The Truth About Vikings — And Other Icelandic Myths Debunked
“We come from the Viking tradition,” says Gunnar. “And that period of time is really fascinating — how we started from that tradition and managed to become a successful nation is what fascinates me.”
Gunnar Hólmsteinn Ársælsson, a well-spoken, mild-mannered 57-year-old Icelander, is a teacher during the school year — and a tour guide debunking myths about Vikings during the summer.
Both his mother and father’s clan come from the west of Iceland, and Gunnar grew up in Akranes, a small fishing town close to the capital of Reykavik with around 8,000 inhabitants. As a history and criminology teacher at a local high school, Gunnar always harboured an interest in the past — in particular, Viking history and mythology. When a colleague told him about the opportunity to become a summer guide, he jumped at the chance. He started this new role just as the country was coming out of the worst part of the pandemic and reopening for tourism once more. He was eager to finally connect with people again, share his knowledge about Iceland’s unique past, and also challenge the many misconceptions visitors have about this Atlantic Ocean nation.
When asked about what his tour attendees get wrong or don’t understand about his country, he laughs. “Everything!” he says with a chuckle. “The weather, the pricing, the population of Iceland — everyone is surprised at how few we are!”
Through his tours, although the main purpose is for attendees to enjoy themselves, Gunnar is determined to correct these misunderstandings, so that people leave with a more accurate picture of Iceland’s history and culture.
And that is what he aims to do as he stands before us on a chilly August morning in Ingólfur Square. The air is damp and the small group of tourists who gather around him are dressed in scarves, parkas, and sweaters to protect themselves from the icy wind.
This square, he tells us, was named for Ingólfur Arnarsson, the first Norseman (as Vikings are also known) to settle in Iceland in 874, making Reykjavik his permanent home. The story is right out of a Shakespearean tragedy, with Arnarsson escaping Norway due to a blood feud in which he was involved. The details are murky, but as the story goes, he sailed to Iceland with his blood brother, Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson (they were not related by birth but had sworn loyalty to each other). He later found him dead and spent years hunting down the men who murdered him to exact revenge — which he did.
Indeed, the idea of the Viking in our imagination invokes a violent and warmongering crew of men, pillaging the towns they encounter, kidnapping women, and generally wreaking havoc wherever their ships landed. There’s some truth in this stereotype — the Vikings were feared, for good reason, in the British Isles and Western Europe, where they sacked religious places for portable wealth, took inhabitants as slaves, and colonized coastal areas through much of the continent. There was even a word for this in the Norse language: “landnám,” which translates to “land-taking.”
But not all Viking tales are as dramatic — or as violent — as the legends suggest, particularly in Iceland, where most of the current population has some Viking heritage. Many Vikings came to the Land of Fire and Ice searching for a new life. They were farmers and fisherman, rather than warmongers, and they were looking to settle somewhere peacefully.
Most people assume “that they were just killers,” Gunnar tells us. “But they were much more than killers. They were businessmen and tradesmen and craftsmen… They were skillful. And they were smart.”
And so our tour begins. Gunnar leads the way to our first stop, where he will begin to debunk the myths and challenge the many misconceptions we likely have about his country.
***
We make our way to a charming and quiet residential area that requires a walk up a hilly path. Despite the unfortunate weather, the flowers are in bloom all around and the grass in every lawn is verdant and well-kept.
We stop at a large rock — as out-of-place as a meteor in this clean and orderly neighbourhood.
“This is an Elf Stone,” Gunnar informs his skeptical audience. There appears to be nothing elf-ish about it, other than its incongruous placement in the middle of a grassy lawn.
But most Icelanders do not deny the existence of elves, or Huldufólk (Hidden People), who are believed to be magical beings who can cause trouble for you if you do not respect them or their habitat.
Gunnar tells us the story of this particular stone, and how construction workers tried in vain to move it — but their construction equipment failed each time. Finally, it was concluded that this particular rock was, in fact, an Elf Stone (a place where elves live). An Elf Seer — someone who can see and speak to elves — was brought in to consult with the Huldufólk inhabiting the stone. After the discussion, she informed the construction crew that the elves would be willing to move if they could take a week for the preparations, and if their home would be close to the city centre. The crew obliged, and here the stone remains.
This story is not unique; many a construction project has had to contend with unhappy elves who have thwarted the workers’ attempts to move their homes. Tales abound of destroyed construction tools and equipment that failed to lift and move certain rocks while having no trouble with other, smaller ones.
But a respect for elves, trolls, and other folkloric beings does not mean Icelanders are out-of-touch with the modern world. Although roughly 54% of the population believes in the existence of elves, Iceland is also one of the most advanced information societies in the world, with almost the entire population connected online and using the Internet ardently. As well, it is a highly educated country, with 35% of Icelanders having university or college education, showing once again people’s ability to combine the traditional and the modern — ancient folkloric beliefs with current knowledge and practices.
***
Our next stop is the Stjórnarráðshúsið — the Prime Minister’s Office in Reykjavik. Although it is white, that is where the similarities end between this state residence and the more famous one in Washington D.C. The building is modest, resembling a library or simple schoolhouse as opposed to a high-level government office. But what is most surprising is what’s missing — there isn’t a single armed guard, steel gate, or even a barricade to be seen around the premises.
