Christianization of Iceland

Missionaries had worked in Iceland since the 980s with little success. Olaf Tryggvason, who forcibly converted Norway, closed Norwegian ports to Icelanders and held the sons of Icelandic chieftains as hostages. At the Althing in the summer — in 1000 according to tradition, some historians prefer 999 — the Christian and pagan parties declared themselves separate under different laws, and civil war seemed imminent. Both sides agreed to accept the arbitration of the lawspeaker Thorgeir, who lay for a day and a night under his cloak before announcing his decision: “one law and one faith”.

All were to be baptized, but the exposure of infants, the eating of horseflesh and private sacrifices remained allowed for a time; these concessions were abolished a few years later. The account comes from Ari Þorgilsson’s Book of the Icelanders; the peaceful settlement is one of the best-known examples of conversion by a political decision.