Saga - 2016, Side 143

holur kassi og grófur strengur 141
Abstract
rósa þor s t e in sdótt i r
PRe-1900 ReFeReNCeS To MUSICAL FoLk INSTRUMeNTS IN ICeLAND
This article sheds light on various references appearing between 1500 and 1900 to
the musical instruments which Icelandic commoners were playing for entertain-
ment. Besides revealing little-known sources on various simple instruments, the
article focuses on the attitudes implied by these sources and how such attitudes
developed throughout the period. Until 1800, references to musical instruments
were generally neutral or even rather positive, but enlightenment ideas and an
increasing knowledge of Western music led to more critical perspectives. As the
19th century unfolded with its Romantic spirit of nationalism, however, this neg-
ative tone changed once more. The older instruments came to be treasured as
uniquely Icelandic and therefore valuable, even though they were all known and
used in neighbouring countries and were neither entirely Icelandic nor
particularly typical of this island’s inhabitants. on the other hand, individual
instruments were frequently crafted by the Icelanders who used them, whether
based on knowledge passed on since the settlement or on imported models. Ideas
on the previous use of musical instruments seem to have been shaped by critical
and often negative attitudes towards simple instruments as well as by a shortage
of sources on them, so that even today one can hear the opinion that Icelanders
never played musical instruments at all in bygone centuries. The article counters
this by asking whether it is not precisely the paucity of references to instrument
playing which indicates that people often saw no need to mention such ordinary,
homemade objects. The article also suggests the necessity of staying alert for dif-
ferent types of sources and allusions that might cast further light on Icelandic
musical life during previous centuries.
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