Reykjavík Grapevine - nov 2021, Qupperneq 26

There are few books, if any, that
have shaped the Icelandic soul
as significantly as the Folklores
and Adventures, or “Íslenzkar
!jó"sögur og æfint#ri”, collected
by Jón Árnason in the 18th cen-
tury. This book is not only the
most comprehensive collection
of Icelandic folk stories—fea-
turing elves, trolls, ghosts and
more—but it’s also one of the
cornerstones in our fight for in-
dependence. The book was pub-
lished in two volumes and printed
in Leipzig, Germany in 1862 and
1864. But the road to printing
wasn’t easy.
Scary stories
Jón was just a young boy when he
became obsessed with folklore.
Born in 1819, he later wrote in his
memoir that he forced all guests
to his family’s farm to tell him a
story—even if they were so grue-
some and spooky that his mother
had to sleep next to him to fend
off the nightmares that would
ensue. His enthusiasm continued
throughout the years and as he got
older, he grew more and more cu-
rious about the common folklore
that had never been properly re-
corded in Iceland.
First print was a
disaster
Jón became a student in the School
of Bessasta"ir, and it was there
that he began to collect tradition-
al tales in earnest. He published
his first collections with his best
friend Magnús Grímsson in 1852
under the title Íslenzk ævint#ri
(‘Icelandic adventures,’ in Eng-
lish). But there was little to no
interest in these folklores at the
time and the book was not well
received. It was also a time when
Icelanders were struggling eco-
nomically, so it’s safe to say that
there were no booming sales in
folkloric literature. Jón and Mag-
nús were left questioning whether
there was much point in continu-
ing their work at all.
The German’s got it
Enter German scholar Konrad
Maurer, a professor at the Uni-
versity of Munchen and what we
could today call a “friend of Ice-
land.” Konrad met the young and
enthusiastic Jón and Magnús, and
heard about their interest in Ice-
landic folklore. Of course, the pro-
fessor recognised the importance
of such tales through the German
Grimm brothers, and was also
collecting similar tales in Iceland,
which he later printed himself.
He encouraged the men to keep
on collecting stories and prom-
ised that when they were ready, he
would print them in Germany.
Dedicated to Jacob
Grimm
Jón and Magnús resumed collect-
ing stories with vigour, sending
letters to friends and old school-
mates seeking out more tales. Un-
fortunately, Magnús died before
the book was published, but Jón
persisted and finally sent the fin-
ished text to Konrad in Germany.
What’s more, Jón was so taken by
the Grimm brothers that he actu-
ally dedicated the book to one of
them, Jacob.
Shaped national culture
When the book was finally pub-
lished, it was a hit. In part, this
was because the mood in Iceland
had changed since Jón’s last book.
Icelanders were becoming in-
creasingly romantic about their
heritage, mostly to show the Dan-
ish monarchy that Icelanders were
not just one of their colonies, but a
nation with an old and important
history. Iceland’s hero of indepen-
dence, Jón Sigur"sson, recognised
the importance of the book, and
bought 800 copies to give to the
members of the literature asso-
ciation (Bókmenntafélagi"). This
proved to be an important step in
the fight for independence. The
book inspired Iceland’s greatest
writers to invest in and develop
the national culture in various
ways. Everything from the mid-
winter festival of !orrablót to the
national costume, which was de-
signed by the painter, Sigur"ur
Gu"mundsson, inspired by the
traditional stories he himself had
contributed to Jón’s book.
Supernatural Iceland
The stories in the book cover the
weird and the wonderful of Ice-
landic folklore and culture, with
elves, warlocks, ghosts and mon-
sters all making an appearance.
Some of the stories have stayed
with us for centuries, and par-
ents today are still retelling them
to their children. However, these
days, this book is almost unheard
of outside of Iceland, and even
within the country, knowledge of
folktales is fading with each gen-
eration. It’s with this in mind that
we decided to share the stories
from this magnificent book, in
our new video series Supernatural
Iceland. Each month we will ex-
plore the world of Icelandic folk-
lore as we travel around the coun-
try seeking out the strange and
unusual, in order to do just what
Jón Árnason wanted—to preserve
these stories for generations to
come.
Info: You can watch our series
inspired by these stories, Super-
natural Iceland on our YouTube
channel now.
26The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 11— 2021

SÆTA SVÍNI! / Hafnarstræti 1-3 / Tel. 555 2900 / saetasvinid.is
790 1.490
HAPPIEST
HAPPY HOUR
IN REYKJAVÍK
ICELANDIC GASTROPUB
Book
The Book That Shaped
The Icelandic Soul
The Icelandic folktales that helped Icelanders win their independence.
Words: Valur Grettisson Photo: Magical stöff
Folkie bloke Jón Árnason