Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1941, Blaðsíða 164

i58
LE NORD
ínto a closer union with Norway and would prefer a union with
that country to the union with Denmark, now existing. But
this is very far from being the case. Iceland feels as an adult
child feels towards its parents; when the children become self-
reliant, they want to be treated on an equal footing with other
adults, the parents, brothers, sisters and all the family.
There have been in modern times strong literary impulses
from Norway. Björnson, Ibsen, Kjelland, Lie, Garborg, Bojer,
Hamsun and other prominent Norwegian writers have been
widely read in Iceland, and some of their principal works have
been translated. Norwegian music, especially Grieg’s, is very
popular in Iceland. An important factor in the economic devel-
opment of Iceland has been the development of the herring
fisheries. Here Norwegian fishermen have been our teachers. To
the Norwegian Otto Wathne is principally due the rise of the
town of Seyðisfjord as a centre of the herring fisheries in eastern
Iceland; it has now been superseded by Siglufjord in northern
Iceland. From Norway we have received the International Order
of Good Templars, and its fight against intemperance has in Ice-
land as elsewhere been of the highest importance.
The many famous Norwegian scholars, who have devoted
themselves to the study of our common old language and literature,
need not be mentioned here. But it is a queer fact that in our
mother country the study of modern Iceland, her language and
literature, has been strangely neglected. An attempt was made
some years ago to establish a regular professorship in modern
Icelandic in the University of Oslo, but unfortunately this came
to nothing. It is however hoped that in better times this will
come into effect. A recently founded Icelandic-Norwegian Society
has already issued some instructive publications on modern Ice-
land in Norwegian.
Our debts to Sweden and Finland are chiefly intellectual.
The art of printing was introduced into Iceland from Sweden.
The last Roman Catholic bishop of Hólar in northern Iceland,
Jón Arason, engaged a Swedish priest by name Jón Matthiasson
to establish himself as printer in his service (about 1533). Swedish
music, especially Bellman and Wennerberg, are great favorites
with the Icelandic public, and to the lively airs of the former
a great number of Icelandic songs have been written. Of modern
Swedish writers Tegnér and Selma Lagerlöf have been repeatedly