The Real Floki and the Discovery of Iceland

Floki of the Ravens and the Colonization of Iceland

            “Floki, the son of Vilgerd, was the name of a man, a great Viking,” the Landnámabók We do not know any of Floki’s back-story, but when we meet him he is leading a single ship crewed with men looking for Garðarshólm.  Garðarshólm means Gardar’s Island, a name given by the Norse explorer who claimed to have circumnavigated it.  This Gardar had only heard of it from a man named Naddod, who had reached it entirely by accident and named the uninhabited place SnælandIt is not unreasonable to believe that men and women who would take such a risky journey with the intent to stay were running from the world they had known.

So whatever Floki’s role in the tempestuous, violent events of his time had been, he had found no home there.  He sailed away looking for what he had been unable to find anywhere else.

            But how do you find something that no one had ever found before except by luck?  Gardar’s Island was far away, and though the Vikings were consummate sailors, they had no real instruments by which to navigate.  They used the sun by day and the stars by night; and they used visual cues (like water color) and followed the flight patterns of birds.  They learned to use a crystal to see where the sun was in cloudy, northern skies; along with shadow sticks and cleverly-designed discs (like the Uunartoq

From the story, we do not know if Floki released his birds all at once – presumably it was sequentially, for a raven cannot fly 400-500 miles without landing.  But whatever the particulars might have been, Floki’s third ravens did not let him down.  In time (perhaps about two weeks), he saw land in the distance.  From that point on, Floki was called Hrafna-Floki – Floki of the Ravens.   

       

 

This news could not have come at a better time.  Up until then, Norway (like so much of Europe) had been a land of petty kings and jarls This fierce, beautiful, empty place called Iceland seemed like a better option than the suddenly-ordered kingdoms of Scandinavia, the precarious Danelaw of England, or the sword-lands of Ireland.

 

Floki and his family would spend the rest of their days in Iceland.   

That same year, the jarls of Iceland met for the Althing For that, we are all lucky that Hrafna-Floki followed his raven.

 

Contributing Author

David Gray Rodgers is a career fire officer who holds a bachelor’s in history and a master’s in business administration.  He has published several books, including Sons of Vikings: A Legendary History of the Viking Age (Vikings book Ragnar and many other famous Vikings) and The Songs of Slaves: A Novel of the Fall of Rome.   

 

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The popular 'Vikings' TV series has resurrected a love and interest in all things Viking, including their characters who are loosely based on historic Vikings such as Floki.

 

References

1. Ellwood, T. The Settlement of Iceland: Ari Frodi (Landnámabók). 1898. Accessed December 23, 2017. https://ia801406.us.archive.org/29/items/booksettlementi00ellwgoog/booksettlementi00ellwgoog.pdf
2. Brownworth, L. The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings.Crux Publishing, Ltd. United Kingdom. 2014.
3. Poppick, L. Forget GPS: Medieval Compass Guided Vikings After Sunset. Live Science, March 25, 2014. Accessed December 23, 2017. https://www.livescience.com/44366-vikings-sun-compass-after-sunset.html
4. McCoy, D. Odin. Norse Mythology for Smart People. Accessed December 23, 2017. https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/odin/

1. McCoy, D. The Viking Spirit: An Introduction to Norse Mythology and Religion. Columbia. 2016

1. Finley, A. & Faulkes, A. The Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson (Haralds saga ins hárfagra). Viking Society for Northern Research. London. 2011. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Heimskringla%20I.pdf
2. Finley, A. & Faulkes, A. The Book of the Icelanders (ÍSLENDINGABÓK). Viking Society for Northern Research. London, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Text%20Series/IslKr.pdf
3. Short, W. The Settlement of Iceland in the Viking Age. Hurstwic. Published 2014. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/society/text/settlement_of_iceland.htm
4. Johnston, W. Travel Through the Ireland Story: The Vikings. N.D. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/past/pre_norman_history/vikings.html
5. Fountain, H. Vikings Razed the Forests; Can Iceland Regrow Them? The New York Times. Published October 20, 2017. Accessed December 23, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/20/climate/iceland-trees-reforestation.html
6. Althing: Icelandic Government. Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed December 23, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Althing

 

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