Landnáma - the Icelandic Book of Settlements, tells us that the Christian settler Örlygur gamli built the first Christian church in Iceland around the year 900 here at Esjuberg.
So the site of the Celtic cross might be the oldest church site in Iceland. And as such it deserves a memorial.
Top photo: the memorial altar and the Celtic stone cross
The altar and the Celtic cross
It is not known exactly where the old church was located, as landslides from Mt. Esja have changed the landscape, but the outdoor altar was erected in a lovely place by the foot of Mt. Esja.
The Bishop of Iceland blessed the outdoor altar and the 2-meter-tall Celtic sun cross at the summer solstice of 2021.
The Celtic cross is a replica of (not the carvings though) a 6-meter-tall Celtic cross that stands by the minster on Iona island in the inner Hebrides west of Scotland. You will find out later in my travel-blog the connection this site in Iceland has with the Hebrides.
By the altar at Esjuberg
Christian ceremonies take place by the altar at Esjuberg; weddings, sermons, and Christenings. Or you can just come here to contemplate and pray - and enjoy the beautiful nature by Mt. Esja.
I visited the outdoor memorial altar at Esjuberg before the cross was erected and a week after the altar was blessed.
Why was a church erected here a hundred years before the conversion to Christianity in Iceland in the year 1000?
The sources for this first church in Iceland are found in the 12th chapter of Landnáma - the Book of Settlements, and the church is mentioned in Kjalnesingasaga - the Saga of the People at Kjalarnes, in chapters 1 and 18.
The altar at Esjuberg before the Celtic cross was erected
The 12th chapter in Landnáma - the Book of Settlements tells us about Örlygur gamli and his blood-brother Kollur.
This is what Landnáma (Sturlubók) tells us about Örlygur:
"Örlygur was the son of Hrappur Bjarnason buna; he was fostered by the (holy) Bishop Patrick from the Hebrides. He had a desire to go to Iceland and asked the bishop for guidance.
The bishop provided Örlygur with church timber, an iron bell, a plenarium (a book of gospels, homilies, and epistles to be read at the Eucharist), and consecrated earth to place beneath the corner posts of the church. (The Hauksbók book of Landnáma also includes a gold coin).
Mt. Esja - hiking on Mt. Esja is very popular
The bishop told him to settle at a place, where from the sea he saw two mountains each with its valley.
He was to make his home below the southern mountain, where he was to build a farm and a church dedicated to St. Columba (of Iona)."
Iona in the Hebrides was the center of Celtic Christianity, literature, and science.
Hiking on Mt. Esja
The Hauksbók version of Landnáma is pretty similar to Sturlubók, but it talks about 3 mountains with a fjord and a valley between each one of them as seen from the ship.
Örlygur gamli was to sail to the southernmost mountain, where there was a forest.
South of the mountain he would see an open space in the forest with 3 erected stones. There Bishop Patrick told him to build a church (dedicated to Kolumkilla) and a farm.
Pretty specific, I say. I would love to know more about the 3 stones.
Örlygshöfn in the Westfjords
Örlygur built the first church here at Esjuberg, but this wasn't the place where he first arrived in Iceland. As, on their way to Iceland, the blood-brothers had a rough passage and lost their way.
Let's continue with the account in Landnáma:
"Kollur, the blood-brother of Örlygur, was with him on the ship, also Þórólfur spör, the 3rd one was Þorbjörn tálkni and his brother, Þorbjörn skúma; they were the sons of Böðvar blöðruskalli.
Örlygur and his men put out to sea, and had such a rough passage that they had no idea where they were.
Then Örlygur made a solemn vow to Bishop Patrick that if they reached land he would name the place after him. Shortly afterwards, they sighted land, after having drifted west of Iceland.
Patreksfjörður in the Westfjords
They came ashore at a place now called Örlygshöfn, but the fjord that cut into the land from there they called Patreksfjörður. They stayed there for the winter.
In the spring Örlygur got his ship ready to sail, but some of his crew settled there...
Örlygur journeyed east round Barð, and once he had gone beyond Snæfellsjökull glacier and sailed into the bay, he could see two mountains, each of them with a valley cutting into it.
