723 
ICELAND, 
Iceland, befides all the inconveniencies already men¬ 
tioned, has two very terrible ones, called by the natives 
Jkrida and fniojlodi: the name of the firft imports large 
pieces of a mountain tumbling down and deftroying the 
lands and houfes which lie at the foot of it; this happen¬ 
ed in 1554, when a whole farm was ruined, and thirteen 
people buried alive. The other word fignifies the effects 
of a prodigious quantity of fncrw, which covers the tops 
of the mountains, rolling down in immenfe mafles, and 
doing a great deal of damage; of this there was ail in- 
ftance in 1699, during the night, when two farms were 
buried, with all their • inhabitants and cattle. This laft 
accident Iceland has, in common with all very mountain¬ 
ous countries, particularly Swilferland. 
At what time the ifland of Iceland was firft peopled is 
uncertain. An Englifh colony indeed is faid to have 
been fettled there in the beginning of the fifth century ; 
but of this there are not fufficient proofs. There is, how¬ 
ever, reafon to fuppofe that the Englifh and Irifh were 
acquainted with this country, under another name, long 
before the arrival of the Norwegians ; for the celebrated 
Bede gives a pretty accurate defcription of the ifland. 
Eut of thefe original inhabitants we cannot pretend to 
fay any thing, as the Iceland chronicles go no farther back 
than the arrival of the Norwegians. What they relate is 
to the following purpofe. 
Naddodr, a famous pirate, was driven on the coaft of 
Iceland in 861, and named the country Snio-land, Snow- 
land, on account of the great quantities of fnow with 
which he perceived the mountains covered. He did not 
.remain there long; but on his return extolled the country 
to fuch a degree, that one Garder Suafarfon, an enter- 
prifing Swede, was encouraged by his account to go in 
fearch of it in 86^. He failed quite round the ifland, and 
gave it the name of Gardaljholmur, or Garder’s ifland. 
Having remained in Iceland during the winter, he returned 
in the fpring to Norway, where he defcribed the new- 
difcovered ifland as a pleafant well-wooded country. This 
excited a defire in Floke, another Swede, reputed the 
greateft navigator of his time, to undertake a voyage 
thither. As the compafs was then unknown, he took three 
ravens on-bonrd to employ them on the difcoveiy. By 
the way he vifited his friends at Ferro ; and, having failed 
farther to the northward, he let fly one of his ravens, 
which returned to Ferro. Some time after, he difmifled 
the fecond, which returned to the fhip again, as he could 
find no land. The laft trial proved more fuccefsful; the 
third raven took his flight to Iceland, where the fltip ar¬ 
rived a few days after. Floke ftaid here the whole win¬ 
ter with his company; and, becaufe he found a great deal 
of floating ice on the north fide, he gave the country the 
name of Iceland, which it has ever fince retained. 
When they returned to Norway in the following fpring, 
Floke, and thofe that had been with him, made a very 
different defcription of the country. Floke defcribed it 
as a.wretched place; while one of his companions, named 
Thorulfr, praifed it fo highly, .that he affirmed butter 
dropped from every plant; which extravagant commenda¬ 
tion procured him the name of Thorulfr-fmior, or Butter- 
Thorulfr. 
From this time there are no accounts of any voyages to 
Iceland, till Ingolfr and his friend Leifr undertook one 
in 874. They fpent the winter on the ifland, and deter¬ 
mined to fettle there for the future. Ingolfr returned to 
Norway, to provide whatever might be neceflary for the 
comfortable eftablifliment of a colony, and Leifr in the 
mean time went to affift in the war in England. After 
an interval of four years, they again met in Iceland, the 
one bringing with him a confiderable number of people, 
with the neceflary tools and inftruments for making the 
country habitable ; and the other imported his acquired 
treafures. After this period many people went there to 
fettle ; and, in the fpace of fixty years, the whole ifland 
was inhabited. The tyranny of Harold Pulchricomus, 
king of Norway, contributed not -a little to the popula- 
Vol, X. No. 707. 
tion of Iceland ; and fo great was the emigration of his 
fubjefts, that he was at laft obliged to ilfue an order, that 
no one fhould fail from Norway to Iceland without pay¬ 
ing four ounces of fine filver to the king. 
