Grímr Kamban

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grímur Kamban was, according to the Færeyinga saga, the first man to set foot in the Faroe Islands. The name was written Grímr in Old Norse and is often referred to as Grim in the English literature.

The saga says, he was a Norwegian viking escaping the tyranny of the Norse king Haraldur Hárfagri. However, this is an error in this saga, because Harald's age was in the late 9th century, while the first norse settlers reached the Faroes after 825.

Furthermore, the name Kamban indicates a celtic origin. Thus he could have been a man from Ireland, Western Isles or Isle of Man, where the vikings had already settlements. Another theory says, he could have been an early christianized Norwegian under the influence of Irish monks there.

It were also Irish monks, who settled in the Faroes from about 625, which is today proved by botanical researches. According to Dicuil, those monks left the islands before 825 after viking raids. Thus Grímur Kamban is supposed to be the first man, who re-settled the Faroes.

It's said, he settled down in Funningur on Eysturoy. The name funningur means finding. Excavations have shown viking houses in this area, as well as all over the Faroes.

See also: Janus Kamban, leading Faroese sculptor.