Then he knew this was the place to which he had been guided, so he made for the southern mountain. This was Kjalarnes, where his cousin Helgi had already settled.
The Celtic cross at Esjuberg
Örlygur stayed the first winter with him, and in the spring with Helgi's approval, he settled the land between Mógilsá river and Ósvífurslækur creek, making his home at Esjuberg where he built a church as he had promised.
Örlygur had many children, his son was Valþjófur... (his descendants are counted). They put their faith in St. Columba. Örlygur's daughter was Vélaug, who was married to Gunnlaugur ormstunga...".
This is what Landnáma tells us.
Kollsvík in the Westfjords of Iceland where Kollur settled
Kollur, his companion, didn't go any further.
We don't know much about Kollur, but maybe he also built a small church on his small settlement (25 km²). Maybe not, we can only speculate.
I have told you about the smallest settlement in Iceland at Kollsvík where Kollur settled in another travel blog: A Visit to Kollsvík Cove in the Westfjords - the smallest Settlement in Iceland.
The view from Mt. Esja
Kjalnesinga Saga tells us the story a bit differently:
"A man was named Örlygur. He was Irish. Back then Ireland was a Christian country, ruled by King Konofogor". The abovementioned man angered the king.
He went to see his kinsman Bishop Patrick, and he told him to sail to Iceland and said that a lot of rich men were sailing to Iceland now.
"But I will give you 3 things to bring with you; consecrated earth to place beneath the cornerstones of the church, plenarium, and a hallowed iron bell" (no wood is mentioned here, but I guess that it goes without saying that Örlygur would carry church wood with him on the ship).
Sailing on Faxaflói bay
"You will arrive in South Iceland. Then sail west as a large fjord is west of the country. You will see in the fjord 3 tall mountains and valleys in all of them.
Sail for the southernmost mountain. There you will have a good landing and find a wise man called Helgi bjóla.
He will take you in as he is not a great worshipper of the pagan gods. He will give you a place to stay south of the mountain that I told you about.
Build a church there and dedicate it to St. Columba. Have a safe journey", the bishop said, "and keep your faith as best you can, even though you will be consorting with pagans."
Horses and farms in Kjalarnes by Mt. Esja
So you see that the sources we have vary, but at least the accounts tell us the same story about the building of the church.
This is what the 18th chapter of Kjalnesinga Saga has to say about the church:
"Helga Þorgrímsdóttir lived at Esjuberg with the children she had with Búi.
At that time the church that Örlygur had erected was still standing. At that time nobody paid attention to it.
But as Búi was a baptized man and never worshipped the pagan gods, Helga had him buried under the southern church wall and had nothing of value put in his grave but his weapons."
I tell you about Búi a little later on in my travel-blog, but he was the main character in the Kjalnesinga Saga.
Flateyjarbók - the old Viking Sagas were written on vellum, but the plenarium predated the Sagas
The same iron bell was in the church at Esjuberg and had by now become worn and rusty.
Bishop Árni Þorláksson (1237-1298) had the plenarium with Irish writing repaired and glued together at Skálholt.
According to the church records of Bishop Páll Jónsson at Skálholt from around 1200 a church is mentioned at Esjuberg. Remember Páll Jónsson, whom I told you about in my Skálholt travel-blog?
His stone coffin was found and inside it was one of only 2 old crosiers found in Iceland.
Local children collected the rocks on the cross
Örlygur gamli and Kollur arrived in Iceland before the year 880, which was long before Christianity was adopted in Iceland in the year 1000.
The Norwegian Vikings who settled in Iceland were mainly of the old Norse faith, and believed in Óðinn, Þór, Freyr etc.
But some of the Norwegian settlers came to Iceland from the Hebrides where they had adopted Christianity, like 3 of the children of Ketill flatnefur.
One of his sons, Björn, didn't want to change his faith, and one of his daughters, Jórunn mannvitsbrekka, didn't settle in Iceland, at least there is no mention of it, her son did though, Ketill fíflski, and he was Christian.
Mt. Esja towers above the Celtic cross
In Landnáma we read that Helgi bjóla was one of the settlers who were baptized, but that the descendants of the Christian people didn't keep their faith and that some of them erected pagan temples (hof) and in only a hundred years Iceland was completely pagan.
