:Ingólfr Arnarson

{{Short description|Norse explorer (c. 849 – c. 910)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Ingólfr Arnarson

| image = Ingolf by Raadsig.jpg

| caption = Ingolf tager Island i besiddelse by Johan Peter Raadsig (1850)

| birth_date = {{circa|849}}

| birth_place = Rivedal, Sunnfjord, Kingdom of Fjordane

| death_date = {{circa|910}}

| death_place = Reykjarvík, pre-Commonwealth Iceland

| nationality = Norse

| occupation = Icelandic

| known_for = First permanent Norse settler in Iceland

| partner =

| children = {{ill|Þorsteinn Ingólfsson|is}} (son) Þórny Ingolfsdóttir (daughter)

| relatives = Ǫrn Bjǫrnolfsson (father); Hjǫrleifr Hróðmarsson (blood brother)|

}}

File:Reykjavik Standbeeld van Ingolfur Arnarsson, Bestanddeelnr 190-0400.jpg, up on Arnarhóll in Reykjavík]]

File:Iceland 2008-05-27 (2677014699).jpg, the site where Ingólfr is said to have passed his first winter in Iceland]]

Ingolfr Arnarson, in some sources named Bjǫrnolfsson,{{efn|Old Norse pronunciation: {{IPA|non|ˈiŋɡˌolvz̠ ˈɑrnˌɑrsˌson|}}, {{IPA|non|ˈbjɔrnˌolvsˌson|}}.
In Modern Icelandic: {{lang|is|Ingólfur Arnarson}} {{IPA|is|ˈiŋkˌoulvʏr ˈa(r)tnˌar̥sˌsɔːn|}}, {{lang|is|Björnólfsson}} {{IPA|is|ˈpjœ(r)tnˌoul(f)sˌsɔːn|}}.
In Modern Norwegian: {{lang|no|Ingolv Arnesson}} or {{lang|no|Ørnsson}}, {{IPA|no|ˈɪ̂ŋˌgɔłv ˈɑ̂ːɳəˌsɔn}} or {{IPA|no|ˈø̀ːɳˌʂɔn}}}} ({{circa|849}} – {{circa|910}})

is commonly recognized as the first permanent Norse settler of Iceland, together with his wife Hallveig Fróðadóttir and foster brother Hjǫrleifr Hróðmarsson. According to tradition, they settled in Reykjavík in 874.{{cite web|url= http://www.sagamuseum.is/overview/ingolfur-arnarson|title= Ingólfur Arnarson - The First Icelander|publisher= sagamuseum.is |access-date= January 20, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://nbl.snl.no/Ingolv_Arnesson |title=Ingolv Arnesson |date=29 September 2014 |website=nbl.snl.no |publisher=Norsk biografisk leksikon |access-date=3 June 2019}}

Biography

Ingolfr Arnarson was from the valley of Rivedal in Sunnfjord in western Norway. According to the Icelandic Book 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 chronicler Ari Þorgilsson said Ingolfr was the first Nordic settler in Iceland, but mentioned that Irish monks had been in the country before the Norsemen. He wrote that they left because they did not want to live among the newly arrived Norse pagans.{{cite web|url= http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_sogn_og_fjordane/fylkesleksikon/1121013.html

|title= Ingolfr Arnarson|publisher= nrk.no |access-date= January 20, 2016}}

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 a blood feud. He had heard about a new island which Garðar Svavarsson, Hrafna-Flóki and others had found in the Atlantic Ocean. With his blood brother Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson, he sailed for Iceland. When land was in sight, he threw his high 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 of Reykjavík.{{cite web|url= https://nbl.snl.no/Ing%C3%B3lfr_Arnarson_Bj%C7%ABrn%C3%B3lfsson_Ingolv_%C3%98rnsson

|title= Ingolv Arnesson|publisher= Norsk biografisk leksikon|author= Jon Gunnar Jørgensen

|access-date= January 20, 2016}}

In the meantime, Hjǫrleifr had been murdered by his Irish slaves. Ingolfr hunted them down and killed them in the Westman Islands. The islands got their name from that event, with westmen (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 the {{ill|Kjalarnesþing|is}}, the first thing, or parliament, in Iceland. It was a forerunner of the Althingi.{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Ingolv_Arnesson

|title= Ingolv Arnarson |publisher= Store norske leksikon |access-date= January 20, 2016}}

Legacy

File:Ingólfr Arnarson monument Einarr Jonsson 1907 1961 Rivedal Dalsfjorden Sunnfjord Sogn og Fjordane 2015-10-14 Distorted panorama cropped 01.jpg

In 1924, a statue of Ingolfr Arnarson, designed by Icelandic sculptor Einar Jónsson (1874–1954), was erected in Reykjavík. A copy of the statue was erected at Rivedal in 1961.

{{cite web |url=https://www.intltravelnews.com/2019/statue-ingolfur-arnarson-reykjavik-iceland |title=Statue of Ingolfr Arnarson (Reykjavik, Iceland) |website=International Travel News |access-date=November 1, 2019 }}

See also

Notes

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References

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