Saga - 2013, Side 58

Abstract
eggert þór b ernharðs son
MURDeR AND ARSON AT ILLUGASTAÐIR IN ICeLAND, 1828
The reference material
This article treats the most famous and discussed criminal case in Icelandic
history, that of the murder of Natan ketilsson, a farmer and healer living at Illuga -
staðir, vatnsnes, Húnavatn County. On the night preceding 14 March 1828, he and
another man were murdered by Friðrik Sigurðsson, son of a neighbouring farmer,
and Agnes Magnúsdóttir and Sigríður Guðmundsdóttir, who both worked at
Illuga staðir. After the murder the three of them also stole various items, then set
fire to the farmstead to try to conceal any evidence. When the matter nevertheless
came to light, the accused were sentenced to death in a lower court. While this
penalty was later confirmed by the country’s highest courts, in 1829 the king con-
verted Sigríður Guðmundsdóttir’s penalty to lifelong imprisonment in
Copenhagen, where she died a decade later. The other two condemned, however,
were beheaded on 12 January 1830 in Húnavatn County. This turned out to be
Iceland’s last execution.
Over the course of time, this murder case has been frequently discussed. It
has been a topic of newspapers and magazines, school books, academic publica-
tions, novels, human-interest stories, biographies, chronicles, poems, ditties and
songs, plays, a film, radio programmes, historical exhibitions and signs, websites
and quiz shows. Thus this historical case has been communicated in a variety of
ways. In this article some of the reference material which has long served as
grounds for discussion is examined. Four main authors were involved, all writing
on this matter between 1830 and 1912. Some of these works were extremely influ-
ential, and for decades shaped the ideas of numerous Icelanders about the crime,
the events leading up to it, its causes and effects.
This article focuses on two points: firstly the course of events on the night of
the murders, and secondly the purported love affair between Natan and Agnes,
with its wild emotions that supposedly resulted in murder. No attempts are made
in the article to document any other reasons or background of the crime.
The article investigates the accounts of the four selected authors, considering
their characteristics and their value as sources. These accounts of the crime are
then compared to various relevant judicial and legal documents, especially the
extensive interrogations of witnesses and the accused. The product should serve
as a significant comparison of the authors’ influential writings with the statements
of the only people who actually knew what happened at Illugastaðir on the night
of the murders. The story in the judicial documents contrasts considerably to that
presented by the four authors. Comparison thus shows that the key writings have
limited value as reference material on the events on the murdernight or on the
relationship between Agnes Magnúsdóttir and Natan ketilsson.
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