Lögberg-Heimskringla - 28.09.1972, Síða 2

2
LÖGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA, FIMMTUDAGINN 28. SEPTEMBER 1972
Högberg - J?etmöfmngla Wúb tt itt ÍzmjWsh
A book that rates a place on every bookshelf
By TOM OLESON
Landnámabók, The Book of
Settlements, deals with the
settlement of Iceland between
870 and 930 A.D. Its interest
to people of Icelandic origin
is obvious — it is the beginn-
ing of the great story that was
to be continued in the sagas,
the beginning of 1100 years
of history that continues to-
day in two lines; the direct
line that is Iceland today and
an indirect line of those “Ice-
landers” here in Canada who
still recall their heritage with
pride.
Each one of us here should
have a copy on his bookshelf,
side by side with the saigas
and the poets and the writers,
all of which are part of a
literature we dare not ignore
if we are to remember our
roots. Now this is possible for
those of us not privileged
with the knowledge of the
Icelandic language. Land-
námabók, like most of medie-
val Icelandic literature has
long been reserved for those
who know the original langu-
age, a wrong that is now, for-
tunately, beginning to be put
right.
In recent years thfere have
been English editions of sev-
eral sagas (some by the pre-
sent translators) and now the
University of Manitoba Press
(what more fitting publisher
for English translations of
Icelandic literature?) has en-
tered the field with this fine
translation of Landnámabók.
It is easy to see the impor-
tance of this bóok for schol-
ars. As the editors, Haraldur
Bessason and Robert Glendin-
ning, point out in their for-
ward: “The world of Land-
námabók still lives vibrantly
in the poetry and sagas of
medieval Iceland, a great deal
of which has already been
made available to the English
speaking public in transla-
tion. . . . It is most f i 11 i n g
therefore, that (the transla-
tors) should now put their pen
to a text about which a ninth
century Icelandic scholar once
said that the loss of this work
alone would in some Tespects
have weighed more heavily
for the history of his country
than of all the other sagas
together.”
Iceland was the last coun-
try of Europe to be discovered
and settled and so its origins
and development can be stu-
died more completely thain
any other. The chief source of
knowledge for this earliest
history is Landnámabók,
which records the beginnings
of settlement and the rise of
the Icelandic nation during
the Viking Age.
As important as this histori-
cal knowledge is, however,
t.here is much more to Land-
námabók. It is a book of hid-
den delights, a book as the
editors, once again, point out
“for all those whose interests
encompass niore than the
modern world.” It comes from
the period when Iceland pro-
duced the greatest literature
of the Middle Ages and it is
an integral part of that litera-
ture. It contains within its his-
tory insights into human na-
ture, glimpses of the life of
medieval man and capsulated
taies of courage and weak-
ness, morality and beliefs, the
clash of different creeds and
the role of fate in human af-
fairs. Many of these tales
were once full-length sagas
themselves, sagas that are
now lost forever except for
the paraphrased versions,
preserved in this book.
Brief references to isolated
events also provide food for
the imagination. A man is kil-
led in battle because his belt
breaks and his trousers fall
down — fate makes man’s
best efforts absurd. Christian
and pagan live side by side in
an age not noted for religious
tolerance, often with the
I have been called upon to
perform the duty of paying
tribute to a friend who has
meant more to this commun-
ity than any member of the
community can say.
For fifty years, as a doctor
and as a friend, he served this
community. In other official
capacities he also played an
important role. In a thousand
ways he showed •himself to
be worthy of any tribute that
we can pay to him this day.
I was requested to speak a
few words in tribute to his
life and works, and as I ap-
proach this task I feel very
deepily how wholly inadequ-
ate my words will be.
Therefore, as on other oc-
casions, I turn to the poets.
They have a special talent for
an apt tum of phrase that can
bring out the deeper mean-
ings that in ordinary prose
would cover several ,pages.
Thus I turn to the poet John
Holmes, who expressed in a
few short lines a thought
which is this instance is
fraught with meaning. He
said:
Death this year has
taken men
Whose kind we shall not
see again.
Pride and skill aind
Christian gradually drifting
back to the old ways — cus-
tom that the pious author pro-
perly deplores but which he
nevertheless records with dig-
nity and respect. Indeed, no-
where in medieval literature
is the clash of pagan and
Christian recorded with more
dignity than in these old Ice-
landic books. Some of the in-
cidents in Landnámabók re-
call in spirit that session of
the Althing over 100 years
later when the old Norse reli-
gion was put aside and Chris-
tianity adopted in what was
perhaps the most civilized
and honorable religious trans-
formation in the history of
Europe.
