Another frosty morning and the birds seem particularly active. Whenever I see dark birds in a cold setting I am reminded of the Raven-Floki tale.
Floki Vilgerdarson was a Norwegian Viking and one of the first of his countrymen to set foot on Iceland. One method he used of wayfinding was to take ravens with him and then release them. By watching their behaviour, Floki was able to divine the proximity and direction of land.
According to legend, he released three birds, the first went nowhere, the second took off and then returned to his ship, but the third raven flew on ahead. Floki followed this raven and found the cold island he had set out for. After settling there, Floki climbed to the top of a mountain from where he could see a fjord filled with ice on the other side. He gave the new land a name, ‘Isafjordur’,…
