Narrating History in Iceland: The Works of Ari Þorgilsson

Abstract

In this article, the author discusses the historical writings of Ari Þorgilsson, known as the author of The Book of the Icelanders (ON. Íslendingabók). It is demonstrated that Ari wrote not only on the history of Iceland, but also on the history of the world, on the history of Norway, and the history of the Breiðafjörðr region, and the status and purpose of The Book of Icelanders must necessarily be subject to re-evaluation. It was not a solitary work but a part of a larger corpus. Once this has been established, the contents of the Book of Icelanders can and should be re-examined.