Editing Iceland (section)

===874–1262: settlement and Commonwealth===
{{see also|Settlement of Iceland|Icelandic Commonwealth|Christianisation of Iceland}}
[[File:Ingolf by Raadsig.jpg|thumb|[[Ingólfr Arnarson]] (modern Icelandic: ''Ingólfur Arnarson''), the first permanent Scandinavian settler]]
According to both {{Lang|is|[[Landnámabók]]}} and {{Lang|is| [[Íslendingabók]]}}, monks known as the [[Papar]] lived in Iceland before Scandinavian settlers arrived, possibly members of a [[Hiberno-Scottish mission]]. An archaeological excavation has revealed the ruins of a cabin in [[Hafnir]] on the [[Southern Peninsula (Iceland)|Reykjanes peninsula]]. [[Carbon dating]] indicates that it was abandoned sometime between 770 and 880.<ref>[http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/A_New_View_on_the_Origin_of_First_Settlers_in_Iceland_0_378670.news.aspx New View on the Origin of First Settlers in Iceland] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605235513/http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/A_New_View_on_the_Origin_of_First_Settlers_in_Iceland_0_378670.news.aspx |date=5 June 2011}}, ''Iceland Review Online'', 4 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.</ref> In 2016, archaeologists uncovered a [[longhouse]] in [[Stöðvarfjörður]] that may date to as early as 800.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hafstad |first=Vala |date=15 September 2016 |title=Major Archeological Find in Iceland |url=http://icelandreview.com/news/2016/09/15/major-archeological-find-iceland |newspaper=[[Iceland Review]] |access-date=16 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915122754/http://icelandreview.com/news/2016/09/15/major-archeological-find-iceland |archive-date=15 September 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Swedish Viking explorer [[Garðar Svavarsson]] was the first to circumnavigate Iceland in 870 and establish that it was an island.<ref>[http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/1066869 The History of Viking Iceland] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203211850/http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/1066869 |date=3 February 2012}}, ''Ancient Worlds'', 31 May 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2013.</ref> He stayed during the winter and built a house in [[Húsavík]]. Garðar departed the following summer, but one of his men, [[Náttfari]], decided to stay behind with two slaves. Náttfari settled in what is now known as Náttfaravík, and he and his slaves became the first permanent residents of Iceland to be documented.<ref>[http://www.gardarsholmur.is/iceland-and-the-history/ Iceland and the history] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110020535/http://www.gardarsholmur.is/iceland-and-the-history/ |date=10 November 2013}}, ''The Gardarsholm Project'', 29 July 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.</ref><ref>[http://visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=48331 Hvers vegna hefur Náttfara ekki verið hampað sem fyrsta landnámsmanninum?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027173727/http://visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=48331 |date=27 October 2014 }}, ''University of Iceland: The Science Web'', 7 July 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2013.</ref>

The Norwegian-Norse chieftain [[Ingólfr Arnarson]] built his homestead in present-day [[Reykjavík]] in 874. Ingólfr was followed by many other emigrant settlers, largely Scandinavians and their [[thrall]]s, many of whom were [[Irish people|Irish]] or [[Scottish people|Scottish]].<ref>Historical Dictionary of the Vikings By Katherine Holman p252 scarecrow press 2003 discusses that both Scottish and Irish slaves were in Iceland</ref> By 930, most [[arable land]] on the island had been claimed; the [[Althing]], a legislative and judicial assembly was initiated to regulate the [[Icelandic Commonwealth]]. The lack of arable land also served as an impetus to the [[Norse colonization of Greenland|settlement of Greenland]] starting in 986.<ref>Kudeba, N. (19 April 2014). ''Chapter 5 – Norse Explorers from Erik the Red to Leif Erikson – Canadian Explorers''. Retrieved from The History of Canada: {{cite web |url=http://www.thehistoryofcanadapodcast.com/norse-explorers/ |title=Chapter 5 – Norse Explorers from Erik the Red to Leif Erikson – Canadian Explorers &#124; the History of Canada |access-date=22 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508030929/http://www.thehistoryofcanadapodcast.com/norse-explorers/ |archive-date=8 May 2014}}</ref> The period of these early settlements coincided with the [[Medieval Warm Period]], when temperatures were similar to those of the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Patterson |first1=W.P. |last2=Dietrich |first2=K.A. |last3=Holmden |first3=C. |last4=Andrews |first4=J.T. |title=Two millennia of North Atlantic seasonality and implications for Norse colonies |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=8 March 2010 |volume=107 |issue=12 |pages=5306–5310 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0902522107 |pmid=20212157 |pmc=2851789 |bibcode=2010PNAS..107.5306P|doi-access=free | issn=0027-8424}}</ref> At this time about 25% of Iceland was covered with forest, compared to 1% in the present day.<ref>Magnusson, M. (2003) ''The Vikings''. Tempus. {{ISBN|0752426990}}. pp. 188–191</ref> Christianity was adopted [[Christianisation of Iceland|by consensus]] around 999–1000, although [[Norse paganism]] persisted among segments of the population for some years afterward.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qx7Tvd99xVAC&pg=PAPA138 |title=Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives |page=138 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |author=Michael Strmiska |date=12 December 2005 |isbn=978-1-85109-608-4 |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610032721/https://books.google.com/books?id=qx7Tvd99xVAC&pg=PAPA138 |url-status=live }}</ref>