The early details of the history of the Faroe Islands are unclear. It is possible that Brendan, an Irish monk, sailed past the islands during his North Atlantic voyage in the 6th century. He saw an 'Island of Sheep' and a 'Paradise of Birds', which some say could be the Faroes with its dense bird population and sheep. This does suggest however that other sailors had got there before him, to bring the sheep. Norsemen settled the Faroe Islands in the 9th or 10th century. The islands were officially converted to Christianity around the year 1000, and became a part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1035. Norwegian rule on the islands continued until 1380, when the islands became part of the dual Denmark–Norway kingdom, under king Olaf II of Denmark.
Following the 1814 Treaty of Kiel that ended the dual Denmark–Norway kingdom, the Faroe Islands remained under the administration of Denmark as a county. During World War II, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany, the British invaded and occupied the Faroe Islands until shortly after the end of the war. Following an independence referendum in 1946 that took place unrecognized by Denmark, the Faroe Islands were in 1948 granted extended self-governance with the Danish Realm with the signing of the Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands.
Faroese stamp depicting Saint Brendan discovering the Faroe Islands
There is some evidence of settlement on the Faroe Islands before Norse Viking settlers arrived in the ninth century AD. Scientific researchers found burnt grains of domesticated barley and peat ash deposited in two phases: the first dated between the mid-fourth and mid-sixth centuries, and another between the late-sixth and late-eighth centuries.[1][2] Researchers have also found sheep DNA in lake-bed sediments, which were dated to around the year 500. Barley and sheep had to have been brought to the islands by humans. It is unlikely the Norse would have sailed near the Faroes long before the early 800s. The first settlers may have come from the British Isles.[3][4] Archaeologist Mike Church suggested that the people living there might have been from Ireland, Scotland or Scandinavia, or from all three.[5]
According to a ninth-century voyage tale, the Irish saint Brendan visited islands resembling the Faroes in the sixth century. This description, however, is not conclusive.[6]
The earliest text which has been claimed to be a description of the Faroe Islands was written by the Irish monk Dicuil c.825 in his work Liber de Mensura Orbis Terrae (description of the sphere of the earth).[7] Dicuil had met a "man worthy of trust" who related to his master, the abbot Sweeney (Suibhne), how he had landed on islands in the far north after sailing "two days and a summer night in a little vessel of two banks of oars" (in duobus aestivis diebus, et una intercedente nocte, navigans in duorum navicula transtrorum).
"Many other islands lie in the northerly British Ocean. One reaches them from the northerly islands of Britain, by sailing directly for two days and two nights with a full sail in a favourable wind the whole time.... Most of these islands are small, they are separated by narrow channels, and for nearly a hundred years hermits lived there, coming from our land, Ireland, by boat. But just as these islands have been uninhabited from the beginning of the world, so now the Norwegian pirates have driven away the monks; but countless sheep and many different species of sea-fowl are to be found there..."[8]
Norse settlement of the Faroe Islands is recorded in the Færeyinga saga, whose original manuscript is lost. Portions of the tale were inscribed in three other sagas: the Flateyjarbók, the Saga of Óláfr Tryggvason, and AM 62 fol. Similar to other sagas, the historical credibility of the Færeyinga saga is highly questioned.
Both the Saga of Ólafr Tryggvason and the Flateyjarbók claim that Grímr Kamban was the first man to discover the Faroe Islands. The two sources disagree, however, on the year in which he left and the circumstances of his departure. The Flateyjarbók details the emigration of Grímr Kamban as sometime during the reign of Harald Hårfagre, between 872 and 930 AD.[9] The Saga of Óláfr Tryggvason indicates that Kamban was residing in the Faroes long before the rule of Harald Hårfagre, and that other Norse were driven to the Faroe Islands due to his chaotic rule.[10] This mass migration to the Faroe Islands shows a prior knowledge of the Viking settlements' locations, furthering the claim of Grímr Kamban's settlement much earlier. While Kamban is recognized as the first Viking settler of the Faroe Islands, his surname is of Gaelic origin. Writings from the Papar, an order of Irish monks, show that they left the Faroe Islands due to ongoing Viking raids.[11]
Pre-14th century
Wooden crosses from Toftanes dating to 860–970, indicating that Christianity existed in the Faroes before official Christianization
The name of the islands is first recorded on the Hereford Mappa Mundi (1280), where they are labelled farei. The name has long been understood as based on Old Norse fár "livestock", thus fær-øer "sheep islands".
