Ask me about Icelandic history

Amazing post. Thank you. :)

On a related note, could the Icelandic Commonwealth's unique political structure be described as a feudal republic akin to a noble's republic, but with landowners filling in the roles instead ?

And did Basque fishermen really visit the island from time to time in the early modern era ?

Yes, Basque fishermen did visit Iceland as far back as in the 14th century. In documents from those eras there is mention of "spanish" whalers trading in the northwest, but sadly in 16th century we also have tragic incidents where a "spanish" ship stranded and in the northwest and the crew was slaughtered by xenophobic inhabitants of the fjord they landed in.

So I don´t think we have anything that proves they were Basque, but whalers coming from "spain" makes them a likely guess I think. In the 19th century we can tell for sure, I don´t remember reading anything about that era´s whaling industry about basques, but there were dutch, french, english, norwegians and etc, so it sounds likely to me that any whaling nation visited Iceland at that point.
 
How did the Reformation go in Iceland? When did it start, was it well-received by the population, was there much resistance to it, etc?

In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, how much contact was there between Iceland and other parts of Europe, especially places other than Denmark?

Middle ages there was a lot of trade in dried fish. The hanseatic league was the main buyer, but the English had a strong presence.

Generally the 14th century is called the english century and the 15th century the german century, because these two nations fought a lot over the trading. (Not actual countries and armies, but it was more like a fierce, slightly violent competetion).

Iceland was always rather isolated, the laws that the big landowners put in made sure that no villages could be formed. (Basically in the name of sustainability no man was allowed to have a full time profession unrelated to farming, i.e. you could not be full time trader, fisherman etc. That ensured that the farmers could control labour completely).

Reformation was resisted. The last Catholic bishop Jón Arason rebelled against the crown and took control of north Iceland. He was at the end executed but the resistance lasted two years. An interesting fellow, he brought printing to Iceland, wrote poetry and had a tendency to get into conflicts with other people around him.

Catholic Iceland would´ve been nice, the reformist were very puritanical, they basically banned fun for nearly 300 years. And the catholic monasteries had been the only place where arts and literature had truly blossomed,, they brought us the sagas, lot of good poetry that modern people can still relate too, and they wrote books on various subjects as well as doing lot of primitive artwork. (It´s no coincidence that people stopped writing in Icelandic for nearly 300 years after reformation).

On a local level I don´t think reformation was resisted that much. But since Jón lasted two years he must have had some support from peasants because he sure didn´t have any from outside of Iceland.
 
Is this why Icelandic is so wonderfully purist?

It's cool and all, but when you get words like félagsráðgjafardeildar, it gets kinda scary for a learner like me. :p
"

Yes, the pure language is a romantic ideal. But when talking to Icelanders and not reading from a book the language isn´t that "pure." And I don´t mean it in the sense that there is a lot of english words, it´s just very fluid, it´s easy to make up new words as you go along in Icelandic.

Don´t worry about the long words, we don´t really drop them in conversations.
 
Global warming: Yes, I think I can feel the difference between now and back in the early 90s. Global warming feels very real in Iceland I´d say.

You haven't felt nothing of Global Warming yet, my Nordic brother. :(

Warmer summers and milder winters is just the beginning. See that's how it begins, northern Scandinavia getting warmer, and it doesn't seem to be a big deal. But then it reaches Barents' Sea and the cooling down and consequent sinking of the warm water from the Gulf Stream diminishes. This will consequently diminish the Gulf Stream itself, before it finally destroys it. And all that warm Caribbean water and all those warm Caribbean winds that have kept our homelands green and lush since time immemorial will be gone, and our countries, our very homes will be transformed into vast reaches of nothing but uninhabitable permafrost and in the very north, glaciers.

"And... and all that was once green and good in this world will be gone. There won't be a Shire, Pippin."
 
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Devvy

Donor
Daginn..... :)

As for the whole Iceland/EU thing....I agree a lot of it is down to the fisheries. The whole Icesave thing hasn't exactly helped, but the Icelanders do seems to have a very......rugged "I'll do things myself" attitude, which to be fair serves them pretty well.

I don't see why the EU can't agree to relax *some* of the rules/laws for Iceland if Iceland wants to join. It's that isolated from the rest of Europe, I don't really see much problem with Iceland taking care of fishing itself, and a few other areas.

I always remember a cartoon about Icelanders - after heavy snowfall, rest-of-world drivers are worrying about keeping within the lines on the road, whereas Icelandic drivers mutter "ROAD EVERYWHERE!" and then drive however they want.

I have never seen truer words spoken.... :)
 
Daginn..... :)


I always remember a cartoon about Icelanders - after heavy snowfall, rest-of-world drivers are worrying about keeping within the lines on the road, whereas Icelandic drivers mutter "ROAD EVERYWHERE!" and then drive however they want.

I have never seen truer words spoken.... :)

Wow, that is a pretty accurate description of a mentality here. In D&D terms most Icelanders probably qualify as chaotic.

I expect that the negotiations with EU will lead to Iceland having full control over the fisheries. But sadly, I expect that won´t be enough when there is a huge nationalistic swing in the politics.

