Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands rise from the North Atlantic between Scotland, Iceland and Norway. Their steep shores and narrow sounds shelter communities whose links with one another and the outside world depend upon the sea. On Streymoy, the assembly met at Tinganes beside the harbor of Tórshavn. Norwegian royal trade was centered there in the Middle Ages, with ships from Bergen bringing salt, grain and timber. Norse settlers had reached these islands during the westward migrations of the ninth century.