The main historical source for this period is the 13th-century work Færeyinga saga (Saga of the Faroese), though it is disputed as to how much of this work is historical fact. Færeyinga saga only exists today as copies in other sagas, in particular the manuscripts called Saga of Óláfr Tryggvason, Flateyjarbók and one registered as AM 62 fol.
According to Flateyjarbók, Grímr Kamban settled in Faroe when Harald Hårfagre was king of Norway (872–930). A slightly different account is found in the version of Færeyinga saga in Ólafs Saga Tryggvasonar:
Maður er nefndur Grímur kamban; hann byggði fyrstur manna Færeyjar. En á dögum Haralds hins hárfagra flýðu fyrir hans ofríki fjöldi manna; settust sumir í Færeyjum og byggðu þar, en sumir leituðu til annarra eyðilanda.[12]
There was a man named Grímr Kamban; he first settled in Faroe. But in the days of Harold Fairhair many men fled before the king's overbearing. Some settled in Faroe and began to dwell there, and others sought to other waste lands.
The text suggests that Grímr Kamban settled in the Faroes some time before the flight from Harald Hårfagre, perhaps even hundreds of years before. His first name, Grímr, is Norse, but his last, Kamban, suggests a Gaelic origin (Cambán). He may have been of mixed Norse and Irish origin and have come from a settlement in the British Isles: a so-called Norse-Gael. The Norse-Gaels had intermarried with speakers of Irish, a language also spoken at the time in Scotland (being the ancestor of Scottish Gaelic). Evidence of a mixed cultural background in later settlers may be found in the Norse-Irish ring pins found in the Faroe Islands,[13] and in features of Faroese vocabulary. Examples of such words (derived from Middle Irish) are: "blak/blaðak" (buttermilk), Irishbláthach; "drunnur" (animal tail), Irishdronn (chine); "grúkur" (head), Irishgruaig (hair); "lámur" (hand, paw), Irishlámh (hand); "tarvur" (bull), Irishtarbh; and "ærgi" (pasture in the outfield), Irisháirge (byre, milking place: Mod. Irish áirí).[14] The discovery at Toftanes on Eysturoy of wooden devotional crosses apparently modelled on Irish or Scottish exemplars suggests that some of the settlers were Christian.[15] It has also been suggested that the typical curvilinear stone-built walls enclosing early ecclesiastical sites in the Faroes (as in Norse settlements elsewhere) reflect a Celtic Christian style, seen in the circular enclosures of early ecclesiastical sites in Ireland. Indirect support for this theory has been found in genetic research showing that many Norse settler women in the Faroe Islands had Celtic forebears.[16]
If there was settlement in the Faroes in the reign of Harald Hårfagre, it is possible that people already knew about the Faroes because of previous visitors or settlers.
The fact that immigrants from Norway also settled in the Faroe Islands is proven by a runestone (see Sandavágur stone) found in the village of Sandavágur on Vágoy Island. It says:
Þorkil Onundsson, austmaþr af Hrua-lande, byggþe þe(n)a staþ fyrst.[17]
Thorkil Onundsson, eastman (Norwegian) from Rogaland, settled first in this place (Sandavágur)
This description "eastman" (from Norway) has to be seen together with the description "westman" (from Ireland/Scotland), which is to be found in local place-names such as "Vestmanna-havn" i.e. "Irishmen's harbour" in the Faroe Isles, and "Vestmannaeyjar" i.e. "Irishmen's islands" in Iceland.