Although it´s difficult to predict. The elections next year are going to be very interesting, perhaps a great oppurtunity, perhaps a great disaster.
 
What peculiar ministries or political organizations does Iceland have beyond the Ministry of Fishing and that comittee that approves neologisms in the Icelandic language ? On a similar note, does Iceland have a separate Ministry of Agriculture or is it just lumped in with some other related ministry?

How big is Iceland's trawler fleet ? Do you need to be a member of a bigger fishing company to be a part of the fishing business or can you work in it as a regular self-employed tradesman ? Are sail boats still used on Iceland for anything other than recreation (i.e. passenger or small cargo transport) ?

Where are the largest "woodlands" in the country, outside of city/town parks ? Does Iceland have any known extinct species of plant or animal ?
 
What peculiar ministries or political organizations does Iceland have beyond the Ministry of Fishing and that comittee that approves neologisms in the Icelandic language ? On a similar note, does Iceland have a separate Ministry of Agriculture or is it just lumped in with some other related ministry?

How big is Iceland's trawler fleet ? Do you need to be a member of a bigger fishing company to be a part of the fishing business or can you work in it as a regular self-employed tradesman ? Are sail boats still used on Iceland for anything other than recreation (i.e. passenger or small cargo transport) ?

Where are the largest "woodlands" in the country, outside of city/town parks ? Does Iceland have any known extinct species of plant or animal ?

Amusing questions. I will have to admit my ignorance on a few things.

The ministries are in a flux at the moment. Before the crisis there used to be 12 ministries but they have now been merged to save money, example:

The ministry of fishing has been merged with ministry of labour and industry, as well as the agricultural ministry to create one ministry of labour. The commerce ministry has gone under the ministry of finance. The ministry of social welfare has merged with the ministry of health to create the welfare ministry and the ministry of communication/transport has merged into the ministry of churches/justice to create the ministry of the interior.

This might be reversed by the next government (likely conservatives but really who knows...:confused: I say it´s unpredictable at this moment what the political landscape will be). So the peculiar ministries created to give chrony politicians a boost in salaries have gone.

But the naming commitee is still around. (And is one good reason to condemn bipartisanship, if both sides agree then it´s a horrible idea). They can in theory ban names that are in bad taste but usually just ban stuff that doesn´t fit into Icelandic grammatical traditions.

Example: My cousin has newly given birth to a son. Her husband is English/German and they wanted to name him Noah. (I think his grandfather on the english side is also named Noah and well, there´s nothing wrong with the name).
The naming commitee said they should use the icelandic version: Nói. But they insisted understandably that they still wanted to use this foreign name. Well, the naming committee then said: We can´t have it. And that was that.:rolleyes:

No but seriously:mad: or well:rolleyes:, I don´t know which smiley represents my feelings. :eek: Perhaps this one as an embarrasment of sharing nationality with these clowns.

Number of trawls: No idea, (google told me about 60 something...). You can make a living out of sailing on your own for fishing if you are lucky enough to have quota. I know about a few cases, not common but existing. Generally quite well off too.

Edit: yeah, the great Auk went extinct in the 19th century. Apart from that no. There are forests in the north but not really in the same sense as in other countries. The forested areas are neither natural nor large. We have natural birch tree growth, I suppose you could call some areas quaziforested. That being said Hallormstaðaskógur can be pretty, as well as Vaglaskógur. (Link to a song about a springnight in Vaglaskóg)
 
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Devvy

Donor
There are forests in the north but not really in the same sense as in other countries. The forested areas are neither natural nor large. We have natural birch tree growth, I suppose you could call some areas quaziforested. That being said Hallormstaðaskógur can be pretty, as well as Vaglaskógur. (Link to a song about a springnight in Vaglaskóg)

Always remember, if you get lost in an Icelandic forest, all you need to do is stand up :)

As for driving, the thing that always gets me with Icelandic drivers is the flagrant and completely wilful disregard for painted lines in a car park. If anything, parking seems to be more erratic when lines are painted on the ground. It cracks me up. :)
 
Do you know if the Háskóli Íslands is particularly selective about international students?

And despite Iceland being in an economic bind, would there be any potential work for an unskilled migrant worker who barely knows any Icelandic? Or should I just try for Norway instead?

I know that isn't quite Icelandic history, but...:p
 

Devvy

Donor
And despite Iceland being in an economic bind

Leaving the questions aside, as I don't know as much as Fab, that is quite possibly the understatement of the year so far, although things are improving.

There was a semi-unskilled job going at one aluminium factory in Iceland only a month or two ago, with over a hundred applicants for it.
 
When did smallpox first arrive to Iceland? Did it ever become endemic, or was the population too small/scattered?

Same for measles.
 
Do you know if the Háskóli Íslands is particularly selective about international students?

And despite Iceland being in an economic bind, would there be any potential work for an unskilled migrant worker who barely knows any Icelandic? Or should I just try for Norway instead?

