Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Hydromechanics" to "Ichnography" / Volume 14, Slice 2

by Various

Health.—The public health has greatly improved in modern times; the death-rate of young children has especially diminished. This improvement is due to greater cleanliness, better dwellings, better nourishment, and the increase in the number of doctors. There are now doctors in all parts of the country, whereas formerly there were hardly any in the island. There is a modern asylum for leprosy at Laugarnes near Reykjavik, and a medical school at Reykjavik, opened in 1876. The general sanitary affairs of the island are under the control of a chief surgeon (national physician) who lives in Reykjavik, and has superintendence over the doctors and the medical school.

Government.—According to the constitution granted to Iceland in 1874, the king of Denmark shares the legislative power with the Althing, an assembly of 36 members, 30 of whom are elected by household suffrage, and 6 nominated by the king. The Althing meets every second year, and sits in two divisions, the upper and the lower. The upper division consists of the 6 members nominated by the king and 6 elected by the representatives of the people out of their own body. The lower division consists of the remaining 24 representative members. The minister for Iceland, who resided in Copenhagen until 1903, when his office was transferred to Reykjavik, is responsible to the king and the Althing for the maintenance of the constitution, and he submits to the king for confirmation the legislative measures proposed by the Althing. The king appoints a governor-general (landshöfðingi) who is resident in the island and carries on the government on the responsibility of the minister. Formerly Iceland was divided into four quarters, the east, the south, the west and north. Now the north and the east are united under one governor, and the south and the west under another. The island is further divided into 18 sýslur (counties), and these again into 169 hreppur (rapes) or poor-law districts. Responsible to the governors are the sheriffs (sýslumenn), who act as tax gatherers, notaries public and judges of first instance; the sheriff has in every hreppur an assistant, called hreppstjóri. In every hreppur there is also a representative committee, who administer the poor laws, and look after the general concerns of the hreppur. These committees are controlled by the committees of the sýslur (county boards), and these again are under the control of the amtsráð (quarter board), consisting of three members. From the sheriff courts appeals lie to the superior court at Reykjavik, consisting of three judges. Appeals may be taken in all criminal cases and most civil cases to the supreme court at Copenhagen.

Iceland has her own budget, the Althing having, by the constitution of 1874, the right to vote its own supplies. As the Althing only meets every other year, the budget is passed for two years at once. The total income and expenditure are each about £70,000 per financial period. There is a national reserve fund of about £60,000, but no public debt; nor is there any contribution for either military or naval purposes. Iceland has her own customs service, but the only import duties levied are upon spirits, tobacco, coffee and sugar, and in each case the duties are fairly low.

Education.—Education is pretty widespread amongst the people. In the towns and fishing villages there are a few elementary schools, but often the children are instructed at home; in some places by peripatetic teachers. It is incumbent upon the clergy to see that all children are taught reading, writing and arithmetic. The people are great readers; considering the number of the inhabitants, books and periodicals have a very extensive circulation. Eighteen newspapers are issued (once and twice a week), besides several journals, and Iceland has always been distinguished for her native literature. At Reykjavik there are a Latin school, a medical school and a theological school; at Mödruvellir and Hafnarfjörðr, modern high schools (Realschulen); and in addition to these there are four agricultural schools, a school of navigation, and three girls’ schools. The national library at Reykjavik contains some 40,000 volumes and 3000 MSS. At the same place there is also a valuable archaeological collection. Amongst the learned societies are the Icelandic Literary Society (Bokmentafjelag), the society of the Friends of the People, and the Archaeological Society of Reykjavik.

Authorities.—Among numerous works of Dr Thorvald Thoroddsen, see Geschichte der Islands Geographie (Leipzig, 1898); and the following articles in Geografisk Tidskrift (Copenhagen): “Om Islands geografiske og geologiske Undersögelse” (1893); “Islandske Fjorde og Bugter” (1901); “Geog. og geol. Unders. ved den sydlige Del af Faxaflói paa Island” (1903); “Lavaörkener og Vulkaner paa Islands Höjland” (1905). See also C. S. Forbes, Iceland (London, 1860); S. Baring-Gould, Iceland, its Scenes and Sagas (London, 1863); Sir R. F. Burton, Ultima Thule (Edinburgh, 1875); W. T. McCormick, A Ride across Iceland (London, 1892); J. Coles, Summer Travelling in Iceland (London, 1882); H. J. Johnston Lavis, “Notes on the Geography, Geology, Agriculture and Economics of Iceland,” Scott. Geog. Mag. xi. (1895); W. Bisiker, Across Iceland (London, 1902); J. Hann, “Die Anomalien der Witterung auf Island in dem Zeitraume 1851-1900, &c.,” Sitzungsberichte, Vienna Acad. Sci. (1904); P. Hermann, Island in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart (Leipzig, 1907). Also Geografisk Tidskrift, and the Geographical Journal (London), passim. (Th. T.)