According to Færeyinga saga there was an ancient institution on the headland called Tinganes in Tórshavn on the island of Streymoy. This was an Alþing or Althing (All-council.) This was the place where laws were made and disputes solved. All free men had the right to meet in the Alþing. It was a parliament and law court for all, thus the name. Historians estimate the Alþing to have been established from 800 to 900.[18]
The Faroes became a part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1035. Early in the 11th century Sigmund or Sigmundur Brestisson, whose family had flourished in the southern islands but had been almost exterminated by invaders from the islands of the north, was sent from Norway, to where he had escaped, to take possession of the islands for Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway. He introduced Christianity, and, though he was subsequently murdered, Norwegian supremacy was upheld and continued.
King Sverre of Norway was brought up in the Faroes, being stepson of a Faroese man, and relative to Roe, bishop of the islands.
Foreign commercial interest: 14th century to Second World War
The 14th century saw the start of what would prove to be a long era of foreign encroachment on the Faroese economy. At this time trading regulations were set up so that all Faroese commerce had to pass through Bergen, Norway, in order to collect customs tax. Meanwhile, the Hanseatic League was gaining in power, threatening Scandinavian commerce. Though Norway tried to halt this, it was forced to desist after the Black Death decimated its population.
Norwegian supremacy continued until 1380, when the islands became part of the Kalmar Union. The islands were still a possession of the Norwegian crown since the crowns had not been joined. In 1380 the Alþting was renamed the Løgting, though it was by now little more than a law court.
In 1390s, Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, took possession of the islands (as vassal of Norway, however) and for some time they were part of the Sinclair principality in the North Atlantic.
Archaeological excavations on the islands indicate sustained pig keeping up to and beyond the 13th century, a unique situation when compared to Iceland and Greenland. The Faroese at Junkarinsfløtti remained dependent upon bird resources, especially puffins, far longer and to a greater degree than with any of the other Viking Age settlers of the North Atlantic islands.
English adventurers gave great trouble to the inhabitants in the 16th century, and the name of Magnus Heinason, a native of Streymoy, who was sent by Frederick II to clear the seas, is still celebrated in many songs and stories.
Reformation era
In 1535 Christian II, the deposed monarch, tried to regain power from King Christian III who had just succeeded his father Frederick I. Several of the powerful German companies backed Christian II, but he eventually lost. In 1537 the new King Christian III gave the German trader Thomas Köppen exclusive trading rights in the Faroes. These rights were subject to the following conditions: only good quality goods were to be supplied by the Faroese and were to be made in numbers proportionate to the rest of the market; the goods were to be bought at their market value; and the traders were to deal fairly and honestly with the Faroese.
Christian III also introduced Lutheranism to the Faroes, to replace Catholicism. This process took five years to complete, in which time Danish was used instead of Latin and church property was transferred to the state. The bishopric at Kirkjubøur, south of Tórshavn, where remains of the cathedral may be seen, was also abolished.
After Köppen, others took over the trading monopoly, though the economy suffered as a result of the Dano-Swedish war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. During this period of the monopoly most Faroese goods (wool products, fish, meat) were taken to the Netherlands, where they were sold at pre-determined prices. The guidelines of the trading agreement, however, were often ignored or corrupted. This caused delays and shortages in the supply of Faroese goods and a reduction in quality. With the trading monopoly nearing collapse smuggling and piracy were rife.
The Danish king tried to solve the problem by giving the Faroes to the courtier Christoffer Gabel (and later on his son, Frederick) as a personal feudal estate. However, the Gabel rule was harsh and repressive, breeding much resentment in the Faroese. This caused Denmark–Norway, in 1708, to entrust the islands and trading monopoly once more to the central government. However, they too struggled to keep the economy going, and many merchants were trading at a loss. Finally, on 1 January 1856 the trading monopoly was abolished.
