The Landnámabók names Naddodd (Old Norse: Naddoðr) as the first Norseman to reach Iceland in the ninth century, having gotten lost while sailing from Norway to the Faroe Islands. He gave the island its first name of Snæland (English: Snowland); the second one to arrive was the Swedish Garðar Svavarsson, who circumnavigated the island and named it Garðarshólmur (English: Garðar's Isle) after himself.[25] The island's present name came from Flóki Vilgerðarson, who was the first Norseman to intentionally travel to Iceland. According to the Sagas of Icelanders, Flóki coined the name after he climbed a mountain, despondent after a harsh winter in present-day Vatnsfjörður, and saw an ice cap.[26] The notion that Iceland's settlers chose that name to discourage competing settlement is most likely a myth.[26] History Main article: History of Iceland For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Icelandic history. 874–1262: settlement and Commonwealth See also: Settlement of Iceland, Icelandic Commonwealth, and Christianisation of Iceland Ingólfr Arnarson (modern Icelandic: Ingólfur Arnarson), the first permanent Scandinavian settler According to both Landnámabók and Íslendingabók, monks known as the Papar lived in Iceland before Scandinavian settlers arrived, possibly members of a Hiberno-Scottish mission. An archaeological excavation has revealed the ruins of a cabin in Hafnir on the Reykjanes peninsula. Carbon dating indicates that it was abandoned sometime between 770 and 880.[27] In 2016, archaeologists uncovered a longhouse in Stöðvarfjörður that may date to as early as 800.[28] Swedish Viking explorer Garðar Svavarsson was the first to circumnavigate Iceland in 870 and establish that it was an island.[29] He stayed during the winter and built a house in Húsavík. Garðar departed the following summer, but one of his men, Náttfari, decided to stay behind with two slaves. Náttfari settled in what is now known as Náttfaravík, and he and his slaves became the first permanent residents of Iceland to be documented.[30][31] The Norwegian-Norse chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson built his homestead in present-day Reykjavík in 874. Ingólfr was followed by many other emigrant settlers, largely Scandinavians and their thralls, many of whom were Irish or Scottish.[32] By 930, most arable land on the island had been claimed; the Althing, a legislative and judicial assembly was initiated to regulate the Icelandic Commonwealth. The lack of arable land also served as an impetus to the settlement of Greenland starting in 986.[33] The period of these early settlements coincided with the Medieval Warm Period, when temperatures were similar to those of the early 20th century.[34] At this time about 25% of Iceland was covered with forest, compared to 1% in the present day.[35] Christianity was adopted by consensus around 999–1000, although Norse paganism persisted among segments of the population for some years afterward.[36] Iceland as a possession The Middle Ages See also: Age of the Sturlungs The Icelandic Commonwealth, established in the 10th century, faced internal strife during the Age of the Sturlungs (c. 1220–1264). This period was marked by violent conflicts among chieftains, notably the Sturlung family, leading to the weakening of the Commonwealth's political structure.[37] The culmination of these struggles resulted in the signing of the Old Covenant (Gamli sáttmáli) in 1262–1264, bringing Iceland under Norwegian rule.[38] Environmental challenges further impacted medieval Icelandic society.[39] Upon settlement, approximately 25–40% of Iceland was forested. However, extensive deforestation occurred as forests were cleared for timber, firewood, and to create grazing land for livestock. This led to significant soil erosion and a decline in arable land, exacerbating the difficulties of sustaining agriculture in Iceland's harsh climate.[40] Agriculture during this period was predominantly pastoral, focusing on livestock such as sheep, cattle, and horses. While early settlers cultivated barley, the cooling climate from the 12th century onwards made grain cultivation increasingly difficult. The Little Ice Age, beginning around 1300, brought colder and more unpredictable weather, further shortening growing seasons and making farming more challenging.[41][42] The Black Death reached Iceland in 1402–1404 and again in 1494–1495, with devastating effects.[43] he first outbreak is estimated to have killed 50–60% of the population, while the second resulted in a 30–50% mortality rate. These pandemics significantly reduced the population, leading to social and economic disruptions.[44] Reformation and the Early Modern period See also: Icelandic Reformation, Danish trade monopoly in Iceland, and Móðuharðindin Ósvör, a replica of an old fishing outpost outside Bolungarvík Around the middle of the 16th century, as part of the Protestant Reformation, King Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranism on all his subjects. Jón Arason, the last Catholic bishop of Hólar, was beheaded in 1550 along with two of his sons. The country subsequently became officially Lutheran, and Lutheranism has since remained the dominant religion. A map of Iceland published in the early 17th century by Gerardus Mercator In the 17th and 18th centuries, Denmark imposed harsh trade restrictions on Iceland. Natural disasters, including volcanic eruptions and disease, contributed to a decreasing population. In the summer of 1627, Barbary Pirates committed the events known locally as the Turkish Abductions, in which hundreds of residents were taken into slavery in North Africa and dozens killed; this was the only invasion in Icelandic history to have casualties.[45][46] The 1707–08 Iceland smallpox epidemic is estimated to have killed a quarter to a third of the population.[47][48] In 1783 the Laki volcano erupted, with devastating effects.[49] In the years following the eruption, known as the Mist Hardships (Icelandic: Móðuharðindin), over half of all livestock in the country died. Around a quarter of the population starved to death in the ensuing famine.[50] 1814–1918: independence movement See also: Icelandic independence movement and Fjölnir (journal) In 1814, following the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark-Norway was broken up into two separate kingdoms via the Treaty of Kiel, but Iceland remained a Danish dependency. Throughout the 19th century, the country's climate continued to grow colder, resulting in mass emigration to the New World, particularly to the region of Gimli, Manitoba in Canada, which was sometimes referred to as New Iceland. About 15,000 people emigrated, out of a total population of 70,000.[51] A national consciousness arose in the first half of the 19th century, inspired by romantic and nationalist ideas from mainland Europe. An Icelandic independence movement took shape in the 1850s under the leadership of Jón Sigurðsson, based on the burgeoning Icelandic nationalism inspired by the