The Vikings were not the first in Iceland.

800 · 874 · apart: 74 years

Icelandic chronicles say the Norse found Irish hermit monks there — the papar — who left, leaving behind books, bells and croziers.

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The event

• The first Althing meets at Þingvellir930 · Þingvellir, Iceland. In 930 Iceland's Norse settlers began gathering each summer in the Þingvellir valley to make laws and settle disputes, with a lawspeaker reciting the law from memory, a third each year. The Althing met there until 1800, and Iceland's parliament still bears the name.

8th century · 9th century

More amazing facts

• 800 When Charlemagne was crowned emperor in 800, Borobudur — the world's largest Buddhist temple — was being built on Java.
• 800 The Slavic word for 'king' comes from the name Charles — Charlemagne's, or perhaps his great-grandson Charles the Fat's: Latin Karolus became Russian korol', Polish król and Slovak kráľ.
• 800 Lowercase Latin letters go back to the handwriting of Charlemagne's scribes.
• 800 Charlemagne, patron of a great revival of learning, probably never mastered writing himself.
• 800 Medieval tourists in Sri Lanka covered a wall with poems about beauties.
• 802 · 810 Charlemagne had an elephant.

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