WI/AHC: Anglo-Saxon Iceland

[TheWitheredStriker]

WI the Anglo-Saxons, and not the Norsemen, were the ones to settle and define Iceland?

I'm trying to make a TL where this happens, and once William the Conqueror takes England, the Anglo-Saxon nobility books it for Iceland (by then already settled by Angles), where they establish a new, lasting Old English kingdom. But while I'm very certain that the Angles are capable of getting there (after all, Irish monks predated the Norse settlers), I'm less sure on the "why"; this goes both for the initial discovery, and for the settling phase. How could I get a sizeable population of Angles in Iceland (preferably before the Vikings arrive) without butterflying the Viking raids / exploration or using ASB?

 

[brokenrobot00]

It's not impossible but would be a really difficult to create a scenario like this. It's much easier and safer to flee to Scotland, Ireland, or Wales if you're running from the Normans. It would have to be a group without a choice that would be equally despised and hunted by every other group on the British Isles or already established connections to Iceland. I don't think they'd be particularly welcome in Iceland either as almost all of the land that could be used there for agriculture was in use by the mid 900's. It would be considered an invasion and and Anglo Saxon party arriving looking to upturn the apple cart politically is going to have to fight for land and prestige or bring some sort of solution to the farming limitations of the time period.

I'd say your best bet is have a Nobleman with well established trade connections with Iceland before the Norman Invasion but bad relations with neighbors like Wales and Scotland. He goes to war with the Normans when they invade and loses but holds out for just enough time to gather ships, people, and livestock and flees to Iceland. Or alternatively this nobleman is on poor terms with the Normans even before the invasion and chooses not to fight and instead prepares to flee before the hammer falls. Most likely the guy is waiting for spring or summer as a trip by ship in winter is more difficult.

Once in Iceland the newcomers will be greeted with tension but a group in the Althing will vouch for him and grant him some marginal lands that aren't settled yet. They may bring some new variants of beets, chard, and barley with them. Expect those first ten years to be very difficult. They'll have to adapt to a new type of agriculture and adapt more to pastoral lives grazing sheep, cattle, and goats. Only then will they manage to influence Iceland to any extent politically or can consider allowing new Anglo-Saxon immigrants onto even more marginal lands.