Náttfari (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ;

Modern Icelandic Icelandic ( ; , ) is a North Germanic language from the Indo-European language family spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Since it is a West Scandinavian language, it ...

: ;

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

835–870) was a crew member who escaped his master, Garðar Svavarsson, and may have become the first permanent resident of Iceland in the 9th century. The earliest account of his story is found in the 11th century Icelandic Book of Settlements ('' Landnámabók''). Náttfari escaped when Garðar set sail to the

Hebrides The Hebrides ( ; , ; ) are the largest archipelago in the United Kingdom, off the west coast of the Scotland, Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Ou ...

from the newfound island which he named Garðarshólmi, now known as

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. When Garðar Svavarsson left Iceland after a winter's stay in the spring of 870, moving east towards Norway, a boat drifted away. On the boat were Náttfari with a slave (''thræll'') and a bond woman (''ambátt''). Garðar reached the shores of Iceland on the north coast. Náttfari found a place for them to live now known as Náttfaravík, a cove on Skjálfandi Bay which is situated directly opposite to the town of Húsavík.

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Bibliography

* * Viking explorers 9th-century Icelandic people Húsavík 9th-century Vikings {{Iceland-bio-stub