Ari Þorgilsson

“ They found there people's habitations both to the East and the West on the land, pieces of skin boats, and worked stones, from which one could tell that that kind of people had travelled, who have settled Vínland and whom the Greenlanders call Skrælingjar. And when he began to settle the land, it was fourteen or fifteen winters before Christianity came here to Iceland, according to what he told to Þorkell Gellison, who himself followed Eiríkr inn rauði out to Greenland. ”

“ Helgi inn magri [the lean] , a Norwegian, the son of Eyvindr austmaðr [Easterner] , lived to the north in Eyjafjörðr, from which come the people of Eyjafjörðr [Eyfirðingar] . And when Iceland had become extensively settled, a Norwegian [austrænn] called Úlfljótr brought the first laws here from Norway—as Teitr told us—and they were called the Úlfljótslög [laws of Úlfljótr] . Úlfljótr was the father of Gunnarr, from whom the people of Djúpdalr [Djúpdælir] in Eyjafjörðr are descended. ”

“ And that was eight hundred and seventy winters after the birth of Christ, as is written in his [Eadmund’s] saga.
There was a Norwegian called Ingólfr, of whom it is said truthfully that he was the first to travel from there to Iceland—when Haraldr inn hárfagri was sixteen years old, and on another occasion a few years later. He lived to the south in Reykjavík. Where Ingólfr first made landfall, to the east of Minþakseyri, is called Ingólfshöfði, but where he established his own property, to the west of Ölfossá, is called Ingólfsfell. ”

“ People had to make sacrifices in secret, if they wanted to avoid three-year outlawry, which would happen if there were witnesses. And a few years later, that heathen practice was also taken away, like the others.
Teitr told us this account of how Christianity came to Iceland. And Óláfr Tryggvason fell the same summer, according to Sæmundr the priest. He fought then against King Sveinn Haraldsson of Denmark, Óláfr inn sænski [the Swede] , the son of Eiríkr and king of the Svíar at Uppsala, and Eirík Hákonarson who was later the jarl over Norway. ”

“ The alþingi was established on the advice of Úlfljótr and all the people of the land, in the place where it remains; and before that the þing was on Kjalarnes. Þorsteinn son of Ingólfr the settler [landnámamaðr] , father of Þorkell máni [moon] the law-speaker held that, along with those chieftains who adopted it. But a man who owned land in Bláskógar was condemned for killing a slave or freedman. ”

“ Gunnar inn spaki [the wise] had taken the position of law-speaker, when Gellir ceased, and held it for three summers. Then Kolbeinn Flosi’s son, held it for six. That summer, when he took the position of law-speaker, King Haraldr fell in England. Then Gellir held it for the second time, for three summers. Then Gunnar held it for the second time, for one summer. Then Sighvatr, son of Surtr, Kolbeinn’s nephew held it for eight. ”

“ It must be true that when we break the law in two, we will will also break our peace.’ And he closed his speech, such that both sides agreed that all had to have one law—the one which he suggested (?) ”

“ They were all able chieftains: Bishop Gizurr and Teitr the priest, father of Hallr, and Þorvaldr. Hallr in Haukadalr raised Teitr; that man, everyone agrees, was the mildest and most morally excellent layman here in the land [sá maðr, er þat var almælt, at mildastr væri ok ágæztr at góðu á landi hér ólærðra manna] . I also came to Hallr when I was seven winters old, the winter after Gellir Þorkel’s son, my father’s father and foster father, died, and was there fourteen winters. ”