History of the Faroe Islands

Pre-Norse history

The early details of Faroese history are rather nebulous. It is possible that Saint Brendan, an Irish monk (a Papar) sailed past the islands during his North Atlantic voyage in the 6th century. He saw an 'Island of Sheep' and a 'Paradise of Birds', which some say could be the Faroes with its dense bird population and sheep.

In the late 600s to early 700s the islands were visited by monks from Ireland, possibly looking for converts or solitude. Little is known about them, except that they used the Faroes (and Iceland) as a hermitage. As these monks were celibate and lived in all-male communities, their populations had to be replenished from the British Isles.

Pre-14th century

Little is known about Faroese history up until the 14th century. The main historical source for this period is the 13th century work Færeyinga Saga (Saga of the Faroese), and it is disputed as to how much of this work is historical fact.

Færeyinga Saga only exists today as copies in other sagas. In particular three manuscripts called Ólafs Saga Tryggvasonar, Flateyjarbók and one registered as AM 62 fol.

According to Flateyjarbók Grímr Kamban settled in Faroe when Harald Hårfagre was king of Norway ((872 – 930). But this version does not correspond with the writings of Dicuil, an Irish monk in the Frankish Kingdom who wrote about the countries in the north. Ólafs Saga Tryggvasonar, however, does. According to that manuscript Færeyinga Saga start like this:

There was a man named Grímr Kamban; he first settled in Faroe. But in the days of Harold Fairhair many men fled before the king’s overbearing. Some settled in Faroe and began to dwell there, and others sought to other waste lands.

According to this many men did indeed flee from Harald Hårfagre. But the text suggests that Grímr Kamban settled in the Faroes some time before. Maybe even hundreds of years. The firstname Grímr is norse. But the lastname Kamban is Irish. He may have been of mixed norse and Irish origin and come from a settlement in the British isles. If many men settled in the Faroes in the reign of Harald Hårfagre, people must have known about the Faroes. And therefore someone may have settled or visited there some time before.

According to Færeyinga Saga there was an ancient institution on the headland Tinganes in Tórshavn on the island of Streymoy. This was an Alþing or Althing (All-council.) This was the place where laws were made and disputes solved. All free men had the right to meet in the Alþing. It was a parliament and law court for all, thus the name. Historians estimate the Alþing to have been established from 800 to 900.

The islands were converted to Christianity around the year 1000, with a church based at Kirkjubøur, southern Streymoy with 33 bishops. The Faroes became a part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1035.