The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.1968, Page 39

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
37
Jonas Jonsson fra firiffl^a
Jonas Jonsson fra Hriflu
Jbnas Jonsson fra Hriflu, /who was
Minister of Justice in Iceland at the
time of the millennial celebration in
1930 of the founding of Aljring, died
on July 19, this year.
He may be regarded as the founder
in Iceland of the movement for the
due recognition of the Icelanders in
North America for their contribution
to the preservation of Icelandic lan-
guage and Icelandic culture in gen-
eral.
Recognition is also due him for
writing an “Islands-saga” for use in
schools in Iceland. In its concise story
form Islands-saga is an ideal book for
Vestur-lslendingar, many of whom are
intensely interested even though they
know very little if any Icelandic.
Volume I (175 pages) is (particularly
useful as it covers the period of the
Icelandic Republic, 874-1262. In an
Epilogue to the first Volume, dated
August 1966, the author says in part:
“This book has its history. At the
time I began recording its contents I
had something to do with studies for
use in the Teacher’s College . . .
“The history of Iceland is a dif-
ficult subject. Children said they
could not grasp the content in the
prescribed text and asked me to reduce
the subject into short stories. I read
books and changed the contents into
story form. This pleased the children
and I gathered the stories I had map-
ped out and published them.”
Icelanders on both sides of the ocean
have reason to feel a debt of gratitude
to the late J6nas Jonsson fra Hriflu.
-W. j. L.