This is a timeline of
Icelandic history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Iceland and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see
history of Iceland.
Naddoðr discovers Iceland. He was heading to the
Faroe Islands but drifted off course and landed near
Reyðarfjörður in Iceland. As he returned to his boat it started to snow and thereby he reputedly named the land Snæland (lit. Snowland).[citation needed]
Garðarr Svavarsson discovers Iceland. Blown from a storm near the
Orkney Islands. He circumnavigated Iceland, thus the first to establish that the landmass was an island. He stayed for one winter in
Skjálfandi. He praised the new land and called it Garðarshólmi (lit. Garðar's Islet).[citation needed]
<870
Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson becomes the first
Scandinavian to deliberately sail to Iceland as news of a country in the west reached Norway.[1][2] When Hrafna-Flóki climbed a mountain in
Vatnsfjörður he spotted drift ice in a fjord that inspired the name of the country, Ísland (lit. Iceland).[3]
The
Old Covenant is delivered to Iceland. The agreement made Icelanders subjects of the
King of Norway and gave Icelanders and Norwegians equal rights in each other's countries. It received its first signatures in 1262 and went into effect in 1264 after receiving its final signatures.[23]
14th century
Year
Date
Event
1397
17 June
The
Kalmar Union is established. The kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and their respective dependencies joined in a
personal union.[24]
15th century
Year
Event
1402
The
Black Death hits Iceland for the first time.[25] It is estimated that half of the population died in the years 1402–1404.[26]
The
Mist Hardships occur. A volcanic eruption at
Laki destroys a great deal of the livestock in Iceland, causing famine and misery. 20-25% of Iceland perishes.[30][31][32]
Trade with Danish Iceland all but disappears due to the invasion of the English and their capture of the neutral Danish fleet at Copenhagen, they had credible intel that Napoleon using the
Continental System was going to seize that fleet and invade England.[33][34] It was part of the
Napoleonic Wars.
1809
Jørgen Jørgensen seizes power in Iceland and declares independence, but is deposed by the Danes shortly afterwards.[citation needed]
The King of Denmark visits Iceland and grants Icelanders a constitution. 1000 years of settlement celebrated throughout the country.[citation needed]
1875
First session of the restored Althing which has the power to pass laws. The
Askja volcano erupts.[citation needed] The Woman's association
Thorvaldsensfélagið is founded.
1880
The climate grows much colder, driving many Icelanders to emigrate to the
New World.[citation needed]
1894
Foundation of the
Hið íslenska kvenfélag and the start of the women's movement on Iceland.
Southern Iceland is hit by two
earthquakes, the first 6.6
ML and the second 6.5
ML. There were no fatalities but a few people were injured and there was some considerable damage to infrastructure.
The parliament narrowly passes a bill authorising the government to apply for EU membership.[citation needed]
2010
5 January
The president of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, refuses to
sign a bill from the parliament for the second time in the nation's history.[citation needed]
The president of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, refuses to
sign a bill from the parliament for the third time in the nation's history.[citation needed]
^"Hver gaf Íslandi það nafn?" [Who gave Iceland its name?] (in Icelandic).
University of Iceland. 30 October 2000. Retrieved 19 March 2011. Tilvist landsins í vestri spurðist út á vesturströnd Noregs og hélt Flóki Vilgerðarson, norskur maður, af stað til að finna landið.
^"Var Hrafna-Flóki til í alvöru?" [Did Hrafna-Flóki exist for real?] (in Icelandic).
University of Iceland. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2015. Fyrri ferð sína til Íslands hefur Flóki átt að fara um eða skömmu fyrir árið 870 samkvæmt Landnámabók.
^"Hver gaf Íslandi það nafn?" [Who gave Iceland its name?] (in Icelandic).
University of Iceland. 30 October 2000. Retrieved 19 March 2011. Flóki gekk upp á fjall eitt í Vatnsfirði og sá þá ofan í annan fjörð, líklega Arnarfjörð, og var hann fullur af hafís. Í 2. kafla Landnámu segir að eftir þetta hafi Hrafna-Flóki og menn hans nefnt landið Ísland.
^"History".
Registers Iceland. Archived from
the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011. Ingólfur Arnarson was said to be the first settler. He was a chieftain from Norway, arriving in Iceland with his family and dependents in 874.
^"History".
Registers Iceland. Archived from
the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011. During the next 60 years or so, Viking settlers from Scandinavia and also from Norse colonies in the British Isles – Ireland, Scotland and the Scottish Isles – settled in the country.
^History,
Registers Iceland, archived from
the original on 22 May 2011, retrieved 19 March 2011, In the year 930, at the end of the settlement period, Althingi (legislature and judiciary) was established and a legal code was adopted.
^"History".
Registers Iceland. Archived from
the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011. The establishment of Althingi marks the formation of the Icelandic Commonwealth, although it had no executive power.
^"History".
Registers Iceland. Archived from
the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011. Christianity was peacefully adopted in Iceland at Althingi in the year 1000. The main reason for this conversion was most likely pressure from the king of Norway.