Helgi bjóla's father was the abovementioned Ketill flatnefur Bjarnarsson, the brother of Hrappur. Helgi bjóla's and Örlygur's common grandfather was Björn buna Grímsson, lord (hersir) in Norway.
Helgi bjóla was married to Þórný, the daughter of Ingólfur Arnarsson, the first settler, but the settlement of Ingólfur was huge, from Ölfusá river to Öxará river to Brynjudálsá river in Hvalfjörður bay.
Hiking on Mt. Esja
They were some well-known and noted people, so Örlygur was well-connected in Iceland.
His brother, Þórður skeggi, had also settled close by at Skeggjastaðir. We don't know who their mother was though.
Auður djúpúðga the sister of Helgi bjóla
The stone cross at Krosshólaborg in West Iceland
Helgi bjóla's sister, the noted settler woman Auður djúpúðga, was Christian and erected a cross on Krosshólaborg in West Iceland.
You can see a memorial stone cross for Auður at Krosshólaborg in another travel-blog that I wrote about her settlement in West Iceland.
Auður djúpúðga wrecked her ship when she arrived in South Iceland and visited her brother Helgi bjóla in Kjalarnes and sought shelter at his farm. But he was only able to take in half of her travel companions which offended and angered Auður.
So she carried on to her other brother, Björn austræni in Bjarnarhöfn, who took in her whole group.
Auður then carried on and settled and lived at Hvammur in Dalir in 890 close to where the stone cross was erected. Her story and that of her descendants is told in the Laxdæla Saga and Landnáma.
The inscription on the stone cross tells us about Auður djúpúðga
Landnáma - the Book of Settlements, chapter 11, tells us the connection this family had with the Hebrides:
"After the Norwegian King Haraldur hárfagri had conquered the Hebrides, Vikings, Scots, and the Irish started raiding and plundering the islands.
The king then sent Ketill flatnefur, the son of Björn buna, to the islands to reconquer them. Ketil's wife was Yngvildur, the daughter of Ketill veður, lord of Ringerike (Hringaríki); their sons were Björn austræni and Helgi bjóla. Their daughters were Auður djúpúðga and Þórunn hyrna.
Ketill went west, while his son Björn guarded his estate in Norway; he conquered all of the Hebrides and became their leader. But he didn't pay any taxes to the king, as was intended. King Harald confiscated all of his belongings in Norway and drove his son Björn away.
Helgi bjóla, the son of Ketill flatnefur, left the Hebrides for Iceland."
Auður djúpúðga on the Saga Circle information sign
The next chapter in Landnáma tells us about Örlygur gamli, the cousin of these 5 siblings (4 of whom are known to have settled in Iceland).
Chapters 36-41 of Landnáma continue to tell us the extraordinary story of Auður, who married Ólafur hvíti - Olaf the White, who conquered Dublin and became a king there.
The story tells us that after the death of Ólafur in battle, Auður went to the Hebrides with their son, Þorsteinn rauður. She later had to flee with her entourage to Iceland, after her son was killed while attempting to conquer the whole of Scotland.
The siblings were all baptized and Christian apart from Björn austræni, who didn't want to change his religion.
Hiking on Mt. Esja
Auður had another Kollur in her group, whose descendants are well-known names in the sagas.
The name Kollur is believed to refer to Christians who had shaved a part of their head and only a collar remained like some monks do today.
I have told you about how the notorious volcano Katla got its name according to Icelandic folklore: The infamous Katla Volcano in South Iceland is named after a Sorceress. Now, let's have a look at how Mt. Esja got its name.
Kjalnesinga Saga
Hiking on Mt. Esja
Kjalnesinga Saga, which was most likely written in the 14th century, tells us about the settlers of Kjalarnes, and the conflict between the heathen and Christian settlers.
Some of the settlers were Irish, like Esja, which I would like to believe that Mt. Esja is named after.
But, which came first, Esja herself or the name of Mt. Esja?
Esja was a wealthy Irish widow, who took over the farm here at Esjuberg (which thus got its name) as in Kjalnesinga Saga Örlygur gamli is said to have been old and without children.
