The Vikings who settled Iceland came mostly from Norway. Iceland was empty when they arrived - there were no people, just birds, foxes, and lots of land to farm. The settlers built turf houses (houses with thick walls of grass and earth to keep out the cold) and raised sheep and Icelandic horses.
In the year 930, they all met at a wide grassy valley called 脼ingvellir (say 'thing-vet-lir'). Here, leaders from all over Iceland sat down together to make laws and settle arguments. They called this gathering the Al镁ingi (say 'all-thing-ee') - 'the assembly of everyone'. It has been meeting ever since, making it the oldest parliament still going today.
Vikings were also brilliant storytellers. In the long dark winters, families would gather around the fire and one person would tell tales - of journeys across the sea, of clever children outwitting trolls, of brave horses and faithful dogs. Later, Icelanders wrote thousands of these stories down. We call them the Icelandic Sagas, and they are some of the most exciting old stories in the world.
Because of the Sagas, modern Icelanders can read books that were written 800 years ago in almost the same language they speak today. Imagine being able to read a book from the Middle Ages as easily as your school book. Icelandic has changed very little in all those centuries.