Icelandic literature refers to
Old West Norse literature written in
Iceland by the
Norwegian settlers, or literature written by these settlers outside of Iceland. It is best known for the
sagas written in medieval times, starting in the 13th century. As
Icelandic and
Old Norse are almost the same, and because Icelandic works constitute most of Old Norse literature, Old Norse literature is often wrongly considered a subset of Icelandic literature. However, works by Norwegians are present in the standard reader
Sýnisbók íslenzkra bókmennta til miðrar átjándu aldar, compiled by
Sigurður Nordal on the grounds that the language was the same.