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THE VIKINGS AND THE CELTIC CHURCH 49
place they built a temple and offered up sacrifices. 1
We
hear, too, of Orlygr the Old, who had been fostered by
Bishop Patrick in the Hebrides. When he was setting out
for Iceland the Bishop gave him
"
wood for building a
church, a plenarium, an iron penny and some consecrated
earth to be put under the corner pillars," and asked him
to dedicate the church to St. Columba. On the voyage a
great storm arose. Orlygr prayed to St. Patrick that he
"might reach Iceland in safety, promising, as a thanksgiving,
to call the place in which he should land by the saint’s
name. 2
Mention is also made of several other Christians
from the British Isles :
Jorundr, Helgi Bj61a ;
8
Thorkell
son of Svarkell from Caithness
"
who prayed before the
cross, ever good to old men, ever good to young men ;
" 4
As61f,
5
Ketill grandson of Ketill Flatnose who was sur-
named hinn fiflski (’
the foolish ’) because he adhered to
Christianity.
6
A long time after (c. A.D. 997) Thangbrandr
the Priest found descendants of Ketill’s in Iceland,
"
all
of whom had been Christians from father to son." 7
Considering the missionary ardour of the Irish at this period
it is curious that no priests accompanied these early settlers
to Iceland. This may have been due to scepticism as to the
sincerity of these converts ; such, at least, is the impression
received from the Irish annals and chronicles, in which the
Norsemen are almost invariably referred to as
’
heathens
’
and
’
pagans.’ The result was that the influence of
Christianity declined in Iceland ;
"
some of those who came
from west-the-sea remained Christians until the day of
l
Landndmabok, II., ch. 16.
2
Landndmab6k, I., ch. 12.
3
/&., V., ch. 15.
/&., I., ch. 13.
6
/fc., I., ch. 15.
6
Ib., IV., ch. n.
"*Njdls Saga, ch 101.
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