Landnámabók
Landnámabók (meaning "The Book of Settlement", often shortened to Landnáma) is an old Icelandic manuscript describing in considerable detail the settlement ("landnám") of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th century A.D. It begins with Ingólfur Arnarson's original settlement in Reykjavík and his claims on land to the north, west, east and south. It then moves on to describe the descendants of the original settlers and traces important events and family history into the 12th century. More than 3,000 people and 1,400 settlements are described. Landnámabók lists 435 men as the initial settlers, the majority of them settling in the northern and south-western parts of the island. It remains an invaluable source on both the history and genealogy of the Icelandic people.
There are three surviving medieval versions of Landnámabók.
- Sturlubók by Sturla Þórðarson
- Hauksbók by Haukr Erlendsson, based on Sturlubók and a lost version by Styrmir Kárason
- Melabók
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