![]() Eventually all of the Nordic states were united in one alliance, the Kalmar Union (1397–1523), but on its dissolution, Iceland fell under Danish rule. Norway, in turn, was united with Sweden (1319) and then Denmark (1376). The Old Covenant (1262–1264), and the adoption of Jónsbók (1281) effectively ended the Icelandic Commonwealth. In the early thirteenth century, the internal conflict known as the age of the Sturlungs weakened Iceland, which eventually became subjugated to Norway over the 13th century. During this time, Iceland remained independent, a period known as the Old Commonwealth, and Icelandic historians began to document the nation's history in books referred to as sagas of Icelanders. Towards the end of the tenth century, Christianity came to Iceland through the influence of the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason. By 930, the chieftains had established a form of governance, the Althing, making it one of the world's oldest parliaments. The land was settled quickly, mainly by Norwegians who may have been fleeing conflict or seeking new land to farm. ![]() Recorded settlement has conventionally been dated back to 874, although archaeological evidence indicates Gaelic monks from Ireland, known as papar according to sagas, may have settled Iceland earlier. Iceland was still uninhabited long after the rest of Western Europe had been settled. The recorded history of Iceland began with the settlement by Viking explorers and the people they enslaved from Western Europe, particularly Norway and the British Isles, in the late ninth century. Iceland on the carta marina by Olaus Magnus. ![]()
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