Jökull - 01.12.1967, Page 47

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Skýringar; Legend:
[MVíj Forn vatnsstœði Ancient lake bottom
|y,*| Hraun Lavas
O Eldgigar Craters
Gígaraðir Crater rows
Jökuljaörar Glocier fronts
A Kofarilstir Ruins
Tnr. 644 B-277 Fnr. 7904
Fig. 1. A map o£ the Veidivötn—Langisjór area. It shows three different stages of the outlet
glaciers of the Vatnajökull ice cap; i.e. from about 1600, of their maximum advance in 1880—
1890 and from the year 1965.
Mymd 1. Kort af Veiðivatna—Langasjöársvœðinu. Sýnd er mismunandi staða skriðjökla Vatna-
jökuls; þ. e. frá þvi um 1600, i hámarki um 1880—90 og árið 1965.
posed to have been written in the 13th century.
It gives the following description of Flosi at
Svínafell and his followers’ journey to Berg-
thórshvoll where they burnt Njáll and his
household in his house: “Tliey rode west to
the Skógahverfi district and came to the farm
Kirkjubær. Flosi asked all his men to go to
church and pray, and so they did. Then they
mounted their horses and rode up to the
mountains and on the Fiskivötn and rode on
a little to the west of the lakes and tlien
directed their course west on to the sandur.”
A lot has been written on as to what lakes are
meant in Njála, but it is not probable that the
lakes now called Veidivötn are the ones re-
ferred to. We consider it most likely that in
olden times the meaning of the name Fiski-
vötn was much more comprehensive than that.
of the name Veidivötn at the present time, it
having been a collective name for all lakes
known to exist in this area.
After Njála the next records referring to
Fiskivötn are various maps. The oldest of these
is a map by Gudbrandur Thorláksson, bishop
at Hólar; this map was published in 1590.
Thorláksson’s map shows four successive lakes
drained into the Skaftá river and characterized
by the name Fiskivötn. The Tungnaá river on
the other hand is not designated on this map.
The oldest available record of Tungnaá is to
be found on a map drawn by Thórdur Thor-
láksson, later bishop at Skálholt, dating from
1668. Thorláksson’s maps very markedly re-
semble the maps by his grandfather G. Thor-
láksson. With both of them the designation of
Fiskivötn is approximately of the same pattern.
Tungnaá, which Thórdur Thorláksson marks as
Tuna fl. (fl. — river), extends just north of
JÖKULL 17. ÁR 281