Landnámabók

The Old Icelandic text Landnámabók ( " land grabbing book ," Book of the settlement of Iceland ) is an important historical source of colonization of Iceland. The focus is on a genealogical list of the largely Norwegian settlers who took the uninhabited island in possession. Today Landnámabók no longer considered absolutely reliable historical source. However, it was written by its authors and compilers in historical consciousness and, therefore, must be taken seriously, at least in an emic perspective.

Description of the establishment

Facts reproduction

Landnámabók lists 400 Scandinavian settlers reached Iceland 870-930 and settled.

The currently owned community lands are thereby rendered geographically divided, the author systematically circled the island. In addition, the book provides about the limits of the individual settlements, characterizes the settlers are again biographical anecdotes and reports on important experiences in their lives, this is one of the ancestors and descendants to the 11th century.

Demarcation to literary texts

In contrast to the literary Íslendinga sögur, the withdrawals their genealogical information either directly or Landnámabók drew from the same tradition and want to be entertained in the first place, it goes into Landnámabók to the tradition of historical events.

Tradition and transcript

The contemporaries of the author of the original Landnámabók Been in the fifth generation Icelanders. The data acquisition was dependent on oral tradition ( orality ), whose reliability can usually be desired after less than 200 years in terms of the reproduction of actual ratios are highly desired. The interest of peasant societies in genealogy and descent to legitimize territorial ownership is so important that Landnámabók nevertheless be a partially reliable source.

Manuscripts

The original version of Landnámabók was not preserved. It was written in the 11th century, and it is thought that it comes from Ari Þorgilsson inn frodi ( 1068-1148 ), or that he was involved in their formation.

Landnámabók however, was preserved in five medieval versions:

• The oldest version of Sturlubók Sturla Þórðarson (1214-1284), probably painted 1275-1280 and is the only one that was completely preserved.
• The second version, Hauksbók was compiled 1306-1308 by Haukr Erlendsson († 1331 ), but is not quite complete.
• The third version, Melabók, can be attributed from Melar in Melasveit only with a certain uncertainty Snorri Markusson ( 1313 ). It is only fragmentarily preserved in two vellum manuscripts. But Melabók is the one version that probably handed down the original text in its purest form.
• Parts of Melabók are in the Þórður of Jónsson wrote from Hítardalur Þórðarbók, a version of Landnámabók from the 17th century.
• Slightly older Skarðsárbók, which was compiled before 1636 by Björn Jónsson, who drew for his version of Sturlubók and Hauksbók.

In the epilogue of Hauksbók Haukr mentions other older versions, but these are not preserved. He also mentions that Ur - Landnámabók should go back to Ari Þorgilson and Kolskeggr Asbjarnarson, and had arisen in the period around 1100, the other, Styrmisbók is said to have written Styrmir Kárason († 1245 ) in 1220; it is closely related to Melabók.