Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2005, Page 17

The Westfjords
All this speaks for the vitality of a written
culture in the Westfjords at least until the
end of the seventeenth century, and even
on to the eighteenth century, a vitality
which also found expression in music
and painting.15
The eighteenth and early nine-
teenth century seems to have been com-
paratively poor in the history of the
Westfjords. This is also true for the rest
of Iceland, but when the economic, polit-
ical and cultural recovery began around
the middle of the nineteenth century, the
Westíjords were soon at the forefront.
Indeed, the modemisation of fisheries
was in many ways spearheaded by the
inhabitants of this region and one cannot
but wonder whether the only explanation
is the proximity of físhing grounds or
whether there was something in the cul-
ture of the area that promoted adaptabili-
ty and the capacity to innovate.16 Indeed,
it is my feeling that, more than in other
parts of the country, the conditions for a
knowledge-based society were gathered
in the Westfjords: a vibrant lay culture,
diverse economic activity, focussed how-
ever on físhing, which demands exten-
sive experience and the mastery of all
kinds of techniques, and fínally the pos-
sibility of specialisation in a densely pop-
ulated area with many opportunities for
trade. This feeling can only be proven to
be founded in reality through further
research in the cultural history of the
region.
An important aspect of this
research is archaeology as the articles of
this volume bear witness to. The exis-
tence of the multi-disciplinary project
"Vestfírðir á miðöldum", which, among
other things, is financing the ongoing
archaeological excavations at Vatnsíjörð-
ur, will hopefully lead to a renewed
understanding of the history of this
interesting region and of its place in
Icelandic and European history.
15 On these aspects see Þórður Ingi Guðjónsson, "Fomfróður sýslumaður ísfirðinga Jón Johnsonius (1749-1826)", Guðrún
Laufey Guðmundsdóttir, "Syng mín sál, með glaðværð góðri" and Þóra Kristjánsdóttir, "Vestfirskur aðall úr pensli
Vatnsfjarðarprófasts og annarra snillinga", all in Ársrit Sðgtfélags ísfirðinga 43 (2003), respectively p. 115-126, 171-184
and 215-228.
16 On the swift growth of the economy of the Westfjords, see Halldór Bjamason, "Hugarfar, fjármagn og danskt forræði"
and Jón Þ. Þór, "Hákarlinn og endurreisn íslensks efnahagslífs á 19. öld", Ársrit Sögufélags Isfirðinga (43) 2003, respec-
tively p. 259-276 and 277-284.
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