Ný saga - 01.01.1997, Page 105

Summaries
Jón Ólafsson
Trained by the Comintern
(í læri hjá Komintern)
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, 20-30 Icelanders
were sent to Moscow to study at institutions of
the Communist Intemational and the Russian
Communist Party. Most of these people later
assumed middle- or low-level functions in the
Communist Party of Iceland (from 1938 onwards
the Socialist Party). The article deals with the stay
and practical training of three Icelanders who
went to Moscow in 1930, using documents from
the Lenin School and the Westem University, as
well as notes and diaries of one of the students.
The author examines the social involvement of
the students during their stay and how party
training and practical work assignments in
remote corners of the Soviet Union shaped their
outlook for later party and trade union work in
Iceland. Studying Communist party training
offers interestings insights about the nature of
Western left parties, many of whose core mem-
bers were to some extent Moscow-educated.
VISUAL HISTORY (SJÓN OG SAGA)
Porgrímur Gestsson
The Laugarnes residential district of
Reykjavík emerges
(Laugarneshverfi verður til)
The article traces the emergence and develop-
ment of the Laugarnes residential area on the
outskirts of Reykjavík with the help of four photo-
graphs. Around the turn of this century the first
houses were built within the boundary of the
Laugarnes farm (Picture 3), northeast of Reykja-
vík. The area has gone through different develop-
mental phases: the Leprosery and two fish pro-
cessing plants were the most prominent buildings
during the first decades of this century (Picture 1)
and the swimming pool with its geothermal water
furlher to the east (Picture 2) has also set its mark
on the area. Shortly before and during the Second
World War the area quickly developed as resi-
dential area.
Hclgi Skúli Kjartansson
Settlement after settlcment
(Landnámið eftir landnám)
The paper invites the reader to conceive of the
settlement of Iceland as consisting of two distinct
phases, the first defined by the need of each
expedition to bring its own livestock, the second
commencing when the propagation of domestic
animals had relieved immigrants of such need.
During the first phase self-suföcient expeditions
were the prime mode of immigration and the diffi-
cult transport of animals meant that immigrants
had to be prepared for a largely hunting/gather-
ing existence for the first years. The second phase
was marked by a settlement of people who would
bring, instead of animals, their wealth in “near-
monetary" form (silver or valuable merchandise).
Incipient trade would open up a second possibili-
ty, of immigrants arriving as fare-paying passen-
gers, seeking some sort of employment with
established settlers. Thirdly, slaves would be
imported if the shortage of free labour made this
profitable. Probably such a shortage was more
acute in the case of female than male labour, with
the result that imported slave women may play a
significant role in the ancestry of later Icelanders.
Recent tephrochronological datings indicate
that the settlement of Iceland was well underway,
and even approaching the end of phase one, by
870. Some who were prominent settlers according
to the saga tradition, seem to have arrived con-
siderably later. It may well be that Iceland only
attracted expeditions led by wealthy persons of
respectable descent in the second phase of its
settlement. Such people would establish them-
selves as a social elite and be remembered as
original settlers when pioneers of more lowly
birth had been forgotten.
Hrefna Margrét Karlsdóttir
Prison work at the Reykjavík gaol early in
the nineteenth century
(„Vinnan göfgar...“)
The respectable white building in the heart of
Reykjavík, Stjórnarráöshúsið, which today hous-
es the Office of the Prime Minister, served as a
prison from around 1770 until 1813. Even in its
early years the prison was regarded not only as an
institution of punishment but also of "correc-
tion", where prisoners were to be reformed
through useful work. The author utilizes the
prison records, especially for the years 1807-1810,
to examine the amount and type of work done by
prisoners and presents evidence indicating that
these activities were more extensive than is
generally realised. The most common types of
work werc fishing and fish processing, peat col-
lection and construction work, wool working and
meal preparation, the last two mostly confined to
women prisoners.
103