In 1816 the Løgting (the Faroese parliament) was officially abolished and replaced by a Danish judiciary. Danish was introduced as the main language, whilst Faroese was discouraged. In 1849 a new constitution came into use in Denmark and was promulgated in the Faroes in 1850, giving the Faroese two seats in the Rigsdag (Danish parliament). The Faroese, however, managed in 1852 to re-establish the Løgting as a county council with an advisory role, with many people hoping for eventual independence. The late 19th century saw increasing support for the home rule/independence movement, though not all were in favour. Meanwhile, the Faroese economy was growing with the introduction of large-scale fishing. The Faroese were allowed access to the large Danish waters in the North Atlantic. Living standards subsequently improved and there was a population increase. Though Faroese was standardized as a written language in 1890, it was not allowed to be used in public schools until 1938,[19] or in the church (Fólkakirkjan) until 1939.[20]
British Army soldier with local children in Tórshavn
During the Second World War, Denmark was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany. The British subsequently made a pre-emptive invasion and occupation of the Faroes, known as Operation Valentine, to prevent a German invasion. Given their strategic location in the North Atlantic, the Faroes could have proved useful to Germany in the Battle of the Atlantic, possibly as a submarine base. Instead, the British forces built an airbase on Vágar, which is still in use as Vágar Airport. Faroese fishing boats also provided a large amount of fish to the UK, which was crucial given food rationing.[21]
The Løgting gained legislative powers, with the Danish prefect Carl Aage Hilbert retaining executive power. The Faroese flag was recognized by British authorities. There were some attempts to declare complete independence in this period, but the UK had given an undertaking not to interfere in the internal affairs of the Faroe Islands nor to act without the permission of a liberated Denmark. The experience of wartime self-government was crucial in paving the way for formal autonomy in 1948.
The British presence was broadly popular (particularly given the alternative of a German occupation). Approximately 150 marriages took place between British soldiers and Faroese women, although the scale of the British presence on Vágar did lead to some local tensions. The British presence also left a lasting popularity for British chocolate and sweets, which are readily available in Faroese shops but uncommon in Denmark.[citation needed]
Post-World War II: Home Rule
Following the liberation of Denmark and the end of World War II, the last British troops left in September 1945. Until 1948 the Faroes had the official status of a Danish amt (county). A referendum on full independence was held in 1946, which produced a majority in favour. This was, however, not recognised by the Danish Government or king due to only 2/3 of the population participating in the referendum, so the Danish king abolished the government of the Faroes. The subsequent elections Løgting were won by an anti-independence majority and instead a high degree of self-governance was attained in 1948 with the passing of the Act of Faroese Home Rule. Faroese was now an official language, though Danish is still taught as a second language in schools. The Faroese flag was also officially recognised by Danish authorities.
In 1973 Denmark joined the European Community (now European Union). The Faroes refused to join, mainly over the issue of fishing limits.
The 1980s saw an increase in support for Faroese independence. Unemployment was very low, and the Faroese were enjoying one of the world's highest standards of living, but the Faroese economy was almost entirely reliant on fishing. The early 1990s saw a dramatic slump in fish stocks, which were being overfished with new high-tech equipment. During the same period the government was also engaged in massive overspending. National debt was now at 9.4 billion Danish krones (DKK). Finally, in October 1992, the Faroese national bank (Sjóvinnurbankin) called in receivers and was forced to ask Denmark for a huge financial bailout. The initial sum was 500 million DKK, though this eventually grew to 1.8 billion DKK (this was in addition to the annual grant of 1 billion DKK). Austerity measures were introduced: public spending was cut, there was a tax and VAT increase and public employees were given a 10% wage-cut. Much of the fishing industry was put into receivership, with talk of cutting down the number of fish-farms and ships.
