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Stefnir Thorgilsson
Stefnir Thorgilsson was one of the first Christian missionaries among the Icelanders at the end of the 10th century. He was born in Iceland. King Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway (r. 997-1000) ordered him to return to his homeland in order to proselytize among the Icelanders. He destroyed a number of heathen temples and idols, for which he was expelled from the island. After the destruction of the pagan shrines, the Althing reached agreement to declare Christians ''frændaskömm'' (a disgrace to kinsman). Based on this, Christians could be denounced by their own relatives. Additionally, Stefnir became an outlaw and was forced to return to Norway. See also *Christianisation of Iceland Iceland was Christianized in the year 1000 CE, when Christianity became the religion by law. In Icelandic, this event is known as the ''kristnitaka'' (literally, "the taking of Christianity"). The vast majority of the initial settlers of Icel ... * Thangbrand * Thorvald Konradsson Footnote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icelanders
Icelanders ( is, Íslendingar) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland and speak Icelandic. Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 AD when the Althing (Parliament) met for the first time. Iceland came under the reign of Norwegian, Swedish and Danish kings but regained full sovereignty and independence from the Danish monarchy on 1 December 1918, when the Kingdom of Iceland was established. On 17 June 1944, the monarchy was abolished and the Icelandic republic was founded. The language spoken is Icelandic, a North Germanic language, and Lutheranism is the predominant religion. Historical and DNA records indicate that around 60 to 80 percent of the male settlers were of Norse origin (primarily from Western Norway) and a similar percentage of the women were of Gaelic stock from Ireland and peripheral Scotland. History Iceland is a geologically young land mass, having formed an estimated 20 million y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
