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The Papar ((:ˈpʰaːpar̥); from Latin ''papa'', via Old Irish, meaning "father" or "pope") were, according to early Icelandic historical sources, a group of Irish or Scottish monks resident in parts of what is now Iceland at the time of the arrival of the Norsemen on the island. There is some archaeological evidence of their presence.〔http://www.rae.ac.uk/submissions/ra1.aspx?id=187&type=hei&subid=3463〕 The Scandinavians began settling in Iceland in 874 AD, but the oldest source to mention the existence of the Papar was written in the ''Íslendingabók'' ("Book of the Icelanders"), between 1122 and 1133. Such figures are mentioned in the ''Landnámabók'' (the Icelandic Book of Settlements) which relates that the Norse found Irish priests in Iceland when they arrived, together with bells and crosiers. An earlier source that could possibly refer to the Papar is the work of Dicuil, an early 9th-century (825 AD) Irish monk, which discussed the wandering of "holy men" to the lands of the north. However, it is not known whether Dicuil is speaking about Iceland, as Gaelic hermits also settled in other islands of the north such as Orkney and Shetland. Several Icelandic toponyms (see Toponymy) have been linked to the Papar, including the island of Papey, as well as the Vestmannaeyjar ("islands of the Westmen") but no archaeological evidence in these places has yet confirmed the link. Another theory is that the two sources were conflated and that Ari Thorgilsson, the author of ''Íslendingabók'', based his history on the writings of Dicuil. The Landnámabók (the Book of Settlements), possibly dating from the 11th century in its original form, clearly states on page one that Irish monks had been living on Iceland before the Norse settlers arrived. According to this account, the reason the Norse knew it was because the monks had left behind Irish books, bells and crosiers, among other things. Thus, the Norse had no difficulty identifying the monks' nationality. According to the Landnámabók, the Irish monks left the island either when the Norse arrived or were no longer living there when the Norse arrived. == Papar in the Faroes == There are also several toponyms relating to the Papar in the Faroe Islands. Among these are Paparøkur near Vestmanna, and Papurshílsur near Saksun. Vestmanna itself is short for ''Vestmannahøvn'', meaning the "harbour of the Westmen" (Irish). A churchyard in Skúvoy also has tombstones which display a possible Gaelic origin or influence.〔Schei, Liv Kjørsvik & Moberg, Gunnie (2003) ''The Faroe Islands''. Birlinn.〕 Some suggest that Grímur Kamban may have been responsible for driving them out, despite probably being a Norse-Gael himself: :"''According to the Faereyinga Saga... the first settler in the Faroe Islands was a man named Grímur Kamban – ''Hann bygdi fyrstr Færeyar'', it may have been the land taking of Grímur and his followers that caused the anchorites to leave... the nickname Kamban is probably Gaelic and one interpretation is that the word refers to some physical handicap, another that it may point to his prowess as a sportsman. Probably he came as a young man to the Faroe Islands by way of Viking Ireland, and local tradition has it that he settled at Funningur in Eysturoy.''"〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「papar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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