Every month the National and University Library of Iceland picks one item from its collections and tells its story: a manuscript, photograph, map, poster or letter that has lain untouched for decades. Some of the items are well known; others have never been shown in public.
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Íslenzkt ástarljóð
Íslenzkt ástarljóð performed by Sigfús Halldórsson who also composed the song with lyrics by Vilhjálmur from Skáholt. Íslenskir tónar published the sheet music and the recording on a 78 rpm record in 1953. Í augum þínum unaðsbláu, augunum sem ljóma best, sé ég landið litla vina, landið, sem ég elska mest. Litla, fagra, ljúfa vina,…
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„Sigling“ (Torna a Surriento).
The recording was released on a 78 rpm record in 1933. Performed by Erling Ólafsson (1910–1934), a singer who died at the age of 24 of tuberculosis, a year after he recorded this song. His brother, Sigurður Ólafsson, was also a well known singer in Iceland. Composer: Ernesto De Curtis (1875–1937) was an Italian composer,…
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Gvendur dúllari
Guðmundur Árnason was born on 7 July 1833. He was brought up at the farm Tunga in Vestur-Landeyjahreppur parish, but he was young when he lost his parents. It was said he got typhoid fever and encephalitis, that caused damage in his brain. Guðmundur was known by his nick-name, „dúllari“, that was supposed to describe…
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On the rights of women
The name of Bríet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir (1856-1940) is strongly connected with women’s liberation in Iceland. At the end of 1887 she lectured in Reykjavík (to a large audience) about the position and rights of women (‘fyrirlestur um hagi og rjettindi kvenna’). She spoke of the position of women at the time, not just in Iceland but…
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Eiríkur Magnússon’s idea about the future library from 1886
Eiríkur Magnússon (1833-1913), who was an Icelandic scholar and librarian at Cambridge, introduced an idea about the future library in 1886. Eiríkur’s idea consists of a building with a circular core that would remain mostly unchanged. From this core there are corridors to all directions, to ensure short distances. All extensions to the building are…
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Einfalt Matreiðslu Vasa Qver fyrir heldri manna húsfr.
Matreiðsluvasakver fyrir heldri manna húsfreyjur, published by Magnús Stephensen in 1800, was the first published Icelandic cookbook. Though the author was said to be Marta María Stephensen, Magnús Stephensen’s sister-in-law, Magnús himself was probably responsible, having translated the recipes from Danish. Click on the image below to view the digitised book on Baekur.is:
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Calendarivm
CALENDARIVM Islendskt Rijm. So Menn mættu vita huad Tijmum Aarsins lijdur, med þui hier eru ecke aarleg Almanch : Med lijtellre Vysyringu og nóckru fleira sem ei er oþarflegt ad vita. 1597 This almanac, printed at Hólar in 1597, is the oldest that has survived in Iceland. Its contents were most probably compiled by Arngrímur Jónsson,…
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The Yule Lads in the book of poems Jólin koma
In 1932 Jóhannes úr Kötlum’s book of poems Jólin koma (Christmas Is Coming) was published, with verses about the Icelandic Christmas spirits. The book was illustrated by Tryggvi Magnússon, then the best-known illustrator in the country. The book came out during the struggle for independence, when the national heritage was being given new life. Motifs…
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Íslenskar þjóðsögur og ævintýri (Icelandic Folk Tales and Fairy Tales) 1862–1864
This time the Highlight of the month is Íslenskar þjóðsögur og ævintýri (Icelandic Folk Tales and Fairy Tales), compiled and published by Jón Árnason (1819–1888) in 1862–1864. The first volume has tales of elves, trolls, ghosts and other strange beings, and of magic, animals and natural phenomena. The second volume has myths, fairy tales, outlaw…
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Vögguvísa
The manuscript of Vögguvísa (Lullaby) by Elías Mar came to the National and University Library of Iceland with Elías’s other manuscripts and papers after his death in 2007. Vögguvísa is unusual in being a contemporary story from post-war Reykjavík, without the tension between country and town that is so common in the fiction of the…
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Þuluvafningur (a scroll with a þula)
New acquisitions of various kinds come to the Library regularly. On 25 June 2012 the Library was given a scroll with Sigurður Nordal’s Þula (a traditional rhyming chant) in his own hand. He gave the þula to Theodóra Thoroddsen as a token of their friendship. Sigurður wrote the þula on a long sheet, rolled it…
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The Eldrit of Rev. Jón Steingrímsson
The Highlight of the month is the manuscript Lbs 1552 4to. It is the so-called Eldrit (Fire Treatise) of Rev. Jón Steingrímsson (1728–1791) of Prestbakki in Síða. Jón wrote the manuscript in 1788. In it he describes the background to and consequences of the Skaftá Fires. On 8 June 1783 an eruption began in the…