The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1995, Síða 69

SPRING/SUMMER 1995
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
179
Among these publications is Reisubok
Jons Olafssonar Indiafara, the travelogue of
Jon Olafsson (1593-1679). Jon Olafsson
lived in the 17th century, a key period for
the revival of Icelandic literature. He was a
farmer’s son who sailed abroad, first to
London and then to Denmark. In Denmark
he worked on the construction of the
Kronborg castle, and sailed on the King’s
ships, to the Arctic ocean as well as to East
India. Back in Iceland, more than 30 years
after his return, he wrote his travelogue to
which his son Olafur added a chapter on
his last years. It is easy to imagine Jon, sit-
ting in his sod hut on long winter nights,
telling his stories to an eager audience. And
the events certainly did not grow smaller
as time passed. His narrative is a lively and,
sometimes, exaggerated account of various
adventures but at the same time a valuable
historical source on the Danish colonies in
India and the most important written
source on daily life in Copenhagen in the
first half of the 17th century. Sometimes the
language is lively and sometimes it is book-
ish in an ornate style indicative of Danish
and German influence.
The story was preserved in several manu-
scripts for more than two centuries and was
first published by Sigfus Blondal in 1908-
09. In 1946, Gudbrandur Jonsson pub-
lished it using a different manuscript.
Blondal’s edition was translated into Eng-
lish by Dame Bertha Phillpotts and pub-
lished in London for the Llakluyt Society,
in two volumes, in 1923 and 1932.
Phillpott’s translation is rather antiquated
and Victorian in style, according to an Eng-
lish friend of mine, and merits a new trans-
lation.
The edition being reviewed is based on
Blondal’s edition, which is considered to
be the most reliable one. It is enriched by
maps, illustrations and careful notes, as well
as an excellent although short introduction
by the editor. The introduction gives a clear
account of the historical circumstances of
the great colonies in the Far East during
the 16th and 17th centuries, interesting in-
formation about European geographical
and travel literature, some of which found
it’s way to Iceland during the period, and
includes a brief analysis of Jon’s work and
its significance in Icelandic literary history.
As the editor points out, this travelogue
is a fascinating meeting of two worlds, the
world of the literate, curious and keen Ice-
landic peasant, and the large world of the
colonial power. Thus the travelogue is also
partly a history of his personal development
— how he was able to absorb and describe
in a lively narrative the wonders of the
strange world and digest it as personal ex-
perience. The work witnesses the intellec-
tual capabilities of the literary peasant cul-
ture during the 17th century, a period which
in many ways was one of the revival of Ice-
landic literature, a departure from the an-
cient saga traditions without abandoning
them. As the bulk of the saga literature is
anonymous, with no significance given to
the writer as an individual or his personal
experience, the 17th century saw the expres-
sions of the individual. Many poets and a
few prose writers gave new significance to
the experience of the individual, a few of
whom include Olafur Egilsson, Jon
Jiumlungur Magnusson and Jon lterbi
(who was introduced to the readers of The
Icelandic Canadian in Winter, 1992). The
editor notes that while Jon Olafsson was
writing his travelogue, Rev. Jon Jiumlungur
JENjalsbud
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