Saga - 2010, Side 108

steinunn kristjánsd. og gísli kristjánss.108
Abstract
s t e inunn kr i s t jánsdótt i r og g í s l i k r i s t jáns son
O N T H e T R A I L O F S k R I Ð U k L A U S T U R F I S H
The location of Skriðuklaustur, in a remote valley of the Fljótsdalshérað area,
seems strange with respect to modern transportation. Medieval monasteries were
typically situated on the more heavily travelled roads in order to fulfil their
fundamental role of receiving people in need of spiritual or physical assistance.
This was particularly true of those cloisters which ran hospitals, as Skriðuklaustur
seems to have done.
Analysing the fish bones excavated in the Skriðuklaustur ruins put scholars
on the trail of explanations for the monastery’s location. On the monks’ table were
south coast fish: ling and very large cod and haddock. Such sizes and types of fish
are rarely caught off east Iceland, even though it would have seemed easiest for
the monastery people to obtain fish there, at least considering the roads of today.
Large fish like this can, however, be caught off the coast of South Iceland.
Since the bones suggest that the fish eaten at the monastery were transported
from the south, attention turned to possible transport routes which have since
become impassable or forgotten. The article describes these routes, arguing that
Skriðuklaustur was in fact centrally located in east Iceland with respect to the rou-
tes used while it was in operation, i.e. until it closed in 1550.
The obvious solution is that the large fish bones found in the monastery ruins
stemmed from the Borgarhöfn harbour in the southeastern district of Suðursveit.
The monastery owned three fourths of the Borgarhöfn land, which was home to
one of the district’s main fishing stations. While it would hardly have been simple
to bring the fish from there to Skriðuklaustur, since Vatnajökull glacier lies be -
tween, there is evidence of at least three ancient routes leading up and south -
wards from Fljótsdalur valley and also of journeys by valley residents to work at
fishing in Suðursveit.
Skriðuklaustur was one of the last stops on the way out of Fljótsdalur south
past the glacier, but these routes later closed because of climate changes and 17th-
century glacial advances. On the other hand, we also know of traditional paths
from Skriðuklaustur over to eastern fjords and down to the bay of Héraðsflói.
In keeping with its role as an outpost of the Catholic Church, Skriðuklaustur
was therefore able to serve the entire area east of Vatnajökull during monastery
times. This changed later because of the cooling climate. Moreover, in 1743
Skriðuklaustur authorities lost their rights to land in Suðursveit. Finally, climate
and transportation developments also brought about governmental change: whe-
reas the two Skaftafellssýsla counties had belonged to east Iceland until 1783, they
were then transferred to South Iceland, possibly because of access having been cut
off towards the east.
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