Well over a thousand years
have passed since the events
in this book took place but if
evidence is needed that hu-
man nature has not changed
much with the years, it can
be found in this book. One
need only think of the woman
who, a millenium ago, hanged
herself because her husband
traded her to a^friend, along
with house, farm and live-
stock. Modern suburbia could
perhaps learn something from
that.
friendliness,
Wrath and wisdom
and delight,
Are shining still,
but shining less,
And clouded to the
common sight.
Time will show them
clear again.
Time will give us
other men
With names to write in
burning gold
When they are great and
we are old.
But these were
royal-hearted, rare.
Memory keeps with
loving care
Deeds they did and tales
they told.
But living men are hard
to spare.
The poet says that Time
wiil give us other men who
rrtay rise to the heights. But
I would be daring enough to
say that this community will
never again see such a man
as this friend whom we are
now bidding farewell, and to
whom, in feeble words, we
pay tribute.
Dr. Sveinn Olafur Thomp-
son came to this community
after having completéd his
medical training, and after
having served with the Cana-
But if human nature has
not changed, social customs
certainly have. Modern man,
one sometimes thinks, is civi-
lized beyond endurance. The
odd, the peculiar, the unusual
are tolerated less and less in
our time, hidden away as
something vaguely shameful.
In other times men seem to
have been a little more honest
with themselves, at least if
some of the names in this
book are any indication.
Some, like Aud the Deep-
Minded, are beautiful in both
word and thought; others we
might now consider to be
cruel but in their time were
worn without shame by their
owners. We find for instance,
Olvir the Child-Sparer, a gen-
erous Viking who did not
believe in throwing children
on to the points of spears;
E y s t e i n Foul-Fart, whose
named needs no elaboration;
Hrafn the Foolish; Thorolf
Twist-Foot and Hergils Knob-
Buttocks. It is interesting to
sit back and wonder what
names we ourselves might
have borne in a less delicate
3ge.
The pleasures of this book
are surprising, going far bey-
dian Army overseas during
the First World War. And
here he spent the remainder
of his life, — a full fifty years,
in ministering to the medical
needs of this community and
extending a hand of friend-
ship, and in addition, help of
other kinds when the occasion
called.
In the course of those fifty
years, his was a familiar fig-
ure, at one time or another,
in practically every home. He
stood besides the bed of the
dying, and he soothed the fev-
ered brow of the ill, and
brought them back to health.
He comforted the distressed
and gave them new courage.
He brought into the world un-
told numbers of the present
members of this community.
And many others whom he
helped to be born are widely
scattered, — near and far. In
may other ways he served the
people who live here, their
children and their children’s
children.
A few days ago I had oc-
casion to speak to a man, now
fifty years of age. He hap-
pened to be the first baby
that Dr. Thompson delivered
in this community. I believe
that this man’s words would
be reechoed by all the others
who were brought into this
ond what the reader might
expect. It is a garden of read-
ing delights that comes com-
plete with flowers — 15 mag-
nificent color plates that cap-
ture the beauty of Iceland
a n d 13 fascinating maps,
which deserve special men-
tion. Maps are always inter-
esting, but these are especial-
ly so. On the average map,
Iceland appears thumb-nail
size with perhaps two or three
places marked. Here the coun-
try is divided into 13 sections
with all the farms and settle-
ments marked. This makes for
not only a necessary and valu-
able supplement to the text
but also for hours irresistible
browsing.
Landnámabók is intended
as the first of a series of vol-
umes in Icelandic studies
from the University of Mani-
toba Press. It is in both con-
tent and production an excel-
lent work that sets a high
standard of quality for the
books that will follow. Those
who love good books, as well
as those who are proud to see
Icelandic literature made
more widely available, owe
thanks to the editors, the uni-
versity and the translators.
world by Dr. Thompson and
who, over the years have been
the beneficiaries of his skill.
This man said, very simpiy
but meaningfully, “Dr.
Thompson was a great man.
This town was very lucky to
have him for so many years”.
The poet said, in speaking
of men of great achievement,
These were royal-hearted,
rare.
Memory keeps with
loving care
Deeds they did and tales
they told.
E v e r y member who has
lived in this community over
the years, has some story to
to tell about the dedication
that Dr. Thompson showed in
his work. There are those who
will tell of his travels in the
winter, by horse and cutter
in the early years, and by car
in later days, — by dog sled
to Hecla Island to minister to
the people there, — or on foot
when no other means of
travel offered. And he did this
no matter what the weather.
If a call came for him, he
went, without regard for the
time of day or of night, —
and without regard for the
F^amhald á bls. 5.
A Tribue to the Late Dr. Sveinn Olafur Thompson of Riverton