I know that isn't quite Icelandic history, but...:p

Nah, it`s not selective at all I think. I think it`s rather welcoming in general to anyone wishing to come over.
Potential work is difficult to say, if you apply now I`m sure you could get a job at a hotel somewhere or a restaurant, since during the summer we have a lot of tourism, or at least enough to overwhelm the workforce. But once summer is past there isn`t that much tourism. But not ruling anything out. Often, despite the economic situation there are lots of vacancies that employers seem to have problems filling. But in Norway the salary is of course much higher and you are I think likelier to have a job not just in the summer but over winter as well. Most of Iceland`s unskilled workers, or people in the construction industry that lost their jobs went to Norway. They might be back or might not, Icelanders adapt easily to Norway it seems.

I wonder - what does Icelanders think of Canadians, generally?

They like them. They are generally very ignorant about Canada though. Most will know that Icelanders moved to Manitoba but will be astounded to hear that Canada has the British queen as head of state, and that a chunk of Canada speaks french.

When did smallpox first arrive to Iceland? Did it ever become endemic, or was the population too small/scattered?

Same for measles.

I`ll have to look it up. If I remember correctly it was rather late, but certainly became an endemic. Black death was pretty bad. I`m unfamiliar with measles history. So yeah, I`ll look it up.
 
Nah, it`s not selective at all I think. I think it`s rather welcoming in general to anyone wishing to come over.
Potential work is difficult to say, if you apply now I`m sure you could get a job at a hotel somewhere or a restaurant, since during the summer we have a lot of tourism, or at least enough to overwhelm the workforce. But once summer is past there isn`t that much tourism. But not ruling anything out. Often, despite the economic situation there are lots of vacancies that employers seem to have problems filling. But in Norway the salary is of course much higher and you are I think likelier to have a job not just in the summer but over winter as well. Most of Iceland`s unskilled workers, or people in the construction industry that lost their jobs went to Norway. They might be back or might not, Icelanders adapt easily to Norway it seems.

Norway was sort of my second choice in the event that I decide to emigrate. Even though I tend to idealize Iceland a bit.

I've noticed some minor similarities between Icelandic and Norwegian (Ég er/Jeg er) but I've only read the first couple pages of a book on Norwegian. Do you know if there's any special process I'd have to do to migrate/get a work permit or whatever in either country?

Question about Icelandic:

Could I get by with my inability to pronounce voiceless m, n, and other "weird" voiceless consonants like those, as well as my inability to pronounce ö (which I pronounce sort of like u)?

Thanks. Sorry my questions have nothing to do with history. :p:)
 
When did smallpox first arrive to Iceland? Did it ever become endemic, or was the population too small/scattered?

Same for measles.

Quite late. There was measles in 1845 that killed 2000 people. And smallpox was endemic 1707-1709, but the earliest recorded case was in the 13th century.
 
Could I get by with my inability to pronounce voiceless m, n, and other "weird" voiceless consonants like those, as well as my inability to pronounce ö (which I pronounce sort of like u)?

Thanks. Sorry my questions have nothing to do with history. :p:)

Nah, you should get away with that pronounciation. Don´t expect to learn icelandic very quickly though.

You´re welcome to ask about anything in regards to Iceland.;)
 

Devvy

Donor
Which idiot in the what I presume is the "language ministry" decided that Batman's proper name in Icelandic should be Leðurblökumaðurinn?

And more honestly, do you think the Alþingi will ever build a rail link from Reykjavik to Keflavik and close Reykjavik airport (as I think has been pondered several times? It a) annoys me being limited to 90km/h down Reykjanesbraut, and b) it's annoys me when I need to get to Egilsstaðir, and therefore have to fly into Keflavik, and then transfer to Reykjavik for the domestic flight.
 
Which idiot in the what I presume is the "language ministry" decided that Batman's proper name in Icelandic should be Leðurblökumaðurinn?

And more honestly, do you think the Alþingi will ever build a rail link from Reykjavik to Keflavik and close Reykjavik airport (as I think has been pondered several times? It a) annoys me being limited to 90km/h down Reykjanesbraut, and b) it's annoys me when I need to get to Egilsstaðir, and therefore have to fly into Keflavik, and then transfer to Reykjavik for the domestic flight.

There is no language ministry, just a naming committee. It´s not that bad;)

Also: Bat/Leðurblaka, Man/Maður The... you know this one probably, Inn= The batman/Leðurblökumaðurinn.

No government help necessary. It´d have looked silly to translate all other names and not Batman. Although Robin got to keep being Robin.

I hear your frustration. You apparently know Iceland quite well, I assume you´ve lived there/been around.

The rail is not coming any day soon. There is a lot of support for it, but most dismiss it out of hand as being unrealistic (although it´s not of course). I really hope it will be built one day.
 

Devvy

Donor
Yeah....well the Government is far to broke right now to pay for a rail link. The land Reykjavik airport is on must be worth a pretty penny/krona though as it's so central. Fingers crossed it happens one day at some point though, especially with the increase in flight operators flying to Iceland (Easyjet and WOW Air from the UK).

Despite being a full blown Brit, my other half of several years is Icelandic, so we spend a fair amount of time over there throughout the year in Kópavogur and Eskifjörður.

As for Batman...it's just not quite as snappy is it? "Ég er Leðurblökumaðurinn" doesn't quite have the same ring to it as "I'm Batman", hehe. :D
 
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