It was during this period that many Faroese (6%) decided to emigrate, mainly to Denmark. Unemployment rose to as much as 20% in Tórshavn, and even higher in the outlying islands. In 1993 the Sjóvinnurbankin merged with the Faroe Islands' second largest bank, Føroya Banki. A third was declared bankrupt. Meanwhile, there was a growing international boycott of Faroese produce because of the grindadráp (whaling) issue. The independence movement dissolved on the one hand while Denmark found itself left with the Faroe Islands' unpaid bills on the other.
Recuperative measures were put in place and largely worked. Unemployment peaked in January 1994 at 26%, since which it fell (10% in mid-1996, 5% in April 2000). The fishing industry survived largely intact. Fish stocks also rose, with the annual catch being 100,000 in 1994, rising to 150,000 in 1995. In 1998 it was 375,000. Emigration also fell to 1% in 1995, and there was a small population increase in 1996. In addition, oil was discovered nearby. By the early 21st century weaknesses in the Faroese economy had been eliminated and, accordingly, many minds turned once again to the possibility of independence from Denmark. However, a planned referendum in 2001 on first steps towards independence was called off following Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen saying that Danish money grants would be phased out within four years if there were a 'yes' vote.
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of Heimskringla is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (1178/79–1241) c. 1230. The title Heimskringla was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts.
Tórshavn, usually locally referred to as simply Havn, is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the 347-meter-high (1,138 ft) mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the 350-meter-high (1,150 ft) Kirkjubøreyn. They are separated by the Sandá River. The city itself has a population of 14,099 (2024), and the greater urban area has a population of 23,194, including the suburbs of Hoyvík and Argir.
The Løgting is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm.
Flateyjarbók is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name Codex Flateyensis. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and produced by the priests and scribes Jón Þórðarson and Magnús Þórhallsson.
This is a timeline of Faroese history comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Iceland and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see history of the Faroe Islands.
Funningur is a village on the Faroe Islands. It is located on the northwest coast of Eysturoy. It was the only village in the municipality called Funnings kommuna, which on 1 January 2009 became part of Runavíkar kommuna.
Faroese people or Faroe Islanders are an ethnic group native to the Faroe Islands. The Faroese are of mixed Norse and Gaelic origins. About 21,000 Faroese live in neighbouring countries, particularly in Denmark, Iceland and Norway. Most Faroese are citizens of the Kingdom of Denmark, in which the Faroe Islands are a constituent nation. The Faroese language is one of the North Germanic languages and is closely related to Icelandic and to western Norwegian varieties.
Grímr Kamban was, according to the Færeyinga saga, the first Norse settler in the Faroe Islands. The modern Faroese form of the name is Grímur, but it was Grímr in Old Norse and is often anglicised as Grim.
Naddodd was a Norse Viking who is credited with the discovery of Iceland.
The Færeyinga saga, the saga of the Faroe Islands, is the story of how the Faroe Islanders were converted to Christianity and became a part of Norway.
The Papar were Irish monks who took eremitic residence in parts of Iceland before that island's habitation by the Norsemen of Scandinavia. Their existence is attested by the early Icelandic sagas and recent archaeological findings.
Sigmundur Brestisson (961–1005) was a Faroese Viking chieftain, and was responsible for introducing Christianity to the Faroe Islands in 999. He is one of the main characters of the Færeyinga saga.
The Norse–Gaels were a people of mixed Gaelic and Norse ancestry and culture. They emerged in the Viking Age, when Vikings who settled in Ireland and in Scotland became Gaelicised and intermarried with Gaels. The Norse–Gaels dominated much of the Irish Sea and Scottish Sea regions from the 9th to 12th centuries. They founded the Kingdom of the Isles, the Kingdom of Dublin, the Lordship of Galloway, and briefly ruled the Kingdom of York. The most powerful Norse–Gaelic dynasty were the Uí Ímair or House of Ivar.
The Church of the Faroe Islands, also known as the Faroese People's Church, is the established church and the largest religious organization in the Faroe Islands. It is an Evangelical Lutheran church, continuing the Lutheran tradition established during the Protestant Reformation. The church is one of the smallest state churches in the world. Prior to becoming independent on 29 July 2007, it was a diocese of the Church of Denmark, also a Lutheran church. As of 2024, 76.6% of Faroe Islanders belonged to the state church.