In Landnáma - the Book of Settlements on the other hand Örlygur is said to have had many children, 3 of which are mentioned, 2 sons and one daughter. In Íslendingabók these 3 children by 2 women are listed.
Hiking on Mt. Esja
Örlygur gamli Hrapsson is my ancestor 30 generations back, so he cannot have been childless.
My great-grandparents and their parents lived at Hof farm, Vallá farm, and Skrauthólar in Kjalarnes, before they moved to Snæfellsnes, as I told you about in my travel-blog about Snæfellsnes and Grundarfjörður fjord.
And one of my relatives is called Búi, like the main character in the Kjalnesinga Saga :)
Now, let's continue with the Irish Esja, who lived at Esjuberg.
Esja, who was baptized, is also said to have known sorcery and her enemies said that she tricked them with her sorcery. There are several mentions in the Kjalnesinga Saga of her sorcery.
A worn map of the main farms in Kjalnesinga Saga
Esja fostered Búi Andríðsson, the protagonist of the Kjalnesinga Saga, but his father arrived in Iceland on the same ship as Esja.
She might have given her name to Mt. Esja. Others say that this name might have come from Norway, "esje", which means "flögusteinn" or schist. This type of stone cannot be found in Iceland, but the stones in Esja might have reminded the settlers of schist.
I also read in the foreword of Kjalnesinga Saga (Íslensk fornrit XIV) that there is a mountain named Esja in Sogn in Norway.
The name might also be of Celtic origin Ésa or Essa. Who knows? If you want to find out more about the influence the Celtic language had on the Icelandic language then an excellent book has been published about this topic (in Icelandic): "Keltar - áhrif á íslenska tungu og menningu" by Þorvaldur Friðriksson, archaeologist.
Brautarholtskirka church
Be it as it may, I always like the stories from our folklore and Sagas better, and to me, they add colour and mystique to the landscape :)
Helgi bjóla allocated Búi's father, the Irish Andríður, land at Brautarholt, where there is now one of the two churches at Kjalarnes.
There is no mention of Andríður building a church at Brautarholt though. The first mention of a church here at Brautarholt is from around 1200 in the church records of Bishop Páll Jónsson.
The current Brautarholtskirkja church was consecrated in 1857.
Inside Brautarholtskirkja - I wonder what the church of Örlygur looked like
The other church is the stone church, Saurbæjarkirkja, at Saurbær, where Arngrímur, the son of Helgi bjóla and Þórný lived.
It was also first mentioned in around 1200. The current church was consecrated in 1904.
At Hof, Arngrímur's brother, Þorgrímur, now a chieftain after his father, Helgi bjóla, died, built a large heathen temple.
The Saga tells us how the Christian Búi, being bullied to leave his Christian faith, and having been outlawed at the age of 12, destroyed the large heathen temple at the farm Hof in Kjalarnes where offerings were made to the Norse gods.
Saurbæjarkirkja church at Kjalarnes
Even though some of the settlers of Iceland were Christian the second and third generations were forced to leave their Christian faith as Kjalnesingasaga vividly tells us.
Búi killed Þorsteinn, the son of Þorgrímur, while he was on his knees praying in the temple, and burnt the temple down!
Búi made some strange decisions in Kjalnesinga Saga, but he lived a very colourful life and had children with 3 women, one of whom was the daughter of King Dofri, so I do recommend reading this Saga.
Another colourful character in the Sagas, Bárður Snæfellsás, the Protector of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, had a child by another one of Dofri's daughters.
Did the temple look like the replica of the heathen temple Ásheimur in North Iceland?
The old Norse faith was quite different from the Christian faith and there is even a mention of a human sacrifice to the gods by the heathen temple in the Kjalnesinga Saga!
There is also a mention of a heathen temple and human sacrifice in the Eyrbyggja Saga, which I recommend reading. And, a heathen temple is mentioned in Vatnsdæla Saga.
Búi was now an outlaw, and being an outlaw in Iceland at this time meant that you were banished from society and could be killed at sight, as I told you about in the Saga of Gísli the outlaw Súrsson, and the Saga of Grettir the Strong.
But Búi didn't hide and just carried on with his life as usual, while under attack though.
