During this week’s episode, I give an overview of the rich history of Icelandic literature and culture. Before I jump in, I have two announcements.
Two Important Announcements
The first is that today, February 20th, 2019, is the last day for you to enter the All Things Iceland podcast giveaway. If you haven’t entered already, you can do so by clicking on the image that says the All Things Iceland podcast giveaway below. I will pick the winners at random tomorrow and contact them
The second announcement is that I am taking a little break from podcasting, but only for a little while. I get so much joy from doing this and I definitely plan on continuing to do it. One of the main reasons is that I am taking a pause is because I will be traveling for about 2 months.
It will be difficult to find the space and time to record, edit and publish weekly episodes. During that time, I will have some vacation time, my mother will have surgery, and I will start a new job. The show will restart again on April 24th, 2019. I know it sounds like a long time away but time passes by so quickly. It is hard to believe that I have been doing this podcast weekly for the past 8 months! Also, I have been reading your survey results and I am so excited to create shows and conduct interviews based off of your suggestions.
Ok, now let’s jump back into to the topic of Iceland’s literary culture.
Icelandic Sagas – The Beginning of Icelandic Literature History
Icelandic literature is just as unique as its language, which I talked about in episode two of this show. I’ll start out with lcelandic literature from Medieval times and end with the modern day literary environment in the country.
As I have mentioned in previous episodes, the sagas, which were written between the 9th and 13th centuries, are the most revered pieces of Icelandic literature. They were written in Old Norse tell tales of the people that migrated to Iceland, Viking voyages to unknown lands and the history of settlers. The sagas have withstood the test of time. They have been inspirational sources for shows, movies, plays and books that depict life in Scandinavia during those times.
Njáls Saga
For instance, Njáls Saga, which takes places between 960 and 1020, is full of drama. There is betrayal, murder, ongoing feuds, omens and prophetic dreams. It is teeming with excitement. It also gives insight into the culture during that time. While all of the sagas are fascinating, I specifically point out this one because its Iceland’s longest and most developed saga. If you want to check it out, I have a link to the saga database that has free versions of the popular sages in Icelandic and English.
While it hasn’t been confirmed, there is a theory that the sagas served as a way of hiding and preserving the view of pagans, which was threatened by the onslaught of Christianity in the country
Most of the authors of the sagas are unknown, but they are thought to be somewhat true accounts that were passed on orally until they were written down. Some people theorize that women might have been some of the authors. However, there is no evidence to support that. Plus, all of the known saga writers are male.
However, many poetry verse stanzas are attributed to Icelandic and Norwegian women, such as Gunnhildr konungamóðir, and Þórhildr skáldkona.
Icelandic Eddaic & Skaldic Poetry
Eddaic and skaldic poetry were also written during medieval times. These types of Icelandic literature helped to influence the country’s appreciation of poetry. The main difference between the two types of poetry is that skaldic refers to poetry written by Norwegian and Icelandic poets, who known as skalds. While the Eddas mentioned mythical events or told stories, skaldic poetry was used to honor nobles or kings, as well as to commemorate or satirize important events.
It is helpful to know that there are two types of Edda poems. The Elder or Poetic Edda are Old Norse poems and stories that originated in the 10th century. They were first written down in Iceland in the 13th century. The Younger Edda, or the Prose Edda (Snorri’s Edda), was written by Snorri Sturluson in the early 13th century. Stories about the Norse Gods and other mythical creatures are featured in these poems.
Religious Icelandic Literature
While the sagas hold a special place in Icelander’s hearts, and for many around the world, poetry started to dominant just a few centuries later. One famous poet during this time was Hallgrímur Pétursson. He was a priest and poet that wrote the Passion Hymns during the 1600s. The hymns are 50 poetic texts that follow Christ entering the Garden Gethsemane to his death and end with his burial. Because Christianity was quite popular in Iceland during this time, the hymns became an important part of Icelandic religious expression. The famous church Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavík is named after him.
Romanticism in Icelandic Literature
Romanticism began to dominate at the beginning of the 19th century in Icelandic literature. Jónas Hallgrímsson is credited with being the first writer of Icelandic short stories. He is one of the country’s most beloved poets. He used stunning imagery to write about Iceland’s beautiful landscape. On November 16th each year is Icelandic Language Day. That day was specifically chosen because it Jónas’ birthday. On that day, an award named after him is given to an individual for their outstanding contribution to the Icelandic language.
