[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
themselves if they are cold (Dictionary, under lfur).
VII
Eirkur Laxdal (1743 1816) was the son of the Rev. Eirkur Jónsson,
Rector of Hvammur in Laxrdalur and later of Hof on Skagastrnd
(died 1779). He attended Hólar Cathedral School from 1760 to 1765,
and was parish clerk at Reynista: ur and later at Munkaflver, but he
had to give up his post, having had a child out of wedlock by the
beautiful but ignorant Eln, daughter of Halldór Brynjólfsson (bishop
of Hólar 1746 52). After this Eirkur went to Denmark and matricu-
lated at Copenhagen University in 1769. It is recorded that his precep-
tor at the University was Chr. Kratzenstein1 whose interests were mark-
edly scientific, and it is likely that the interest in the natural sciences
which is widely found in Eirkur s writings is due in part to the inspi-
ration of his former teacher. He had an adventurous time in his student
days and was for a while a naval rating, which experience turned him
forever from the path of an official career. Though he stayed in Copen-
hagen until 1775 (or according to some 1777) and accumulated much
learning, this did him no benefit when he returned to Iceland, even
though his wit and learning were praised by his contemporaries; he
was said to be fluent in Danish, German and Latin. He was, however,
1
See Bjarni Jónsson fr Unnarholti, slenzkir Hafnarstdentar, 1949, 116.
SOURCES 123
a singular and eccentric person, said to be an obstinate debater1 and he
seems to have preferred freedom to all else. He married lf Gu: munds-
dóttir, a widow from Slttuhl: , and struggled at farming with her at
Ne: ranes and then at Kelduvk on Skagi, but was said to have little apti-
tude for farming, though he was a good fisherman (for a while he owned
his own fishing-boat), and finally his farming came to grief, his house-
hold broke up, and Eirkur trudged around as a beggar for his remaining
years, and died at Stokkahla: ir in Eyjafjr: ur on 24th July 1816.
Eirkur was a versifier, and composed both short lyrics and hymns
as well as some sets of rmur, of which we may mention here Hermó: s
rmur (1777) and Ingibjargar rmur alvnu (1778; from stories in
Laxdal s). His two prose works are lands saga (The story of Noland;
= Laxdal s) and lafs saga fiórhallasonar (= Laxdal sfi).
lands saga is now preserved in only one manuscript, Lbs 554 4to,
written probably around 1820 by two scribes, the first of whom was
fiorsteinn fiorsteinsson of Hei: i. The manuscript ends abruptly at the
beginning of Book III, ch. 6 (ch. 187 of the entire work), and it is not
possible to know whether Eirkur ever completed the work. The con-
tent is mostly wonder-tales, each woven with great skill into others,
though it cannot be denied that this method of composition makes
great demands upon the reader s attention and memory. There is no
doubt as to Eirkur s models, which are such collections of stories as
The Thousand and One Nights, Thousand and One Days, etc., both of
which were available in Danish translation in Eirkur s Copenhagen
years (there are also Icelandic translations of portions of both collec-
tions from the eighteenth century). Eirkur also reworked his stories
in the manner of the fornaldar sgur and other Icelandic written stories,
and the genealogical material, which is much used to link the various
stories, is clearly based on these models. Though the style is partly
based on older sagas, European influence is even more obvious; the
verbosity and pomposity in short, the periwig style that is so very
prominent throughout the book spoil the story. Natural descriptions
and other such things are probably copied from contemporary Euro-
pean models, but some, such as the descriptions of cities and orchards,
1
For the type of ridiculous, ultra-logical, obstinate, hair-splitting debating
which was the normal procedure at Copenhagen University in the eighteenth
century, see Holberg s Erasmus Montanus and G. Brandes, Ludvig Holberg.
Et Festskrift, 1884, 98 101.
124 THE FOLK-STORIES OF ICELAND
are based on Eirkur s own observation; thus in one place a crowd
cheers their queen in a way that suggests a Danish royal event. As to
general ideas and attitudes, the book is a true product of the Age of
Enlightenment. The author tries everywhere to offer rationalistic inter-
pretations of supernatural matter in the wonder-tales, and this often
has curious results. As mentioned earlier, Eirkur s enthusiasm for
natural history is widely evident. In one place he describes how life
developed on earth: first after the great flood there was only rock, and
then lichen grew on it, and from it came more developed organisms,
and so on until the earth was covered with plants as it is now. From the
plants there then evolved simple animal species which gradually de-
veloped until man was reached. The first men used stones and burnt
sticks, and then they began to dig metals from the earth. Eirkur also
says that the dead live on in the stars.
Eirkur s political ideas are those of a man dedicated to enlightened
monarchy. Virtue is preached in and out of season, as is characteris-
tic of the time. On the other hand, the subject-matter of the book is apt
to be earthy, and Eirkur clearly had the uninhibited views on sexual-
ity common in his day his own love-life may indeed have been some-
what disorderly.
The subject-matter of lands saga comes from every imaginable
source. In the last section the Bible is followed at first, and there are
also long narratives based on rmanns rmur and Hermó: s rmur. Other
parts are more or less Eirkur s own invention, or else adapted from
foreign sources (such as the story of Go: fre: ur the Lucky and Forget-
ful, chs 126 32). Eirkur often combines wonder-tale motifs into fairly
complete stories, and his narratives cannot be trusted without a check.
lands saga contains more or less reliable variants of the following
wonder-tales:
1. 3. fittur af Helgu hinni vnu and Rau: s flttur (chs 1 19, 20 34 and 111
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]