intermixture of Roman letters in them. In
the year 1000, Isleif founded a school at
Skalholt, and soon after four other, when the
Roman characters were universally adopted,
and the youth instructed in the Latin tongue*
divinity, and parts of theoretic philosophy.
At this period, also, many Icelanders studied
at foreign universities, though others received
their education entirely in their own
country. Iceland was now in the zenith of
her literary glory, and, from the introduction
of the christian religion till the year 1264,
when the whole island became subject to Nonway,
she continued one of the few countries
in Europe, and the only one in the North,
where the sciences were cultivated and held
in esteem *. It appears extraordinary, says
M. Mallet, to hear a historian of Denmark
cite for his authority the writers of Iceland ;
but this wonder will cease, when the reader
is informed, that, from the earliest times, the
inhabitants of that island had a particular
fondness for history, and that from among
t;hem have sprung those poets, who, under
the name of Scalds, rendered themselves so
* Von Troil.
famous- throughout the north for their songs,
and for the credit they enjoyed with kings
and people. In fact, they have always taken
great pains to preserve the remembrance of
every ¡remarkable event that happened, not
only at home* but among their neighborsj
the Norwegians, the Danes, the Swedes, the
Scotch, the English, the Greenlanders, &c.
The: first inhabitants of Iceland carried with
them the verses, together with other historical
monuments of former times ; and the odes
of these Icelandic Scalds were continually in
every body’s mouth ; containing, according
to Torfaeus, the genealogies and exploits of
kings* princes, and heroes : and, as the poets
did not forget to arrange them according to
the order of time, it was not difficult for
the Icelandic historians to compose afterwards*
from such memoirs, the chronicles
they have left us. Indeed*, the poetical
and historical works of this country have
bid defiance to time. Her ancient chronicles
shew what clear notions they had of
morality, philosophy, natural history, and
astronomy. Her divines read the works
* Von Troil.