Jón Thoroddsen published the first Icelandic novel in 1850 and he is considered the father of the modern day Icelandic novel
The Transition to Realism & Naturalism
Following romanticism was realism and naturalism. Authors like Þórberg Þórðarson and Gestur Pálsson stirred the pot in Iceland society with their satirical works. Þórberg in particular shone a light on the social injustices in the country and the church. He was not initially well received because his style was so different than the previous works in the country. However, a appreciation of his style grew over time
Einar Benediktsson aka Einar Ben, wrote poetry that contributed to the nationalistic revival in the country, which led to Iceland getting independence.
Surprisingly, the first Icelandic writer to make a living as an author was a woman named Torfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir, but she went by Torfhildur Hólm. She lived in Canada for many years before returning to Iceland. She was the first woman to receive a writer’s pension by the Alþingi.
The Icelandic Nobel Prize
There is a great story that involves the Icelandic writer Gunnar Gunnarsson and Walt Disney. Gunnar wrote most of his works in Danish in order to reach a wider audience. He ended up becoming quite popular.
One particular novel, The Good Shepherd, which is about the epic adventures of a shepherd collecting sheep in the Lake Mývatn area, interested Walt Disney. Disney called Gunnarsson about making the tale into a cartoon. Gunnar inquired about how much he would get paid. Walt replied that he normally did not pay authors a commission. Gunnar swiftly hung up the phone.
There are two random facts that I was surprised to learn about when researching Gunnar Gunnarsson. The first is that he was a Nazi sympathizer. In 1940, he traveled to Germany, for an extensive lecture tour and met Adolf Hitler. The second fact is that he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature seven times but did not win. The Gunnarsson Institute believes that,
instead of basing its decision on the novelist’s contribution to world literature, the Swedish Academy was swayed by unjust considerations. Now that half a century has passed since Iceland gained its first Nobel Prize winner in literature, it is time for the truth to be revealed. Hopefully this will happen when the Academy’s documents are declassified.”
Gunnarsson institute
Of course we can’t talk about the Nobel prize or Icelandic literature without mentioning Halldor Laxness. If you would like to learn more about him, I dedicated a whole podcast episode to talk about his life and contributions to Icelandic literature. I recommend checking that out through the link I have provided in the show notes of this episode on my website.
Modern Day Icelandic Writers
If we fast forward to modern day, there are a decent amount of Icelandic writers that have introduced different genres into Icelandic society. Arnauldur Iriðason, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, and Ragnar Jónasson have become well known for their murder mysteries, also known as Scandinavian noir.
While crime novels have been become popular, Icelandic people still have a soft spot poets. In fact, many poets become novelist. Some include Sjón, Andri Snær Maganson, Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, and Gerður Kristný.
It is true that Icelandic people like deep, thought provoking literature. They also like to laugh at really inappropriate jokes. Comedic writers like Lóa Hlín Hjálmtýsdóttir and Hugleikur Dagsson have carved out names for themselves in Iceland with their crude and potentially offensive jokes.
The Icelandic Book Flood
There are many more Icelandic authors that are less known. In fact, a BBC article stated back in 2013 that 1 in 10 Icelandic people will publish a book. I’m not sure if that is still true today but the publishing and consumption of books in Iceland continues to be quite high.
If you’ve listened to my episode about Icelandic holidays, traditions and celebrations, you would have heard me mention the Icelandic Christmas Book Flood or Jólabókaflóðið. This is the annual release of new books that are available to Icelandic people to order to give to their friends and family as gifts for Christmas. There are hundreds upon hundreds of new books published each year. I think it is a lovely tradition.
Random fact of the Episode
Surprisingly, the first and original manuscript of the Codex Regius (Book of Kings when translated from Latin), a Poetic Edda, was found in the south of Iceland in the 1600s. The artifact is an Icelandic codex in which many Old Norse poems are preserved. It is made up of 45 calfskin pages and is thought to have been written in the 1270s. The codex inspired J.R.R. Tolkien, painters, poets and authors of children’s books.
It essentially preserves Nordic mythology. It is pretty incredible to think that if the codex not been preserved, that some of the works of art and literature that we enjoy today might not have come to be. Some literature enthusiasts consider it to be the most important of all Icelandic manuscripts. Right now it is safely stored in a building in Reykjavík, but it might be on display one day.
Icelandic word of the episode
Bókmenntir – literature
Bók – book
Mennta – educate
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Þakka þér kærlega fyrir að hlusta (og að lesa) og sjáumst fljótlega
Thank you kindly for listening (and reading) and see you in April!