Vikings Saga of Floki and How He Discovered Iceland
Vikings Saga of Floki
“The lure of an imaginary land. Traveling somewhere that doesn’t exist. Of course, I’m coming.” – Floki, Vikings (TV series)The only reliable information about Floki is found in "Landnámabók," a medieval Icelandic book whose title can be literally translated as the Book of Settlements. Landnámabók contains anecdotes of people who discovered and populated Iceland, their history, and genealogy, as well as the stories of their first settlements. No wonder, then, that its passages about Floki are among its most important.
Landnámabók describes Floki as “a great Viking” (víkingr mikill) from Norway, the first man ever to deliberately search for Iceland. Nothing is known of his looks, but it is easy to picture him with a necklace with a hammer of Thor around his neck, as a sign of both his heritage and his devotion to this mighty God.
When Landnámabók tells of this voyage, Floki’s name does not stand alone. Two farmers named Thorolf and Herjolf sailed on his ship as part of his crew, along with a Hebridean called Faxi.
Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson
“I’ve been told your god is a carpenter. And guess what? So am I.” – Floki, Vikings (TV series)
Most of you were first introduced to Floki through the popular TV series “Vikings.” The series made him famous, but its Floki is largely an invented character: the master shipbuilder and friend of Ragnar is the show’s creation. That is why it is essential to separate Gustaf Skarsgård’s character from the man who indeed walked and breathed almost 12 centuries ago, Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson.
According to Landnámabók, Floki was a Norwegian Viking of the 9th century. It names his mother, Vilgerd, daughter of Hörða-Kári, but neither his father nor the year of his birth. As we can see, his last name, Vilgerðarson, is matronymic and means “son of Vilgerd.”
Viking War Ship
In the series, he is a warrior in hard times and builds his own ships in times of peace, and his name there stands for the best carpenters and boat builders of the Viking era. Above all, of course, he builds the famous Viking war boats, commonly known as "Longships." The sources, however, never call the historical Flóki a shipbuilder.
Floki married a woman named Gró, sister of Þórðr of Höfði, and Landnámabók names three of his children: the daughters Geirhildr and Þjóðgerðr and a son, Oddleifr stafr. In the TV series, Floki’s daughter is named Angrboda, after the giantess who was Loki’s partner and mother of Fenrir, and his siblings Jörmungandr and Hel. Although he was both a devoted husband and a father, we can’t exactly call Floki a family man, for he was only truly faithful to the Gods and their often fickle will.
Discovery of Iceland
“The space between life and death, that’s where we are most alive.” – Floki, Vikings (TV series)
Despite popular belief, Floki was not the first man to reach the coasts of Iceland. Tales of a far-northern island called Thule go back to the Greek explorer Pytheas, although no one was quite sure whether it actually existed, or whether it was Iceland at all. No one until Floki.
Landnámabók tells us that before the Norse men settled Iceland, Christian men whom the Norse called papar lived there. They are believed to have been Irish monks, for they left behind Irish books, bells and croziers. They probably came almost a century before the Vikings: around 825, the Irish scholar Dicuil wrote that clerics had stayed on an island in the far north some thirty years earlier, where the midsummer sun barely set. Ari the Wise writes in Íslendingabók that the papar left because they did not want to live alongside heathens, and there is no proof of the two coexisting in Iceland. Today, there is a small island off the east coast of Iceland, Papey, named after those monks.
There was also a story of the wanderer from Agder called Naddodd, who came to the coasts of Iceland unintentionally. Namely, he was sailing from Norway to the Faroe Islands, where he had made his home. Little did he know that this voyage wouldn’t go according to his plan. Naddodd lost his way, and days after, he found himself on the coast of an unknown land. Land that showed no signs of human existence. As they sailed away, heavy snow fell on its mountains, so Naddodd named it ‘Snæland’ (Snowland).
Now, we are aware we might disappoint some Norwegians out there, but you were not the only ones to thank for the discovery of Iceland. According to Landnámabók, there was once a Swedish Viking called Garðarr Svavarsson, who accidentally sailed into a storm. His ship drifted far out to sea, all the way to Iceland. Svavarsson was the first one to realize that the land he found was actually an island. After that, the land was called Garðarshólmi, meaning "Garðarr’s island."
