Around 934-940 AD, the Eldgjá fissure eruption in southern Iceland produced vast lava flows and atmospheric emissions, one of the largest basaltic eruptions in the Common Era near the Vatnajökull area. It contributed to climate anomalies affecting Europe and may have influenced settlement patterns. The event is documented in Icelandic sagas and environmental records.

The Eldgjá eruption is immortalized in medieval Icelandic sagas and poetry, shaping the Norse literary tradition's portrayal of elemental forces and fate. It influenced skaldic verse and later Romantic interpretations of Nordic landscapes by poets like those inspired by the Eddas. The event's climatic effects provided context for literary explorations of harsh winters and human endurance in Scandinavian and English Romantic poetry.