Þór or Christ? One of the main objects at the National Museum of Iceland
We find a good description of a pagan temple (hof) in Kjalnesinga Saga: "It was 100 feet long and 60 feet wide. And everybody should pay a tax to the temple.
Þór was the pagan god who was worshipped the most. Inside the temple was in the shape of a cap.
Curtains and windows were on every side. Þór was in the middle and another two pagan gods by his side".
The Kjalnesinga Saga continues to tell us about the pagan temple, and that on a pedestal in front of Þór was a holy fire that was not to be extinguished.
On that pedestal was a massive silver ring that the pagan priest should always wear at all gatherings.
A replica of a heathen temple in Hjaltadalur valley where there are also ruins of an ancient church
Also on the pedestal was a large copper cup where the blood from all the sacrificial animals should be put and sprinkled on the men at the gathering.
Búi didn't want to worship the pagan gods, and he burnt down the large temple, as I told you, and killed Þorsteinn, the son of Þorgrímur, and the greatgrandchild of Ingólfur Arnarson himself.
Þorsteinn was not only the greatgrandchild of Ingólfur, but also the grandchild of Helgi bjóla, and the grandchild of Þórður Hrappsson, the brother of Örlygur gamli.
Ancient church ruins in North Iceland from early Christianity - was this the size of Örlygur's church?
So Þorsteinn was related to quite some important people, who were obliged to seek revenge for him (i.e. his heathen relatives).
Later on, things were settled in a more civil manner with the help of good men, and Búi went on to marry Þorstein's sister, Helga, and they had 3 children; Ingólfur, Þorsteinn, and Hallbera.
They lived at Esjuberg after Esja died.
The Celtic influence on Iceland
Did the Irish build the Caves of Hella, where many crosses have been carved into the cave walls?
There are speculations about there being a settlement of Irish people (Celts) already in Iceland when the Norwegians arrived, and they were Christian.
I would love to know more about these people who were here before the Norwegians arrived, but there are only bits and pieces available about them, so we don't have the whole picture, only speculations, some mentions in old Irish books, old Christian carvings on walls of caves in Iceland, and our DNA.
My DNA
40-60 percent of Icelanders might be of Irish and Scottish origin.
New DNA tests have shown that 20 percent of Icelandic men and 60 percent of Icelandic women have such genes.
We are told that the Norwegian Vikings brought with them Irish slaves and the Sagas tell us about these slaves, but there are some indications that there was an Irish population already in Iceland.
At Lindisfarne, Holy Island, where the Viking raids started in 793
The foreword of Landnáma - the Book of Settlement of Iceland tells us that when the Norwegian Vikings arrived there were some Irish monks called Papar living in Iceland.
Written in the foreword of Landnámabók it is the following: "But before the Norwegians settled Iceland, here were men, whom the Norwegians call Papar; they were Christian men, and it was thought that they came from the west, as they left Irish books, bells and crosiers and more items, so it could be perceived that they were Vestmenn - Westmen (Irish).
It is also mentioned in English books, that back then people were sailing between these 2 countries."
An Irish crosier at the National Museum of Ireland
After what happened at Lindisfarne in 793 and in other places following that Viking raid on the Holy Island, the Papar were of course no fans of the Vikings so we are told that they left Iceland.
Iona was raided in 795, but I haven't visited it yet, so I added a photo of my visit to Lindisfarne.
Iona was violently raided for some 30 years by the Viking raiders, as here on this Christian island was one of the most influential Gaelic monasteries and a centre of wealth. Several other places were raided.
But then it happened that the Norse settlers in the Hebrides were so influenced by the Gaelic church that they adopted Christianity.
Jesus Christ had such an impact on the Norse settlers that they adopted Christianity
The Norse Vikings called the Gaelic people Vestmenn (Westmen). And if you have visited the Vestmannaeyjar - Westman Islands archipelago in Iceland, then you can guess where that name came from.
I tell you the story behind the name of the islands in my travel-blog about the first settler Ingólfur Arnarson and his blood-brother Hjörleifur, as there is an interesting and tragic story behind the name, which dates back to the first and second settlement year of Iceland:
Hjörleifshöfði Promontory in South Iceland - the Blood Brothers Ingólfur and Hjörleifur
The 6th-8th century bell associated with St. Patrick at the National Museum of Ireland
Ari fróði - Ari the Wise also talks about English books.