This all brings us to the man who was the first one to consciously and intentionally search for this place. The only man we can call a true discoverer of Iceland: a warrior, an explorer, a Viking, Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson.
Where did Floki Land?
“Some men lust for women. Others lust for gold, but I only lust to please the Gods.” – Floki, Vikings (TV series)
Floki was aware that the land he was searching for was neither rich in natural resources nor in wealth, no armies were fighting for it, and he had only Garðarr’s word that such a land even existed. The only thing that guided him was faith, both in a new beginning for his people and in the will of the Gods. Days and months later, his faith, instincts, knowledge and perhaps a bird, landed him at Vatnsfjörður, a fjord on Barðaströnd in the northwest of Iceland.
As we already know, Vikings believed that the Earth, as we know it, originates from two worlds: Muspelheim, the realm of fire, and Niflheim, the realm of ice. Therefore, it’s no wonder how astonished they were when they reached Iceland, land of both glaciers and volcanoes.
Iceland - the Land of Glaciers and Volcanoes
Summer was kind to them, but Icelandic winter was something not even the strongest of Vikings were prepared to experience. It was ‘bread and circuses’ that brought about the downfall of Rome, and the carefree warmth of summer that brought about the downfall of Floki’s first settlement. The fjord was full of fish, and they were so busy fishing that they never made hay for their cattle. As a result, all their livestock died during the winter.
The spring was cold. Floki climbed a high mountain and saw, to the north beyond the mountains, a fjord full of drift ice, so they called the land Ísland, Iceland, as it has been called ever since. After another winter in Borgarfjörður, Floki returned to Norway, and when people asked about the new land, he spoke ill of it.
That is how the Norse men got their challenge to tame and populate that place.
Floki Name Meaning
“Warriors don’t show their heart until the ax reveals it.” – Floki, Vikings (TV series)Some say Floki’s life was destined by his very own name, that it was a homage to the god Loki and means "Great Viking Warrior." There is no basis for this: in Old Norse, flóki simply means a tuft or tangle, as of hair or wool.
Yet, no matter how great a warrior is, he should never travel alone, so among the others, Floki decided to take two of his daughters with him on this long journey. Little did he know that the Gods had other plans. In Shetland, his daughter Geirhildr drowned in a lake named after her, Geirhildarvatn, and in the Faroe Islands he gave his other daughter in marriage and left her behind.
As we already know, Vikings were great sailors, but Landnámabók notes that seafarers in the Northern lands had no lodestone (compass) in those days. So before setting out, Floki held a great sacrifice and consecrated three ravens to show him the way. He would set them free one by one, trusting them to lead him to his final destination.
As the ravens are known to be the birds of Odin, far-seeing God, Floki was sure they would take him where he longed to be. He let them go after leaving the Faroe Islands, his last stop. The first flew back over the stern, the way they had come; the second flew up into the air and came back to the ship. Yet, the third flew ahead over the prow, northwest, in the direction where they found land, and never came back. That is how Floki got his sign, as well as the nickname Hrafna-Flóki, Raven-Flóki.
Conclusion
Every Viking dreamt of combat, a time when they could show their willingness to either conquer or protect certain land. But Floki wanted more. He knew there must be a land far away across the sea that was never meant to be a battlefield, that just wanted to be found. And who could answer a task such as this if not Floki?So until the next meeting, keep your heads high. Skål!
For more of the story, follow our Viking history timeline, read about a Viking village discovered in Iceland, or step into daily life in the Viking age.
Floki FAQ
Who was Floki?
Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson was a Norwegian Viking and explorer, known from Landnámabók (Book of Settlements) as the first man to deliberately set out to find Iceland.
Did Floki really discover Iceland?
He was not the first to reach Iceland; earlier wanderers such as Naddodd and Gardar Svavarsson had arrived by accident. But Floki was the first to search for it intentionally, which is why he is remembered as its true discoverer.
Why is Floki called Hrafna-Flóki (Raven-Flóki)?
He released three ravens at sea to help find land. The third flew off to the northwest and never returned, guiding him onward, and that is how he earned the nickname Hrafna-Flóki, Raven-Flóki.
How did Iceland get its name?
According to Landnámabók, Floki’s livestock died during his first winter. In the cold spring he climbed a high mountain and saw a fjord full of drift ice to the north, so he and his men called the land Iceland.