ARI THORGILSSON THE LEARNED

born c. 1067 died Nov. 9, 1148 Icelandic chieftain, priest, and historian whose slendingabk (Libellus Islandorum; The Book of the Icelanders) is the first history of Iceland written in the vernacular. Composed before 1133 and covering the period from the settlement of Iceland up to 1120, it includes information on the founding of the Althing (Parliament) and on the settlement of Greenland and Vinland. Ari is also believed to have written much of the original version of Landnmabk (The Book of the Settlement of Iceland), a work listing the genealogies and histories of noble Icelandic settlers. It served as a source for many of the 12th-century Icelanders' sagas.