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Iceland was first populated in the 9th century by settlers mainly from Norway, a number of whom took Celtic slaves and wives from Ireland and Scotland en route. There is evidence to suggest that the island's existence had been known for centuries, however vaguely, and Irish monks may have come here to meditate and worship in solitude.

The recorded discoverer of Iceland was the Viking sailor Naddoður who on his way from Norway to the already settled Faeroe Islands got lost and drifted to the east coast of Iceland. Naddoður named the country Snæland (Snowland). A Swedish Viking Garðar also accidentally drifted to Iceland. He sailed around the coast, confirmed that this was an island and named it Garðarshólmi (literally Garðar's Island). The first Scandinavian who deliberately sailed here was Hrafna-Flóki (Raven-Flóki). He gave the island its current name upon spotting some drift ice in the fjords during his winter-long stay. Subsequently the first permanent settler left the shores of Norway with his family, slaves and livestock. This was Ingólfur Arnarson who made his home in Reykjavik. The rest is history as they say, presented in world-class exhibits in the National Museum of Iceland, the Reykjavik 871 +/- 2 Settlement Exhibition and the Culture House.

During the Viking Age the North-Germanic language, Old Norse, was spoken by Scandinavians in their homelands and overseas settlements. Regional differences increased up to the 13th century and accelerated in the 14th century. Changes appeared in Icelandic pronunciation that were not heard in the other Scandinavian languages and the grammar became considerably simpler outside Iceland.

Written Icelandic has changed relatively little since the 13th century. As a result of this, and of the similarity between the modern and ancient grammar, modern speakers can still understand, more or less, the original Sagas and Eddas that were written some eight hundred years ago. This ability is sometimes mildly overstated by Icelanders themselves, most of whom actually read the Sagas with updated modern spelling and footnotes - though otherwise intact.