Iceland and Icelandic literature 369jurisprudence in MARRAKECH,CÓRDOBA,BAGHDAD,DAM-
ASCUS, and ALEXANDRIAand perhaps even met AL-GHAZALI.
About 1118 he returned to North AFRICA, where he
preached in towns and villages against the immoral behav-
ior of the inhabitants, calling upon them to act in accor-
dance with Islamic law. More specifically, he denounced
such actions as drinking wine, playing musical instru-
ments, and the appearance of women in public places
without the veil. His public criticism of the ALMORAVIDsul-
tan, Ali ibn Yusuf (r. 1106–42), and some prominent the-
ologians led to Ibn Tumart’s banishment from Marrakech,
the Almoravid capital. In 1115/6 he fled to his birthplace
in the ATLASMOUNTAINSand set about recruiting disciples
among his fellow Masmuda tribesmen to overthrow the
Almoravid dynasty and effect a moral revolution.
IBN TUMART AS MAHDIIn 1121 Ibn Tumart began a militant phase of his life
when he proclaimed himself to be the long-awaited
Mahdi, the infallible, divinely inspired guide who would
lead erring humankind to righteousness and restore JUS-
TICEon Earth. Righteousness was to be found in the
absolute unity of GODand adoption of the Quran and
HADITHas the sole sources of Islamic law. This was to be
accomplished by fighting in Ibn Tumart’s armies to over-
throw the corrupt and heretical Almoravid dynasty.
The Almoravid rulers crushed the nascent movement
and Ibn Tumart had to flee again in 1125 to a more
remote mountain village, Tinmel. For the next five years
he continued to gather converts and soldiers. The local
BERBERSwere acquainted with only the simplest aspects
of Islam, so Ibn Tumart’s mission at first had to be educa-
tion. To increase the solidarity among his followers, loose
tribal ties of the Berbers were made more stratified and
hierarchical. This also reinforced the religious loyalty due
to him as the Mahdi. Now with an obedient and disci-
plined fighting force, he launched a military campaign
against MARRAKECHin 1130. Unaccustomed both to com-
plex siege warfare and to fighting outside the mountains,
Ibn Tumart’s Berbers were defeated at the Battle of al-
Buhayra in August 1130. They retreated back into their
mountain fortress. Shortly thereafter, Ibn Tumart fell ill
and died in the same year.
Saying he was on retreat, Ibn Tumart’s lieutenants kept
his death a secret for as long as three years before installing
a successor. This was a testimony to the strong influence of
his personal leadership. Although Ibn Tumart died before
his followers accomplished their later spectacular victories
in North Africa and SPAIN, there can be no doubt that these
conquests would not have been possible without the
genius of the religious inspiration and sociopolitical orga-
nization that he contributed to the movement.
Further reading: J. F. P. Hopkins, “Ibn Tu ̄ mart,”
Encyclopedia of Islam 3.958–960: Michael Brett and
Werner Forman. The Moors: Islam in the West(London:
Orbis Publishing, 1980).
Iceland and Icelandic literature Medieval Iceland
was an island in the North Atlantic only settled in the
Middle Ages. Located near the Arctic Circle northwest of
Europe between the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans, it
was sometimes called Thule. Iceland was colonized by a
mixture of Norwegians and Celts from about 870. Celts,
probably Irish monks, had discovered and inhabited the
island before the Scandinavians. From 874 a group, tradi-
tionally led by Ingolfr Arnarson, settled at the place now
called Reykjavík. By 930, about 40 families settled in Ice-
land for various reasons, but especially for land. In form-
ing its government, this society sent to Norway a
“specialist” who returned with a code that formed the
basis of subsequent Icelandic legislation. In effect a com-
munity was established that eschewed kings and any kind
of obedience to outsiders. It entrusted the exercise of
power to those already there who could prove antiquity
of family and held wealth. This effectively meant peasant-
fishermen and free proprietors, the usual backbones of
Scandinavian societies. Their state can be described as a
relatively plutocratic oligarchy, or one dominated by a
wealthy few, with a popular assembly, the Althing,
charged with discussing and deciding, all executive, leg-
islative, and judicial questions.
The literary output of this small society was aston-
ishing: Eddas,skaldic poetry, translations from Conti-
nental literature, sagas and related texts, and even
learned literature, clearly among the richest of the
Western Middle Ages. This system of society and gover-
nance endured until 1262–64, when the island, divided
by internal conflict, passed under Norwegian and then
Danish rule.THE ICELANDIC MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
The Icelandic sagas or related texts have allowed scholars
to follow the establishment of this society and its survival
despite the obvious rife antagonism and conflict. An
essential factor in Icelandic history was the adoption in
999, by unanimous consent, of Christianity. The church
introduced not just a writing preferable to runes, but all
kinds of texts, biblical and classical. Two bishoprics were
set up, with churches and monasteries. From then on,
Iceland had a national church with the great lay chiefs as
the main dignitaries and with clerics skilled not just in
the Christian traditions, but also able to write in the VER-
NACULARlocal chronicles, sagas, the Eddas,and skaldic
poems.SAGAS
The sagas were prose narratives, sometimes enriched
with skaldic verse collections and even long poems.
They were composed in Iceland from the 12th to the
14th century. The word itself was derived from the
verb segja,“to say” or “to recount.” The sagas purported
to “say” or “recount” a sort of history. They were careful
and moralistic narratives, soberly composed, that