“Does the Prime Minister actually work in here?” asked one of the American visitors on the tour, peering dubiously at the inconspicuous building with the lax security in front of him.
“Yes, she works from here, and since she works for the people, anyone is welcome to go in. They can even check if she is free to meet for a chat,” Gunnar responds.
This open-door policy is likely another vestige of Viking times. In Iceland, the Viking settlers established a democratic government. Laws were created and followed, and rule of law was respected as the only way to keep peace and stability among the various settlements. As well, things were established — open assemblies where all free people could attend to bring up issues and make recommendations — and became its own self-contained governing body.
Interestingly, the Prime Minister’s Office we see now used to be a prison; in fact, it was Iceland’s very first dungeon, built in the middle of the 18th century. Looking at Iceland now, though, it seems almost unnecessary for any kind of prison to exist. The country has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, with 0.8 murders per hundred thousand people per year. And in 2023, it was ranked the third safest nation to live in.
There are many factors for this: it has a small population, it ranks high on quality-of-life and happiness indexes, and it has a strong social safety net, among other factors. However, many of the reasons for why Iceland is a safe place now can be tied to its Viking history — the creation of a strong rule of law, a democratic government, and open assemblies for people to air their complaints through discussion rather than violence.
***
We stare up at the imposing Hallgrímskirkja, a Lutheran church overlooking the city centre of Reykjavik, and another stop on the tour. The national church of the country is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland — “but this wasn’t always the case,” Gunnar informs us.
Under the Danish Crown, Gunnar says, the country had been Roman Catholic; however, during the Icelandic Reformation, which took place in the autumn of 1550, the country decided to transition to Lutheranism.
This peaceful conversion, uncommon in many other parts of Europe where religion had often been imposed by force, also has its roots in the Viking era. In the tenth century, the King of Norway had tried to forcefully introduce Christianity to the people of Iceland, but it had not been widely accepted, and he was furious. An Althing (an open assembly for the whole country to attend) was called and a compromise was made to avoid war and the tearing apart of the nation: all Icelanders would agree to be baptized, but could still practice pagan and other religions at home. The desire to maintain the stability of the country and keep the peace was the reason for the compromise that likely satisfied nobody.
While Lutheranism is still the most popular religion, freedom of religion has existed since 1874. There is a tolerant view towards different religious and spiritual beliefs, and around 5% of the population still practice Ásatrú, the traditional Norse religion.
Iceland’s progressive views extend to women’s rights and can also be traced back to the Icelandic Vikings. Sure, they wouldn’t have been considered feminists by modern-day standards. But women were allowed to inherit property and divorce their husbands, both of which would not become common in Europe until centuries later, and there were even female Vikings who had their own crews.
The Skólavörðustígur — Rainbow Street in Reykjavik — is another current example of the tolerant mindset passed down from Viking-era days. A vibrantly-coloured painted road, Skólavörðustígur’s rainbow starts at Hallgrímskirkja church and ends at the main shopping street of Laugavegur.
But the rainbow colours aren’t just around for Pride Season; unlike many places, which put up the obligatory rainbow flags for LGBT+ Pride festivals and then take them down shortly after the parade, the road is a permanent fixture of Reykjavik life and a daily reminder that the LGBT+ community is welcome and accepted in this nation. Iceland is currently one of the safest places for gay and lesbian residents, and it was the first country in the world with an openly gay head of state (Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir in 2009).
***
Gunnar brings the tour to a close back at Ingolfur Square, where we started. The sun is peeking through the clouds and the weather is suddenly pleasant and warm. He watches, amused, as the tourists start to strip off their layers of winter clothing.
“We have a saying here,” he tells us, with a twinkle in his eye. “‘If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.’”
And just like its weather, Iceland never fails to surprise. It is always evolving, always adapting. It’s a beautiful place of contrasts, from the ever-changing weather to Icelanders’ celebration of both the country’s modern successes and its ancient past and traditions.
Gunnar notes that these contrasts can be seen in the people as well. “We work hard, but we party hard. And we like to enjoy life… We are totally into technology, but if everything breaks down, we’ll say, ‘Okay, we’ll fix it somehow, it doesn’t matter.’ That’s really the Iceland experience.”
Icelanders may believe in elves, trolls, and other mythical beings but that doesn’t preclude it from embracing science or modern technology. And the country may have been founded through an act of violence — a blood feud that drove its original settler to distant lands — but it is currently one of the safest places on Earth.
The Vikings’ hands aren’t completely clean — but Icelanders have a more nuanced view of their ancestors. They can understand their history while also celebrating their rich heritage and the past achievements that have allowed Iceland to develop into the nation it is today: a thriving democracy in a tolerant, non-violent country that is ever forward-thinking.
Gunnar is one of the guides running the “Walk with a Viking” tour in Reykjavik. You can book this Airbnb Experience here.
Quotes have been edited for clarity and flow. To read about other Airbnb Experiences I’ve done all over the world, head here. See more photos from my trip to Iceland here.
