Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [12]
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The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, edited by Viður Hreinsson, is a must for saga fiends. It’s a summary translation of 50 saga tales, featuring all the main yarns, along with a few shorter fantasy tales.
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Despite the advances in such cultural pursuits, Icelandic society was beginning to deteriorate. By the early 13th century the enlightened period of peace that had lasted 200 years was waning. Constant power struggles between rival chieftains led to violent feuds and a flourishing of Viking-like private armies who raided farms across the country. This dark hour in Iceland’s history was known as the Sturlung Age, its tragic events and brutal history graphically recounted in the three-volume Sturlunga Saga.
As Iceland descended into chaos, the Norwegian king Hákon Hákonarson pressured chieftains, priests and the new breed of wealthy aristocrats to accept his authority. The Icelanders, who saw no alternative, dissolved all but a superficial shell of their government and swore their allegiance to the king. An agreement of confederacy was made in 1262. In 1281 a new code of law, the Jónsbók, was introduced by the king, and Iceland was absorbed into Norwegian rule.
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Daughter of Fire – a Portrait of Iceland, by Katherin Scherman, is a beautifully written and evocative historical overview of Iceland, covering the land, the people and the sagas.
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Norway immediately set about appointing Norwegian bishops to Hólar and Skálholt and imposed excessive taxes. Contention flared as former chieftains quibbled over high offices, particularly that of járl (earl), an honour that fell to the ruthless Gissur Þorvaldsson, who in 1241 murdered Snorri Sturluson, Iceland’s best-known historian and writer (see the boxed text).
Meanwhile, the volcano Hekla erupted three times, covering a third of the country in ash; a mini-ice age followed, and severe winters wiped out livestock and crops. The Black Death arrived, killing half the population, and the once indomitable spirit of the people seemed broken.
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ENTER THE DANES
Iceland’s fate was now in the hands of the highest Norwegian bidder, who could lease the governorship of the country on a three-year basis. In 1397 the Kalmar Union of Norway, Sweden and Denmark brought Iceland under Danish rule. After disputes between church and state, the Danish government seized church property and imposed Lutheranism in the Reformation of 1550. When the stubborn Catholic bishop of Hólar, Jón Arason, resisted and gained a following, he and his two sons were taken to Skálholt and beheaded.
In 1602 the Danish king imposed a crippling trade monopoly whereby Swedish and Danish firms were given exclusive trading rights in Iceland for 12-year periods. This resulted in large-scale extortion, importation of spoilt or inferior goods and yet more suffering that would last another 250 years.
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RETURN TO INDEPENDENCE
Fed up with five centuries of oppressive foreign rule and conscious of a growing sense of liberalisation across Europe, Icelandic nationalism began to flourish in the 19th century. By 1855 Jón Sigurðsson, an Icelandic scholar, had successfully lobbied for restoration of free trade, and by 1874 Iceland had drafted a constitution and regained control of its domestic affairs.
Iceland’s first political parties were formed during this period, and urban development began in this most rural of countries. By 1918 Iceland had signed the Act of Union, which effectively released the country from Danish rule, making it an independent state within the Kingdom of Denmark.
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Until 1903 Iceland’s coat of arms was a silver stockfish (split, dried cod) topped by a golden crown.
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Iceland prospered during WWI as wool, meat and fish exports gained high prices. When WWII loomed, however, Iceland declared neutrality in the hope of maintaining their important