Timeline of the History of Iceland

825: Dicuil, an Irish Monk refers to fellow monks who spent the summer on Iceland
874: Ingólfur Arnarson becomes the first man to settle in Iceland

930: Alþingi founded
985-986: Icelandic explorers find Greenland
1000: Christianity is adopted

~1015: The Fimmtardómur court is established
1085: Ísleifur Gissurarson becomes the first bishop of Iceland
~1096: A tithe is instigated by the church authorities

1104: An eruption of the volcano Hekla destroys a settlement in Þjórsárdalur
1106: Jón Ögmundsson is made the second of bishop of Iceland, in Hólar
1122-1133: A cloister is founded in Þingeyri. Ari Þorgilsson writes Íslendingabók.
1197: Jón Loftsson, the most powerful chieftain in Iceland, dies.

1208: Kolbeinn Tumason dies at the hands of bishop Guðmundur Arason's men in The Battle of Víðines
1238: The Battle of Örlygsstaðir
1241: Snorri Sturluson is murdered.
1244: Flóabardagi - Iceland's largest domestic naval battle
1253: Flugumýrarbrenna, a failed attempt to murder Gissur Þorvaldsson, Jarl of Iceland.
1262: The signing of Old Covenant (Icelandic: Gamli sáttmáli) leads to Icelanders become subjects of the King of Norway.

1308: The jarldom of Iceland is abolished
1357: The first Icelandic bishop with Papal authority
1361: Smiður Andrésson and Jón Skráveifa killed in Grund
1362: A volcanic eruption in Öræfajökull destroys Litlahérað
1375: The Skálholt Agreement

1402-1404: The Great Plague
1412: The English start fishing near the coasts of Iceland
1419: Icelanders demand that the king grant them freedom to engage in trade as they wish
1433: Jón Gerreksson, bishop of Skálholt is drowned in Brúará
1446: Bishop Guðmundur Arason is stripped of his property and honour
1450: Langaréttarbót
1467: Björn Þorleifsson is murdered by the English in Rif
1474: Miklabæjarrán
1491: Píningsdómur
1494-1495: The second Plague

1501: English merchants plunder Bessastaðir
1513: Leiðarhólmsskrá
1522: Sveinsstaðafundur
1539: Gissur Einarsson is made bishop
1541: The Skálholt see turns Lutheran
1550: Bishop Jón Arason and his sons are beheaded in Skálholt
1551: The Hólar see turns Lutheran
1559: The English are driven from Vestmannaeyjar
1571: Guðbrandur Þorláksson becomes bishop of Hólar
1584: Guðbrandsbiblía, the first Icelandic bible, is published

1602: The king of Denmark grants Danish merchants monopoly on trade with Iceland
1615: Spánverjavígin
1625: The first person is burnt alive for witchcraft
1627: Tyrkjaránið (The Turkish Abductions): several Icelanders are kidnapped by Muslim raiders
1639: Brynjólfur Sveinsson becomes bishop of Skálholt
1656: The Flateyjarbók manuscript is sent to Denmark
1662: Icelanders are made to accept the absolute monarchy of the King of Denmark
1666: The Passion Psalms are composed by Hallgrímur Pétursson.

1703: First Icelandic census
1707: The bubonic plague spreads in Iceland. A quarter of the population dies.
1712: Jarðabók is completed
1720: The manuscripts of Árni Magnússon are moved to Denmark
~1760: Icelanders start exporting salted fish to Spain
1783-1785: Móðuharðindin - a volcanic eruption destroys a great deal of the livestock in Iceland, causing famine and misery
1787: Danish trade monopoly ceases