Befides the Norwegians, new colonies arrived from dif¬ 
ferent nations, between whom wars foon commenced; 
and the Icelandic hiftories are full of the accounts of their 
battles. In addition to which, fome curious particulars 
relative to the ancient ftate of this ifland have lately been 
publifhed by a Mr. Vhorkelyn, a native of the country. 
From his work it appears that Iceland, for a very confi¬ 
derable fpace of time, viz. from the beginning of the 
xoth to the middle of the 13th century, was under a re¬ 
publican form of government. At firft the father, or 
head of every family, was an abfoiute fovereign ; but, in 
the progrefs of population and improvement, it became 
neceflary to form certain regulations for the fettlement of 
difputes. concerning the frontiers of different eftaies. For 
this purpofe the heads of the families concerned aflem- 
bled themfelves, and formed the outlines of a republic. 
In the mean time they carried on a profperous trade to 
different parts ; fending (hips even to the Levant, and to 
Conftantinople, at that time celebrated as the only feat 
of literature and humanity in the world. Deputies were 
likewife fent from this ifland over land to that capital, 
for the improvement of their laws and civilization ; and 
this a whole century before the firft crufade. In thefe 
ancient Icelandic laws, therefore, we meet with evident 
traces of thofe of the Greeks and Homans. For example, 
befides a body of written laws which were read every 
third year to the people, they had two men chofen annu¬ 
ally by the heads of families, with confular power, not 
only to enforce the laws then in being, but, when thefe 
proved deficient, to aft as necefiity required. Thefe laws 
do not appear to have inflifted capital punifhments upon 
any perfon. Murderers were banifhed to the wood ; that 
is, to the Interior and uncultivated parts of the ifland, 
where no perfon was allowed to approach them within a 
certain number of fathoms. In cafes of banifliment for 
left crimes, the friends of the offender were allowed to 
fupply him with neceflaries. The culprit, however, might 
be killed by any perfon who found him without his 
bounds ; and he might even be hunted and deftroyed in 
his fanftuary, provided he did not withdraw himfelf from 
the ifland within a twelvemonth after his l'entence, wdiich 
it was luppofed he might accomplifh by means of the an¬ 
nual arrival and departure of fhips. Every man’s perfon 
was free until he had forfeited his rights by fome crime 
againft fociety ; and fo high was their refpeft for inde¬ 
pendence, that great indulgence was allowed for the power 
of paflion : if any provoking word or behaviour had been 
ufed, no punifhment was inflifted on the party who re- 
fented it, even though he fhould have killed his adverfary. 
By the laws of Iceland, the poor were committed to the 
proteftion of their neareft kindred, who had a right to 
their labour as far as they were able to work, and after¬ 
wards to indemnification if the poor perfon fhould acquire 
any property. Children were obliged to maintain their 
parents in their old age ; but, if the latter had neglefted 
to give them good education, they w'ere abfolved from 
this duty. 
Thefe inftitutions did not prove fufficient to reftrain 
the turbulent fpirit of the Icelanders. They continually 
waged war with each other ; and, by their inteftine con- 
flifts, fo weakened all parties, that the whole became at 
laft a prey to a few arbitrary and enterpriiing men ; who, 
as is too generally the cafe, wantonly abufed their power 
to the oppreflion of their countrymen and the difgrace of 
humanity. Notwithltanding thefe troubles, however, the 
Icelanders remained free from a foreign yoke till 1261 ; 
when the greateft part of them put themfelves under the 
proteftion of Hakans king of Norway, promifing to pay 
him tribute upon certain conditions agreed on between 
them ; and the reft followed their example in 1264. Af¬ 
terwards. Iceland, together with Norway, became fubieft: 
tp- 
