right|thumb|402px|A map indicating the travels of the first Scandinavians in Iceland during the 9th century

Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; born 9th century) was a Norseman who intentionally sailed to Iceland. His story is documented in the Landnámabók manuscript; however, the precise year of his arrival is not clear. He was of Norwegian origin.

Others making the trip included Thorolf (Þórólfr) and two men named Herjolf and Faxe ( and ). After sailing for a while from the Faroes, Flóki set the ravens free. The first raven flew back to the Faroes; later, the second flew up in the air and back on board, but the third flew northwest and did not return. Flóki now knew they were close to land, and so they followed the third raven. After sailing west past Reykjanes, they spotted a large bay. Faxe remarked that they seemed to have found great land. The bay facing Reykjavík was therefore known as Faxaflói (). The summer was very good, so Flóki was ill-prepared for the cold winter that followed. Waiting for the spring, Flóki hiked up the highest mountain above his camp, now believed to be Nónfell in Westfjords. From there, he spotted a large fjord; Ísafjörður, then full of drift ice. Thus, he named the entire land (Iceland).

See also

  • Settlement of Iceland
  • Timeline of Icelandic history
  • Naddoddur — the first Scandinavian to discover Iceland, though accidental
  • Garðar Svavarsson — second, also accidental

References

Sources

Further reading

  • Byock, Jesse (1988) Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas and Power (University of California Press)
  • Byock, Jesse (2001) Viking Age Iceland (Penguin Books)
  • Hjalmarsson, Jon R. (1993) History of Iceland - From Settlement to the Present Day (Reykjavík: Iceland Review )
  • Jones, Gwyn (1986) The Norse Atlantic Saga: Being the Norse Voyages of Discovery and Settlement to Iceland, Greenland, and North America (Oxford University Press)
  • Karlsson, Gunnar (2000) The History of Iceland (University of Minnesota Press)