Lögberg-Heimskringla - 23.09.1994, Blaðsíða 1

Inside this week
Heimskrmgla
The lcelandic Weekly
Lögberg Stofnaö 14. janúar 1888 Heimskringla Stofnað 9. september 1886
New IODE Project..........................2
An American visits the lcelandic Ministry of
Health.................................3
Free Lecture at U of M....................4
Recipesfrom Halli's Kitchen...............5
Thrashed in more ways than one............6
Children's Corner.........................7
108. Árgangur Föstudagur 23. september 1994 Númer 32
108th Year Publications Mail Registration No. 1667 Friday, 23 September 1994 Number 32
lcelandic
News
■ Víti is not a beautiful name, (it
means hell) nor is the place so
named. A group of tourists decid-
ed to join native lcelanders and
go for a bath in this age-old
crater, recently. Víti is located at
the north west side of Krafla in the
Mývatne wastelands, and is one of
many wonders of lceland's nature.
The crater is 300 meters across
and was created by a gigantic
explosion during the night of May
24th, in 1724. This was the begin-
ning ot the Mývatns eruptions
which began that year. The crater
splattered boiling clay for more
than 100 years. Víti has now long
since cooled off, even though
í is still some heat from the
mr at th» edges of the crater.
Reindeer Hunting:
■ The reinder hunting season is
now half finished and 270 animals
have been felled from a quota of
^40 animals allotted. Reindeer are
not native to lceland, but were
imported in the 1 8th century.
Today a herd of about 3,500 ani-
mals roams free in the eastern
highlands. Hunting can only take
place in special areas and only in
the company of an authorized
inspector. With the increase in
the reindeer population game
VíVardens have been concerned
about reforestation plantings and
farm damage caused by the wide-
ly foraging animals.
CUNNUR ISFELD

by Kirsten Wolf
n three February
Iand March 1994
issues, Lögberg-
Heimskringla fea-
tured the short
stories “All Is Fair... ” and
“Speaking of Storms” by
Ragnhildur Guttormsson,
who is the author also of
Ian of Red River (1959),
“Broken Shackles” (pub-
lished in the first issue of
The Icelandic Canadian),
the folktale “The Rescue
of the Prince” (published
in Jan Andrew’s antholo-
gy The Dancing Sun,
1981), and of various
essays (published under
the pen name “Auntie
Lou”) in the Winnipeg
Free Press.
In Ragnhildur Gutt-
ormsson’s obituary, Elma
Gislason draws attention
also to a book which never
appeared in print: “One of
her manuscripts ‘Grímkell’
is still in the hands of a
publisher; it was her dream
to have this story pub-
lished and it may yet be. It
portrays her fondness for
Iceland and with her bright
mind she was able to put
this into words.” Due to
the efforts of Heather Mc-
Namee, Ragnhildur Gutt-
ormsson’s niece and step-
daughter, it was possible to
locate the publisher and
obtain the manuscript of
Ragnhildur Guttormsson’s
novel, “Grímkell’s Story.”
The novel is an interesting
and engaging story of
medieval Iceland during
the early years of the Free
State and draws on a vari-
ety of themes and motifs in
the Sagas of Icelanders,
notably Hrafnkels Saga,
Laxdæla Saga, and Njáls
Saga. In a letter of 22
November 1993 to this
writer, the publisher says
that she had been
“touched by the lyricai
quality in her (Ragnhildur
Guttormsson’s) writing,
experiencing it as some-
thing rare in Canadian
books either for children
or adults and believing she
had a great deal to offer.”
With the permission of
the publisher and Heather
McNamee, I edited the
manuscript, but used only
a light hand in the editing.
The story appears here
in serial form in Lögberg-
Heimskringla beginning
next weelc.
Ragnhildur Guttormsson
Following is an excerpt from Chapter One which gives a flavor ofthe tone and also sets the stage
forfuture action in this modern version ofa saga as a novel:
Excerpts from GrímkeU’s Story
At last the business of
the day was over,
and Grímkell was
waiting for Þórólfr to bring
his horse. As he stood
there, Signý passed by in a
group of young maidens,
but he saw only her. She
looked at him quickly, and
it seemed to him a blush
flitted over her face; but
the blue-green jewel on her
bosom, glared at him bale-
fully, and from somewhere
a low mocking laugh float-
ed in the air.
“Are you riding to
Þingvellir?” It was Little
Grímr speaking beside
him.
“Yes, Little Grímr.”
“May I ride in your
company?”
“That would be a plea-
sure,” answered Grímkell.
“Torfi’s not going to
Þingvellir, and it’s lone-
some to ride alone.”
“Then maybe you’d put
in a good word for me
when I ask Valbrandr for
Signý’s hand in marriage?”
“That I’ll do. And if I
were you, I’d lose no time,
for I know Torfi has other
plans for Signý.”
“And I guess since this
morning Torfi doesn’t feel
very friendly towards me.
But when his anger cools,
he’ll realize I was right and
couldn’t do otherwise.”
“Torfi has some pervert-
ed ideas, but he’s still
young. Yet he has a long
memory,” said Little
Grímr. “What are you
doing here, Sigmundr,” he
added, as he noticed the
beggar, who had crept up
silently between them.
Sigmundr held out his
hand fawningly, without
speaking. His bulging eyes
leered at Grímkell with a
malevolent gleam strangely
akin to that of the blue
opal. Contemptuously,
Grímkell tossed him a
piece of silver. “Go,
Sigmundr, and do your
eaves-dropping elsewhere,”
said Little Grímr.
Sigmundr shuffled away.
Little Grímr looked wor-
ried.
“I wonder how much he
heard to repeat to Torfi?”
he mused.
“Would Torfi stoop so
low as to listen to a beg-
gar’s tattle?” Grímkell’s
voice was deep with
loathing.
“Oh yes. Sigmundr has
Torfi’s ear.”