Njarðvík (farm) explained

Official Name:	Njarðvík
Settlement Type:	Farm
Pushpin Map:	Iceland
Pushpin Label Position:	left
Pushpin Map Caption:	Location in Iceland
Subdivision Type:	Country
Subdivision Name:	Iceland
Coordinates:	65.5811°N -13.8878°W

Njarðvík (in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈnjarðˌviːk/) is an ancient farm in northeast Iceland. The descendants of its settlers are featured in several of the Sagas of Icelanders.

History

Viking Age

The history of Njarðvík can be traced back to the settlement of Iceland, when Thorkel the Wise claimed all the land around the bay of Njarðvík.^[1] His great-grandson Ketil Thrym lived at Njarðvík^[1] and became a chieftain after his father, Thidrandi the Old.^[2] Several other notable 10th- and 11th-century Icelanders were related to this family, who are known as the "House of Njarðvík" (Old Norse Njarðvíkingar). The Saga of the People of Laxardal cites a lost "Saga of the House of Njarðvík," which may refer to a medieval text that no longer exists or else was renamed, or to an oral tradition.^[3]

Sagas

Njarðvík is referenced in the following medieval Icelandic texts:

• The Book of Settlements
• The Short Saga of Gunnar, Thidrandi's Killer
• The Saga of Droplaug's Sons
• The Saga of the People of Fljotsdal
• The Saga of the People of Laxardal

Notes and References

1. The Book of Settlements, Sturubók edition, ch. 78
2. The Saga of Droplaug's Sons, ch. 2; The Saga of the People of Fljotsdal, ch. 5
3. Gísli Sigurðsson, The Medieval Icelandic Saga and Oral Tradition: A Discourse on Method, trans. Nicholas Jones, Publications of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Lieterature, 2. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004