Iceland in Tolkien's Work?

[Lalaith]

Anarchic - perhaps. One of the main reasons Iceland was settled in the first place was because Norway was being brought under the rule of one king.
Some landowners and petty lords of the western Norwegian coast who could not brook such subjugation sailed away to newly discovered Viking territories in the west - the Faroes and Iceland.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Lalaith

Anarchic - perhaps. One of the main reasons Iceland was settled in the first place was because Norway was being brought under the rule of one king.
Some landowners and petty lords of the western Norwegian coast who could not brook such subjugation sailed away to newly discovered Viking territories in the west - the Faroes and Iceland.

Well, clearly in the Sense that Tolkien used the term 'anarchy' does not imply savagery or chaos.

Of course, one can't push the similarities between The Shire & medieval Iceland too far. The Hobbits sought a place where they could live in peace with their own rules to guide them. Not being quite 'human' - in the sense of being more natural peace-loving than the folk who took over Iceland - they managed to live a more harmonious life in their new land.

Of course, another similarity is that both lands were uninhabited, & there were no 'natives' to cause problems for the settlers (of course, that would apply equally to Numenor....)