur Arnarson and places the beginning of settlement around the late ninth century. These accounts preserve important traditions, but they were written after the period they describe. As communities expanded, local assemblies developed, followed by the establishment of the Alþing around 930.

Sources: Þingvellir National Park · Settlement of Iceland ↗

Evidence beneath Reykjavík

Excavations at Aðalstræti uncovered a longhouse occupied around 930–1000 and an older wall dated to around 871. Archaeology reveals household life independently of written narratives. An early building, however, does not by itself identify a named settler as its occupant.

Sources: Reykjavík City Museum · Archaeology of the Settlement Exhibition ↗

Article reviewed 28 September 2026.

Icelandic Knitting and the Lopapeysa

The lopapeysa is an Icelandic wool sweater recognised for its patterned circular yoke. Its familiar form developed during the twentieth century through household knitting, industrial wool processing and exchanges of design ideas.