The colonisation process by which settlers claimed land in Iceland during the 9th-10th centuries.
Landnám designates the systematic settlement of Iceland that began around 870 CE and was largely complete by 930. Settlers came primarily from western Norway but also from the British Isles.
Landnámabók documents hundreds of early settlers and their land claims. The process had religious dimensions: settlers consecrated land to the gods and established hof, binding the new settlement to pre-Christian cultic life.
Attestations
- Landnámabók (ca. 1100-1200, bevarad i avskrifter från 1200-1300-talen)
- The primary document for Iceland's colonisation history.