Ný saga - 01.01.1999, Page 104

Summaries
ography. An Icelandic historian, Páll Björnsson,
interviewed Iggers at his home in Germany last
summer about his work and developments in
history writing.
CONTROVERSIES IN HISTORY
(SKIRrAR SKOÖANIR)
The NATO controversy
What is the Icelandic experience of NATO
membership?
(Átökin um Atlantshafsbandalagið)
Kjartan Emil Sigurðsson
NATO in the present and the future
(NATO í nútíð og framtíð)
Stefán Pálsson
An unarmed struggle. The peace movement’s
struggle against Iceland’s membership in
NATO
(Vopnlausir væringjar. NATO-aðild íslendinga
og barátta friðarsinna gegn henni)
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of
NATO two young historians of opposite views
were asked to assess the importance of Iceland’s
participation in NATO, its impact on Icelandic
politics and its relevance for Iceland’s security
and foreign policy after the end of the Cold War.
Katrín Kristinsdóttir
„Your cousin, Lóa“
The Letters of an Icelandic immigrant in
Canada in the mid-20th century
(„Þín frænka Lóa“. Vesturfarabréf frá miðri 20. öld)
The article portrays the views and thoughts of an
Icelandic immigrant in Canada, Halldóra Jóns-
dóttir, through a correspondence with her cousin,
Halldóra J. Guðmundsdóttir, in Iceland around
the middle of this century. Three of the letters
were written to be read at meetings of the
Association of Women in South-Iceland.
VIEWPOINT (SJÓNARHÓLL)
Aðalsteinn Baldursson
The Purpose Of The Past
(Erindi liðins tíma)
Recently, a three volume work was published on
the Húsavik Labourers Union in the small town
of Húsavik, North-Iceland. In the article the
Union’s secretary discusses the decision to com-
mision a work of this kind and the motives behind
the project. He furthermore offers a personal
account on the relevance of history for the labour
movement in times of great social change.
Ármann Jakobsson and Ásdís Egilsdóttir
Is Oddaverja þáttur a reliable suurce?
(Er Oddaverja þætti treystandi?)
Þorláks saga exists in two main versions, A and B.
The B-version includes Oddaverja þáttur which is
the principal source for staðamál fyrri, the 12th
century dispute over the rights to ecclesiastical
property. The relationship between the two ver-
sions has long been in dispute. In 1968, Jón
Böðvarsson pointed out that both versions were
politically engaged, though with different hidden
agendas. The authors of this article discuss this in
detail. Although the B-version is considerably
younger, it is more replete with facts. It is argued
here, however, that it contains numerous factual
errors and cannot be trusted. On the other hand,
it is also argued that although the A-version is
silent on many important events mentioned in the
B-version, it does not conceal the many dispules
of Saint Þorlákur’s day, but relates them without
mentioning any names. This might be due to the
emphasis on the eternal rather than the temporal
in the A-version. Thus, il can be inferred that
what is related in the B-version of events and
relationships, and is not supported by implicit
references in the A-version, is not to be trusted.
This includes the famous depiction of staðamál
fyrri in the Oddaverja þáttur.
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