^"Sagan" [History] (in Icelandic).
Supreme Court of Iceland. Retrieved 21 April 2015. Skömmu eftir árið 1000 var stofnaður svokallaður fimmtardómur sem náði til landsins alls. Þangað mátti skjóta málum sem dæmd höfðu verið í fjórðungsdómi. Hefur hugmyndin líklega verið sú að stuðla að réttareiningu í landinu.
^"Ísleifur Gissurarson" (in Icelandic). Skálholtsstaður. Archived from
the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2015. Ísleifur Gissurarson var fyrsti biskup Íslendinga, árin 1056–1080.
^"Saga sveitarstjórnarlaga" [History of the Local Government Act] (in Icelandic). Icelandic Association of Local Authorities. Retrieved 21 April 2015. Tekjustofnar sveitarfélaga voru ákveðnir í svokölluðum tíundarlögum sem sett voru árið 1097 að forgöngu Gissurar Ísleifssonar biskups.
^Seach, John.
"Hekla Volcano, Iceland – John Seach". Retrieved 22 April 2015. An eruption at Hekla volcano in 1104, devastated the inhabited Thjorsardalur valley.
^"Hver var Jón Ögmundsson?" [Who was Jón Ögmundsson?] (in Icelandic).
University of Iceland. 2 July 2003. Retrieved 22 April 2015. Jón Ögmundsson er einn frægasti kirkjumaður Íslandssögunnar. Hann varð fyrsti biskup Hólabiskupsdæmis árið 1106 og beitti sér mjög fyrir eflingu kristinnar trúar í landinu.
^"Klaustur á Íslandi" [Cloisters in Iceland] (in Icelandic). Retrieved 23 April 2015. Jón Ögmundsson, biskup á Hólum stofnaði klaustur að Þingeyrum árið 1112 en engar heimildir eru til um klausturlíf þar fyrr en 1133, þegar Vilmundur Þórólfsson var vígður fyrsti ábóti þess.
^"Þetta gerðist þá..." [What happened then...] (in Icelandic).
Morgunblaðið. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2015. Víðinesbardagi var háður í Hjaltadal í Skagafirði. Nokkrir höfðingjar sóttu með 360 manna lið að Guðmundi biskupi Arasyni og mönnum hans. Í bardaganum féllu tólf menn, þeirra á meðal Kolbeinn Tumason, 35 ára. Sagt er að á banadægri sínu hafi Kolbeinn samið sálminn
Heyr himna smiður.
^"Hvað gerðist i Örlygsstaðabardaga?" [What happened in the Battle of Örlygsstaðir] (in Icelandic).
University of Iceland. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2015. Örlygsstaðabardagi var háður 21. ágúst 1238 í Skagafirði austanverðum á stað sem var kallaður Örlygsstaðir, skammt fyrir norðan Víðivelli en nokkru lengra fyrir sunnan Miklabæ.
^"Þetta gerðist þá..." [This happened then...] (in Icelandic).
Morgunblaðið. 25 June 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2015. 25. júní 1244 Flóabardagi, eina verulega sjóorrusta Íslendinga, var háður á Húnaflóa.
^"Þetta gerðist..." [This happened...] (in Icelandic).
Morgunblaðið. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2015. Haugsnessfundur, mannskæðasta orrusta á Íslandi, var háð í Blönduhlíð í Skagafirði.
^"Þetta gerðist..." [This happened...] (in Icelandic).
Morgunblaðið. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2015. 22. október 1253 Flugumýrarbrenna. Sturlungar brenndu bæinn á Flugumýri í Skagafirði, en þar stóð brúðkaup.
^"Hver var Gissur jarl Þorvaldsson og hvaða hlutverki gegndi hann á Sturlungaöld?" [Who was Jarl Gissur Þorvaldsson and what role did he have in the Age of the Sturlungs?] (in Icelandic).
University of Iceland. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2015. Árið 1258 var Gissur með Hákoni konungi Hákonarsyni í Noregi. Þá gaf konungur honum jarlsnafn og sendi hann til Íslands í því skyni að leggja landið undir konung. Um leið skipaði konungur hann yfir Sunnlendingafjórðung, Norðlendingafjórðung og Borgarfjörð. Nokkrir íslenskir höfðingjar höfðu þá afsalað sér til konungs héraðsvöldum, því sem upphaflega var goðavald.
^Brady 2011, p. 293. "The RJF [Robert James Fischer] members called virtually every member of parliament to lobby for citizenship: full, permanent citizenship... an Extraordinary Session of Parliament was called for Saturday, Match 21, 2005. Three rounds of discussion took place in the space of twelve minutes, and questions were posed regarding the extent of the emergency. The answers were succinct and forthcoming: Bobby Fischer's improper incarceration was a violation of his rights; all he was really guilty of was moving some wooden pieces across a chessboard; he'd been a friend of Iceland and had a historical connection to it, and now he needed the country's help". Act Respecting the Granting of Citizenship, no. 16/2005.