“What a Winter it Was”: The 1257 Samalas Eruption and the Fall of the Icelandic Commonwealth

Abstract

In 1257, the Samalas volcano on Lombok Island in Indonesia produced one of the largest explosive eruptions since the end of the last ice age, changing weather patterns on a global scale and resulting in several years of cooling in many parts of the world. This article discusses the Samalas eruption and its effects in Iceland, with harsh conditions across the country in 1258–1261 leading to hardships and scarcity. It is maintained that these environmental conditions and the poverty that ensued are among the reasons the Icelandic Commonwealth submitted to Norwegian rule with the signing of the Old Covenant in 1262. The purpose of the treaty’s shipping clause–which stipulated six ships were to sail between Norway and Iceland during the following two summers–was to ensure imported provisions would reach the Icelandic people, who needed help. The conclusion provides further support for the opinion that the manuscripts of the Old Covenant, which are from the fifteenth and sixteenth century, are rooted in the middle of the thirteenth century, but are not a fabrication from the fifteenth century, as has been previously suggested.