History

Shortly after the discovery of Iceland by the Scandinavian, c. 850 (it had long been inhabited by a small colony of Irish Culdees), a stream of immigration set in towards it, which lasted for sixty years, and resulted in the establishment of some 4000 homesteads. In this immigration three distinct streams can be traced. (1) About 870-890 four great noblemen from Norway, Ingolf, Ketil Hæng, Skalla-Grim and Thorolf, settled with their dependants in the south-west of the new found land. (2) In 890-900 there came from the western Islands Queen Aud, widow of Olaf the White, king of Dublin, preceded and followed by a number of her kinsmen and relations (many like herself being Christians), Helgi Biolan, Biorn the Eastern, Helgi the Lean, Ketil the Foolish, &c., who settled the best land in the island (west, north-west and north), and founded families who long swayed its destinies. There also came from the Western Islands a fellowship of vikings seeking a free home in the north. They had colonized the west in the viking times; they had “fought at Hafursfirth,” helping their stay-at-home kinsmen against the centralization of the great head-king, who, when he had crushed opposition in Norway, followed up his victory by compelling them to flee or bow to his rule. Such were Ingimund the Old, Geirmund Hellskin, Thord Beardie (who had wed St. Edmund’s granddaughter,) Audun Shackle, Bryniulf the Old, Uni, to whom Harold promised the earldom of the new land if he could make the settlers acknowledge him as king (a hopeless project), and others by whom the north-west, north and east were almost completely “claimed.” (3) In 900-930 a few more incomers direct from Norway completed the settlement of the south, north-east and south-east. Among them were Earl Hrollaug (half-brother of Hrolf Ganger and of the first earl of Orkney), Hialti, Hrafnkell Frey’s priest, and the sons of Asbiorn. Fully three-quarters of the land was settled from the west, and among these immigrants there was no small proportion of Irish blood. In 1100 there were 4500 franklins, i.e. about 50,000 souls.

Table of Icelandic Literature and History.

		I. The Commonwealth. 400 years.
Heroic Age.	870- 930	Poetry of Western Islands.	Settlement by colonists from Western Isles and Norway.
	930- 980	Early Icelandic poets, chiefly abroad.	Constitution worked out—Events of earlier sagas take place.
	980-1030	Icelandic poets abroad.	Christianity comes in—Events of later sagas take place.
Saga Telling.	1030-1100	First era of phonetic change.	Peace—Ecclesiastical organization.
The Literary Age.	1100-1150	Ari and his school—Thorodd—Vernacular writing begins.
	1150-1220	Saga-Writers—Second generation of historians.	First civil wars—1208-22—Rise of Sturlungs.
	1220-1248	Snorri and his school—Biographers.	Second civil wars, 1226-58—Fall of Great Houses.
	1248-1284	Sturla—Second era of phonetic change.	Change of law, 1271—Submission to Norwegian kings.
		II. Medievalism. 250 years.
Continental Influence chiefly Norse.	1284-1320	Collecting and editing—Foreign romances.	Foreign influence through Norway.
	1320-1390	Annalists—Copyists—New Medieval poetry begins.	Great eruptions, 1362 and 1389—Epidemics—Danish rule, 1380.
	1390-1413	Death of old traditions, &c.	Epidemics—Norse trade—Close of intercourse with Norway.
Dark Age.	1413-1530	Only Medieval poetry flourishes.	Isolation from Continent—English trade.
		III. Reformation—Absolute Rule—Decay. 320 years.
Reformation.	1530-1575	Odd—Printing—Third era of phonetic change.	Religious struggle—New organization—Hanse trade.
Renaissance.	1575-1640	First antiquarians.	Danish monopoly—Pirates’ ravages.
	1640-1700	Hallgrim—Paper copies taken.
			Increasing Decay
Gradual Decay.	1700-1730	Jon Vidalin—Arni Magnusson—MSS. taken abroad.	Smallpox kills one-third population, 1707.
	1730-1768	Eggert Olafsson.	Great famine, 10,000 die, 1759—Sheep plague, 1762—Eruption, 1765.
	1768-1800	Finn Jonsson—Icelandic scholars abroad.	Great eruption, 1783.
	1800-1850	Rationalistic movement—European influences first felt.	Beginnings of recovery—Travellers make known island to Europe—Free constitution in Denmark, 1848.
		IV. Modern Iceland.
Recovery of Iceland.	1850-1874	Modern thought and learning—Icelandic scholars abroad	Increasing wealth and population—Free trade, 1854—Jon Sigurdsson and home rule struggle
	1874		Home rule granted.

The unit of Icelandic politics was the homestead with its franklin-owner (buendi), its primal organization the hundred-moot (thing), its tie the goðorð (godar) or chieftainship. The chief who had led a band of kinsmen and dependants Organization. to the new land, taken a “claim” there, and parcelled it out among them, naturally became their leader, presiding as priest at the temple feasts and sacrifices of heathen times, acting as speaker of their moot, and as their representative towards the neighbouring chiefs. He was not a feudal lord nor a local sheriff, for any franklin could change his goðorð when he would, and the rights of “judgment by peers” were in full use; moreover, the office could be bequeathed, sold, divided or pledged by the possessor; still the goði had considerable power as long as the commonwealth lasted.