The Irish monk Dicuilius, mentions Irish hermits In the Mensura orbis terrae, written in 825.
He writes that the Irish hermits were in Thule some 30 years earlier (795) and that they had marveled at the midnight sun.
We don't understand why the Irish monks left their valuable Christian belongings behind when they left Iceland.
Or were they killed or driven away or what? We are trying to figure out what happened to them, but lack sources.
Bells at the National Museum of Ireland
Bells of various kinds were characteristic of the rituals of the Irish church.
I visited the National Museum of Ireland to see what the Irish bells and crosiers looked like. By the way, the Icelandic term for a crosier is "bagall" and the Celtic name for it is "bachall".
There I saw very many old bells on display, both large and small with a distinct shape.
What happened to the bell in the church, which Örlygur built at Esjuberg?
We have no such old bells with this shape in Iceland. Our oldest bell is of a different shape.
An ancient bell found in a grave in Iceland - the 3rd object - at the National Museum of Iceland
Small bronze bells have been found in 3 pagan graves in Iceland, that I know of (at Kornsá in Vatnsdalur valley, in Vatnsdalur in Patreksfjörður, and Brú in Biskupstungur).
They might have been Irish bells, we don't know, but we believed that they were used as decoration on necklaces.
Vatnsdæla Saga tells us about the people living in Vatnsdalur, and the bell found at Kornsá might be from the British Isles, where Nordic people lived.
A Viking slave market as depicted at Dublinia
I also visited Dublinia, the Viking Museum in Dublin, to get acquainted with the Viking history of Dublin before the Vikings settled Iceland.
When the Vikings settled in Iceland there was an increase in the demand for Irish slaves.
The Vikings took with them Irish slaves, but there were also intermarriages between the Nordic people and the Irish. And as I told you earlier then many of the Nordic people coming from this area had taken up Christianity. They were called Ghall-Ghaidheil or foreign Irish.
Now, back to the Celtic cross and the altar at Esjuberg.
The Celtic stone cross
In 1981 archaeologists started digging at Esjuberg in the hope of finding the ruins of this oldest church in Iceland.
This was done on the 1000th anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries to Iceland. They only found ruins that were younger than the settlement of Iceland.
40 years later, in 2021, the altar was blessed. It took 5 years to build the altar and erect the cross from the groundbreaking back in 2016 until it was blessed in 2021.
The Celtic knot on the Celtic cross
The altar is circular with doors in the cardinal points and the altar is orientated east against the sun.
The 11-tonne altar is a gift from the Esjuberg mines and the landowner gave his permission for the altar to be erected on his land.
Guðni Ársæll Indriðason from Kjalarnes made this beautiful cross and all the material is from Kjalarnes.
The information sign by the Celtic cross
Ari Jóhannesson and Kristín Auður Keldal erected the Celtic cross. And the local children collected rocks from the shoreline.
A job well done by Sögufélagið Steini at Kjalarnes, but they made this map below for the blessing of the altar and allowed me to use it.
Sögufélagið Steini has also erected information signs in various locations in Kjalarnes, which I am very grateful for.
A map of the area
Now, this was the story of how the first church in Iceland was built, or was it the first church?
We don't know, but at least you now know the sources we have. And why a Celtic cross was erected by Mt. Esja.
I hope that my travel-blog has shed some light on this and that it will enrich your visit to Iceland.
At least I am very interested in this part of Iceland's history :)
The sign by the road says: "Útialtari (outdoor altar) and Kerhólakambur".
If you know what you are looking for then you will see the cross from ring road 1, but it is a bit far away from the road, so most people miss it if they don't know that it is there.
Here is the location on Google Maps.
Have a lovely time in Iceland :)
Ref.:
Landnámabók - the Book of Settlements - Sturlubók and Hauksbók
Iona and the Vikings: Survival and Continuity - Andrew Jennings
Af hverju útialtari við Esjurætur?
Leitað að leifum af elstu kirkju landsins
Ferlir.is - Esjuberg - kirkjutóft
Keltar - áhrif á íslenska tungu og menningu - Þorvaldur Friðriksson
