Richard Sale - The Xenophobes Guide to the Icelanders

The Icelanders suffered a shock when a study of blood-types suggested that they might be of Gaelic, rather than Viking, stock. To have the same roots as the Americans (who are basically Irish and therefore quite beyond the pale), and even to share characteristics with the English (who are amiable enough but arrogant ), was almost more than could be borne. As it was known (but kept very quiet) that when the Vikings arrived there were already Irish monks in Iceland, some historians suggested that there had actually been an Irish settlement and that the Vikings had either killed all the settlers or, much worse, interbred with them. It is now thought that the few monks who got there first left in disgust at having to share their sanctuary with heathens, and that the blood results could be explained away by natural causes or, better still, by the suggestion that the Vikings kidnapped a few Gaelic women from the Shetlands or Orkneys on the way. The national psyche has been restored to health.

As proof of their innate superiority Icelanders point out that Iceland is the navel of the world.

Icelanders hold themselves in the very highest esteem. They are the sons of Vikings, the greatest of all ancient races, renowned for their strength, fortitude, good looks and masculine values. The fact that these same ancestors are also famous for pillage is discreetly ignored, as is their somewhat dubious attitude towards women. Icelanders are also reluctant to talk about Inglfur, the first Viking to land on Iceland. As a mark of respect they have named the spot where he landed Inglfshfi, but they put it in small print on their maps so that as few people as possible notice that it is merely a knob of rock some three miles out to sea.

As proof of their innate superiority Icelanders point out that Iceland is the navel of the world. If you doubt the veracity of this claim you need only consult the Viking Sagas, the greatest of all literary achievements, where this view is expressed countless times during the course of long meandering tales of murder and revenge.

Even the Icelandic pony gets in on the act, having five gaits rather than the four favoured by the rest of the worlds horses.

They point out that they have the biggest and best of many things. They have Vatnajkull, the largest glacier in Europe, with an area almost as large as Cyprus, which makes Frances Mer de Glace look like an ice cube by comparison. Their waterfalls are higher, more powerful and more beautiful than any others in Europe. And even if Strokkur, their only surviving geyser, is smaller than the one in Americas Yellowstone National Park, they are able to remind you that it can be found at Geysir, the Icelandic name now used to describe all such natural gushing phenomena. They also have the most westerly point in Europe, a place guaranteed to annoy the Irish who have erected numerous signs in Dingle claiming the same thing. Even the Icelandic pony gets in on the act, having five gaits rather than the four favoured by the rest of the worlds horses.

Icelanders see themselves as cultured and sophisticated , with an enviable literary heritage and independence of spirit. These points are always included in speeches by their presidents, who are seen as the embodiment of the nation and whose comments are quoted as gospel and prefaced with a friendly As the president says. In fact, so often is this phrase used that it has become a kind of valediction.