Árbók Landsbókasafns Íslands - Nýr flokkur - 01.01.1990, Page 91

ENGLISH SUMMARY
Andrés Björnsson: Grímur Thomsen og Uppsalamótið 1856. Landsbókasafn
íslands. Árbók. Nýrflokkur 14 (1988). Rv. 1990, pp. 5-15.
The Nordic student congress held in Uppsala in 1856 was one of the
landmarks in the development of cooperation between the Nordic countries.
Grímur Thomsen (1820-1896), the poet, who was the only Icelanaic representa-
tive, regarded the congress as an excellent opportunity to encourage the study of
Icelandic language, literature and culture in the other Nordic countries, and he
certainly used this opportunity to acquire new friends and contacts that might
prove useful to further his ideas of Nordic cooperation.
However, opinions were divided among Icelanders in Copenhagen as to
Grímur Thomsen’s participation in the congress and, indeed, the participation of
Iceland in Scandinavian cooperation or a Scandinavian union in gerneral, and
when Grímur Thomsen sent a map of Iceland to Uppsala as a present from
Icelandic students in Copenhagen, an Icelander, Þorleifur Repp (1794—1857),
wrote an article in Flyve-Posten maintaining that Grímur Thomsen had done so
without proper authorization and, in fact, participated in the congress in Uppsala
without any authorization at all from other Icelanders. It was easy for Grímur
Thomsen to prove that he had the support of most of the Icelanders in
Copenhagen for what he had be doing, but the quarrel reflects political
differences within the Icelandic community there.
Finnbogi Guðmundsson: Tvennar smíðalýsingar í verkum Snorra Sturlu-
sonar. Landsbókasafn íslands. Árbók. Nýrflokkur 14 (1988). Rv. 1990, pp. 16—25.
Two episodes in the works of Snorri Sturluson, both describing master
craftsmen, are recalled with special reference to common underlying ideas.
The first episode is in the poetic diction section of Snorri’s Edda and contains
an explanation of why gold is called Sifs hair, but Sifs hair of gold was one of
several valuable treasures made by Ivaldi’s sons at Loki’s request.
The second one occurs in the Saga of Ólafur Tryggvason (chapter 88), where
Snorri gives an account of the building of the great ship Ormurinn langi (The
Long Serpent), but Þ.orbergur 'skafhögg, the man who fashioned the stem and
stern of the ship, damaged it, as it seemed at flrst sight, while it was still being built
in order to be able to improve on the design. •
In both episodes one can see the craftsman striving for perfection, but Snorri
reminds us that nothing is so perfect that it cannot be improved.