Ari Þorgilsson, Íslendingabók [Book of Icelanders]

Sverrir Jakobsson (University of Iceland)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1122 - c. 1133

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Historical

Resources

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Íslendingabók

[Book of Icelanders] was composed by the aristocratic priest Ari Þorgilsson (c. 1067-1148). In the prologue, Ari relates that he showed an early draft to the two bishops of Iceland, Þorlákr Runólfsson (1086-1133) and Ketill Þorsteinsson (1075-1145), and priest and magnate Sæmundr Sigfússon (1056-1133). These two bishops were in office between 1122 and 1133 so those dates provide the timeframe for the composition of the work. This early draft version has not been preserved, but it is likely that Ari finished his final revision of the text about or shortly after 1134, since Guðmundr Þorgeirsson is the last lawspeaker mentioned and his term is listed as the twelve years from 1123 to 1134.

Íslendingabók is an overview of the history of Iceland from around

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1923 words

Citation: Jakobsson, Sverrir. "Íslendingabók". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 May 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40983, accessed 19 April 2025.]

Ari Þorgilsson, Íslendingabók [Book of Icelanders]

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