The first Norsemen began settling in Iceland in AD 874. The oldest Scandinavian source mentioning the existence of the Papar, however, the Íslendingabók by Icelandic chronicler Ari Þorgilsson, was written between 1122 and 1133, some time after the event. Þorgilsson writes of "Christian men", titled the 'Papar' by the Norsemen, who departed the isle because of their dislike of the 'heathen' Norse, pointing to the possibility of the Papar having arrived before the Norse. An earlier source that could possibly refer to the Papar is the work of Dicuil, an early 9th-century Irish monk and geographer, which included mention of the wandering of "holy men" to the lands of the north. However, it is not known whether Dicuil is speaking about Iceland, as Gaelic-Irish hermits also settled in other islands of the north such as Orkney and Shetland. Several Icelandic toponyms have been linked to the Papar, including the island of Papey and the Vestmannaeyjar, but no archaeological evidence in these places has yet confirmed the link. Another theory is that the two sources were conflated and that Þorgilsson based his history on the writings of Dicuil. The Landnámabók, possibly dating from the 11th century in its original form, clearly states on page one that Irish monks had been living on Iceland before the arrival of Norse settlers. According to this account, the basis behind this knowledge was monks' leaving behind numerous reminders of their stay, including Irish books, bells and crosiers, helping the Norse to identify their predecessors. According to the Landnámabók, the Irish monks left the island either when the Norse arrived or were no longer living there when the Norse arrived.
Papar in the Faroes
There are also several toponyms relating to the Papar in the Faroe Islands. Among these are Paparøkur near Vestmanna, and Papurshílsur near Saksun. Vestmanna, in fact, is short for Vestmannahøvn, meaning the "harbour of the Westmen". A churchyard on the island of Skúgvoy also has tombstones which display a possible Gaelic origin or influence. Some of the sagas suggest that Grímr, a Norse explorer, may have been responsible for driving them out, despite probably being a Norse–Gael himself:
The 16th-century Historia Norwegiæ speculatively identifies the native Picts and Papar as those that the Norse discovered when they invaded Orkney in the early ninth century. Historian Joseph Anderson noted in his Introduction to Orkneyinga Saga several Island toponyms deriving from 'Papar', suggesting their influence upon the region:
''Papar'' in the Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides have numerous Papar-influenced toponyms, but with the crucial difference that the Norse language died out early in this area and it is arguable whether Scottish Gaelic ever died out at all. There are at least three islands originally named Papey and renamed "Pabbay" in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland:
