641 



ICELAND. 



Iceland. 



History. 



Christianity 



lar historical writings which luive come to us from the 

 Icelanders are yet more valuable. The Annales Od- 

 denses of Sosmund Frode ; the Landnama Bok ; the 

 Chronicle of the Kings of Norway, by Snorro Sturle- 

 son ; and numerous other works, testify the abilities 

 and correctness of the writers. Besides poetry and 

 history, mathematics and mechanics were cultivated; 

 and jurisprudence formed an important study. Tra- 

 vellers penetrated into Asia and Africa ; and the mari- 

 time adventures of the Icelanders prove that attention 

 was paid to astronomy and geography. Philology was 

 not neglected, and the most celebrated Roman authors 

 were familiar to all the learned men. The Greek lan- 

 guage was not much cultivated. 



Before the establishment of Christianity, which took 

 place in the year 1000, the Runic was the only charac- 

 ter in use ; but more seems to have been trusted to me- 

 mory than to writing. With Christianity, the Roman 

 characters were introduced, and a new incitement was 

 thus given to education, and every literary pursuit. 

 The first school was established by Isleif, the first bishop 

 of Skalholt, about the middle of the llth century ; and 

 soon after three others were formed in different parts of 

 the island. In these the youth were taught to read, 

 write, and compose in their own language, and initia- 

 ted in the classics and in theology, to which last par- 

 ticular attention was given. 



The establishment of Christianity was not the least 

 remarkable event in the early history of Iceland, since 

 it was effected in a manner which displayed, in a stri- 

 king manner, the genius and government of the peo- 

 ple. Frederic, a bishop from Saxony, began to preach 

 the Christian doctrines in the year QSl and the num- 

 ber of converts gradually increased. The propagation 

 of the new faith met with every species of opposition ; 

 but at length the contests became so frequent, while 

 those who adopted Christianity greatly increased in 

 number, that the national assembly, which met in the 

 year 1000, took the matter into consideration. While 

 the question for the establishment of the new religion 

 was debated, a messenger hurried into the assembly, 

 and announced that fire had burst from the earth in the 

 southern part of the country, and was carrying destruc- 

 tion before it. The heathen party instantly exclaimed, 

 that this was the vengeance of the gods against their 

 presumption. But Snorro, who was a zealous advo- 

 cate for the Christian cause, called out to them, " For 

 what reason did your gods display their wrath, when 

 the rock on which we stand was burning ?" The place 

 of assembly is in the midst of frightful proofs of the 

 power of volcanic fire ; and this exclamation of Snorro 

 turned the scale in favour of the Christian faith. The 

 decision of the assembly was solemnly pronounced by 

 Thorgeir, the Laugman ; and all religious disputes were 

 immediately suspended. A church establishment was 

 soon afterwards arranged, and the first bishop of Skal- 

 holt, Isleif, was ordained in the year 1057. From this 

 period, during nearly two centuries, a pure religion 

 was exercised by the Icelanders, undisturbed by the 

 errors and superstitions of the Romish church. 

 fnTAmeri- The discover y of Greenland, about the year 972, is 

 ca discover- a 1101 " 61 " feature of this early age ; and one still more 

 ed by ice- remarkable was the discovery of the north-east coast of 

 landers. America in the year 1001 by Biorn Heriolfson, who 

 was driven to the south while on a voyage to Green- 

 land. A colony was established in Greenland, which 

 subsisted till the beginning of the 15th century, when 

 all traces of it were lost. About the same time, a ma- 

 terial change for the worse appears to have occurred 

 in the climate of Iceland, where, it is said, corn for. 



merly grew. The loss of Greenland was occasioned by 

 an unusual accumulation of ice, which has bound up 

 the coasts ever since, and frustrated every attempt to 

 reach the place where the once flourishing colony ex- 

 isted. 



The part of America first seen was probably some 

 part of the coast of Labrador. Leif, the son of Eric, 

 the discoverer of Greenland, on hearing the report of 

 this discovery, set out to pursue it ; and passing by the 

 coast first observed by Biorn, he came to a strait sepa- 

 rating a large island from the mainland, probably that 

 of Newfoundland. Thorvald, brother to Leif, went 

 over to this new country, which, from finding wild 

 vines growing in it, was called Vinland ; after remain, 

 ing two years, be was killed in a skirmish with the na- 

 tives, who had not been seen till this time. A regular 

 colony appears to have been afterwards established in 

 Vinland. But after the early part of the 12th century, 

 scarcely a vestige of this colony can be found, and the 

 situation of Vinland is destined to perpetual obscurity. 



The moral character of the Icelanders, during this 

 period of their history, seems to have kept pace with 

 their intellectual endowments, and to have stood high. 

 Previous, however, to the introduction of the Christian 

 religion, some unnaturalcustoms and superstitious usages 

 obtained. The exposure of children, though not pro- 

 hibited, was soon relinquished, after the morality in- 

 culcated by the New Testament came to be fully un- 

 derstood ; and ceased more than a hundred years be- 

 fore the practice was abolished in Norway. The most 

 singular superstition was the Beserkine. From the 

 Kristni Saga, and the Ecclesiastical History of Ice- 

 land, we learn that the Beserkin were professed war- 

 riors, who, by means of magic, had rendered their bo- 

 dies invulnerable. Rousing themselves by incantations 

 into frenzy, these men committed every kind of vio- 

 lence, and rushed naked into battle. There is every 

 probability that some of these were miserable and in- 

 fatuated wretches, while others adopted the profession 

 with the view of imposture. 



The independent and happy state of Iceland was not 

 destined to be uninterrupted. The love of power pro- 

 duced intestine evils, which the ambition of Norway 

 carefully fomented. The civil contests were not al- 

 ways trifling ; for instances are recorded, in which fleets 

 of twenty sail, and bodies of 1200 men, fought on one 

 side. The desire of peace, and the promises of the Nor- 

 wegians, now become jealous of the prosperity of Ice- 

 land, at length produced a formal proposal in the na- 

 tional council, that the country should be governed by 

 a single potentate ; and in the year 1261, the whole, 

 except the eastern province, submitted to Haco, king 

 of Norway. A few years afterwards, the submission 

 of Iceland was completed, but under conditions which 

 still maintained their rights and their commerce. In 

 1280, Magnus, the successor of Haco, gave to the island 

 the code of laws well known by the title Jonsbok, which 

 was no more than a revised copy of the ancient laws. 



The last political change which occurs in the his- 

 tory of Iceland, was its transference with Norway to 

 the crown of Denmark in the year 1 380. A period of 

 tranquillity, during which rank and property became 

 more equalized, and trade was almost wholly trans- 

 ferred to other nations, succeeded ; and a feeling of 

 dependence checked enterprise, while vigour and acti- 

 vity were gradually lost. In the year 1482, a pesti- 

 lence carried off nearly two-thirds of the population ; 

 and another broke out towards the close of the cen- 

 tury. In addition to these calamities, the Icelanders 

 were at this period exposed to the incursions of pirates, 



1 



Moral cha- 

 racter at 

 this period. 



Submision 

 to Norway. 



Transfer- 

 ence to 

 Denmark. 



Calamities 

 at this pe- 

 riod. 



