ICELAND 71 



French, German or Danish. They soon become 

 proficient, and impart their knowledge gradually to 

 the other members of the household. The Ice- 

 landers are proud of their learning and their litera- 

 ture, and are never weary of listening to stories 

 concerning the ancient history of the island. 

 Their historic records have been carefully kept since 

 an early age, and the curious phases of life which 

 have determined the existence of this little Teutonic 

 community for a thousand years are of impressive 

 interest to a people proud of their unbroken record. 

 The language of Iceland most nearly represents 

 that of the early Teutonic fathers, and has not 

 been so changed phonetically as the Norse and 

 Danish languages have been through contact with 

 the nations of the south. 



The history of Iceland goes back to the year 

 870, when the country became known for its poets 

 and singers, who travelled to the distant Courts of 

 Europe. The Heroic Age succeeded this date and 

 lasted for some four hundred years, during which 

 colonists from our Western Isles and from Norway 

 settled in the country. It was during this period 

 of the Commonwealth that the events embodied 

 in the earlier and later sagas are said to have taken 

 place. According to the popular belief, Chris- 

 tianity was introduced in the year 1030, and with 

 it came peace, great ecclesiastical organisation and 

 a slight phonetic change in the original language. 

 Then followed the first and second civil wars, 

 which lasted until the fall of the great houses in 

 1258, after which the Icelanders made submission 

 to the Norwegian kings. Thus came the second 

 period, an age of Medievalism, which lasted for 



