Book of Settlements

Landnámabók, thought to have been first compiled in the twelfth century, documents the settlement of Iceland through accounts of some 430 settlers, their families and descendants. It was copied repeatedly throughout the Middle Ages and later, and survives in several redactions, all more or less fragmentary. This new translation is based on the version made by Haukr Erlendsson in the early fourteenth century, never before translated into English. The translator, Matthias Egeler, gives special attention to the texts sense of place, as conveyed in the place names bestowed on the land by the settlers and in the anecdotes told about them. The book is illustrated by numerous black and white photographs taken by the translator. It includes an introduction and an index of primary settlers, showing the relationship of the Hauksbók recension to that of Sturlubók.