Tróndur í Gøtu was a Viking Age chieftain in the Faroe Islands. He is remembered for his opposition to the importation of Christianity.
The Faroe or Faeroe Islands, or simply the Faroes, are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. The official language of the country is Faroese, which is closely related to and partially mutually intelligible with Icelandic.
Norse settlement in the Faroe Islands can be traced back to sometime between the 9th and 10th centuries, with the first Norsemen on the islands arguably around the late 8th century. Accounts from Irish priests such as Dicuil claim monks were there hundreds of years beforehand.
The Faroese independence movement, or the Faroese national movement, is a political movement which seeks the establishment of the Faroe Islands as a sovereign state outside of Denmark. Reasons for independence include the linguistic and cultural divide between Denmark and the Faroe Islands as well as their lack of proximity to one another; the Faroe Islands are about 990 km (620 mi) from Danish shores.
The Sheep Letter is the oldest surviving document of the Faroe Islands. It is a royal decree enacted on 28 June 1298 by Duke Haakon, who later became King Haakon V of Norway. It deals principally with sheep husbandry, but also deals with other matters and functioned as a kind of constitution, removing most administrative power from the local Thing to the king and his representatives. It was drafted on the advice of Erlend, Bishop of the Diocese of the Faroe Islands in Kirkjubøur and of Sjúrður, Lawspeaker of Shetland, whom Duke Haakon had sent to the Faroes to consider the deficiencies in the agricultural law.
The Viking Age in the Faroe Islands lasted from Grímur Kamban's conquest of the country around 825 until the death of Tróndur í Gøtu, the last Viking chieftain on the Faroe Islands in 1035, and the rise to power of Leivur Øssursson in the same year.
↑ See Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis, chapter XII, at : Cum autem navigassent juxta illam insulam per triduum antea et venissent at summitatem illius contra occidentalem plagam viderent aliam insulam prope sibi junctam interveniente freto magno herbosam et memorosam plenamque floribus et ceperunt querere portum per circuitum insulae. Porro navigantibus contra meridianam plagam eiusdem insulae invenerunt rivulum vergentem in mare ibique navim ad terram miserunt. This passage describes an island across a narrow sound, grassy, well-wooded, and full of flowers, with the mouth of a rivulet on the southern side. Translations: see The Voyage of St Brendan, translated from the Latin by John J. O'Meara, Dolmen Press, Portlaoise, 1985; also Nauigatio sancti Brendani abbatis [the Voyage of St Brendan the Abbot], edition by Archbishop P. F. Moran, tr. Denis O’Donoghue, Brendaniana, 1893: . See also Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis, chapter IX, in which reference is made to a previous island on which there are vast flocks of white sheep: Perambulantes autem illam insulam invenerunt diverses turmas ovium unius coloris id est albi ita ut non-possent ultra videre terram prae multitudine ovium.
↑ See , chapter 7.2: Sunt aliae insulae multae in Septentrionali Britanniae Oceano, quae a septentrionalibus Britanniae insulis duorum dierum ac noctium recta navigatione, plenis velis, assiduo feliciter adiri queunt. Aliquis presbyter religiosus mihi retulit quod, in duobus aestivis diebus, et una intercedente nocte, navigans in duorum navicula transtrorum, in unam illarum intrivit. Illae insulae sunt aliae parvulae; fere cunctae simul angustis distantes fretis, in quibus in centum ferme annis heremitae ex nostra Scotia navigantes habitaverunt, sed, sicut a principio mundi, desertae semper fuerunt; ita, nunc causa latronum Normannorum, vacuae anachoritis, plenae innumerabilibus ovibus, ac diversis generibus multis nimis marinarum avium. Nunquam eas insulas in libris auctorum memoratas invenimus.
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