For centuries Iceland struggled from harsh cold weather and limited resources which took many lives. Parents, bound by work in the fields, left children unattended which often ended in tragedy. Men were lost without trace on fishing trips. Livestock was stolen or ran away. Sometimes tales were told to cope with loss and validate the unexplainable at the time phenomena. Other stories were used to discipline children. From the mid-nineteenth century when the folktales started to be recorded in writing these stories and many more became part of Iceland’s cultural legacy. Inhabited by around 300,000 people, Iceland is one of the culturally richest countries in the world in spite of it’s size. Traveling through the vast and constantly varied terrains one can still feel the magic of the tales that echoed through this land. 

Text adapted under fair use from:

A Traveller’s Guide to Icelandic Folk Tales 

© Jón R. Hjálmarsson, 2000 

Forlagið ( Reykjavík) 

Icelandic Folk Legends : Tales of apparitions, outlaws and things unseen 

© Alda Sigmundsdóttir, 2016 

4th Edition 

Little Books Publishing 

Reykjavík, 2016

Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.