How did Iceland and Greenland get their names?

Question

Simply not by their terrains, was it?

Answer 1

Iceland got its modern name from another visitor, the Norwegian Viking Flóki Vilgerðarson. The Landnámabók makes it clear that Flóki chose the uninviting name Ísland ("ice land") for the view of a distant fjord full of sea-ice that he glimpsed from a tall mountain. No doubt his choice was influenced by the fact that he was not at first taken with the land, and he bad-mouthed the place after his return to Norway. But eventually he changed his mind about it and moved there himself. The Landnámabók account is at odds with the common notion that Iceland was named for its glaciers, some of which are bigger than any in Europe.

You sometimes hear the story that Iceland was so named to discourage excessive immigration, but there seems to be no basis for this claim. Even if it's true, it didn't work very well. Between about 870 and 930, a period called the landnám, productive land in Iceland was free for the taking to all comers, and thousands of people immigrated from Norway, which was in political upheaval at the time. Landnám is usually translated "settlement," but "land grab" is a more literal translation and comes closer to the point. Incidentally, the Irish priests disappeared around the beginning of the landnám, probably muttering to themselves, "There goes the neighborhood."

Greenland got its name because its inhabitants sported blue-green skin from living near the sea. At least that's what Adam of Bremen wrote (in Latin) in the eleventh century. As the old proverb says, "A fool, unless he knows Latin, is never a great fool." I think it's safe to say that Adam of Bremen was a great fool, at least on this point.

The real story behind the name is given in Erik the Red's Saga, based on oral tradition and written down in the early thirteenth century in Iceland. After the Icelandic landnám was over, Erik the Red and his father Thorvald were forced to leave Norway because one or both of them was involved in killings (details are not given). After Thorvald died, Erik was involved in yet more killings, for which his punishment was three years' vacation--er, I mean banishment from Iceland. (And you thought O. J. got off easy.)

He used the time to explore the rumored lands to the west. When his term of banishment expired, he returned to Icleand to invite his neighbors and friends to settle the new country with him. He purposely chose the pleasant name Grænland ("green land") to attract settlers, but the choice wasn't exactly misleading. Some parts of Greenland, especially the parts the Norse settled, really are green, as these pictures from the tourist board attest (www.greenland-guide.dk/outdoor_life_photo.htm). He may have been a killer, but at least he wasn't a real-estate scam-artist. He didn't have that much to gain by lying anyway, since he didn't charge anyone for the land. As in Iceland a century before, the land was free for the taking. Natives had lived in the area in the past, but at the time of Erik's voyage, only the northern part of Greenland was occupied by the Inuit (Eskimos).

The unoccupied land in southern Greenland really was of much higher quality than anything that remained unclaimed in Iceland. The greenery that most interested the settlers was the pasturage, which was good enough to support their sheep, goats, horses, swine, and cattle. The Norsemen lived on the milk and meat from their livestock, supplemented with their catch of caribou, small game, fish, and sea mammals. No doubt they also partook of sea-bird eggs and berries. They were able to grow some grain (probably barley), but they must have had to import some as well. They also imported luxury goods, such as wine and silk. They could afford the imports because they sold wool, hides, and walrus and narwhal tusks. The last two items especially were in high demand in Europe. The trade continued for hundreds of years despite the fact that the voyage was always a dangerous one.

Answer 2

The country was named Iceland by an early settler who was upset by seeing the coastal waters choked with ice after an unusually cold and long winter. But Iceland is not as cold as most places so far north. The Gulf Stream ocean current warms most of Iceland's coast. Iceland is also a land of midnigh sun. It is light almost 24 hours a day in June and dark for a similar period in
December.

Answer 3

Actually it was teh oppostie of their terrains.... people inhabitated Iceland saw hwo beautifal and warm it was and called it iceland to make people wary of moving there... they lured them to greenland... which is icy and almost unlivable instead
Main article: History of Iceland

Iceland was one of the last large islands uninhabited by humans until it was discovered and settled by immigrants from Scandinavia, Ireland and Scotland during the 9th and 10th centuries. Íslendingabók (Latin: Libellus Islandorum; English: The Book of Icelanders), written in 1122–33 claims that the Norwegian Ingólfur Arnarson was the first man to settle in Iceland (at Reykjavík) in 870. The families were accompanied by servants and slaves, some of whom were Celts or Picts from Scotland and Ireland (known as Westmen to the Norse). Some literary evidence suggests that Irish monks may have been living in Iceland before the arrival of Norse settlers, but no archæological evidence has been found.

Erik the Red, or Eiríkur Þorvaldsson, was exiled from Iceland for manslaughter in 980, and set sail to explore the lands to the west. He established the first settlements in Greenland around this time, naming the land, according to legend, to attract settlers. Eirikur's son, Leifur Eiríksson, finally set foot in the Americas around the year 1000. While some say he was blown off-course, it is most likely that he was deliberately seeking the land spotted by Bjarni Herjólfsson several years earlier. He is believed to have established a colony at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, which lasted only a few years. Despite the short stay, a sizable colony with at least eight buildings including a forge and various workshops was built. Two further attempts at colonization by his brother ended in failure.

The Alþingi (English: Althing, literally all-thing or general assembly) was founded in 930, marking the beginning of the Icelandic Commonwealth. It was the predecessor to the modern Icelandic legislature. The Althing is the oldest, still-standing, parliament in the world that has written documents to prove its age.

Answer 4

Iceland got its name because it had ice on it when the vikings found it.

Greenland was named that as a "marketing" ploy by Eric the red to get people to leave the lands of his father.

Answer 5

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No, it was the other way around.

Answer 6

Vikings got drunk and confused them.

Answer 7

the map was upside down...