Manuscript by Sölvi Helgason (1820–1895)

Sölvi Helgason, Sólon Islandus, is one of Iceland's best known vagrants. He was born on August 16, 1820 at Fjall in Sléttuhlíð in Skagafjörður, northern Iceland and thus, now we commemorate  his 200 years anniversary. As a child he was a pauper on various farms and then started wandering around the age of 16. In 1843 Sölvi was arrested for having a counterfeit passport and was sentenced two years later for his offence. He received more convictions and was usually convicted for wandering and theft. He was convicted to whipping and was once sentenced to three years in prison in Copenhagen. Sölvi died on November 27, 1895.

Sölvi Helgason had many skills. In the National Library there are preserved drawings and pictures by him, along with various manuscripts with his poems, stories and essays. He was either considered mentally unstable, eccentric or exceptionally intelligent.


The manuscript Lbs 937 8vo contains fragments of a thesis, mostly about geography, by Sölvi Helgason, along with drawings.


Söliv Helgason´s manuscript Lbs 937 8vo can be viewed here

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