Icelandic - Culture

ANCIENT TEXTS

Hávamál - An ancient poem, perhaps dating from the early ninth century, the Vikings
attributed the "Words of the High One" to Óðinn, the chief god in the Old Norse
pantheon. Hávamál is reminiscent of the wisdom literature of other cultures, from the
Tao Te Ching to the Book of Proverbs.

LANGUAGE

The Icelandic Language Institute (Íslensk Málstöð) - The official body responsible
for language planning and preservation. This website includes an interesting booklet,
"Icelandic - At Once Ancient and Modern," and links to online "courses" in Icelandic.
The Institute also maintains The Icelandic Word Bank, which is a useful linguistic
resource for people who have more patience than I do.

Mímir - A handy online reference to Icelandic grammer, Mímir is based largely on two
classic textbooks, Stefán Einarsson's Icelandic and P.J.T. Glendening's book of the
same name. Mímir is a Hypertext-based tool which allows the user quickly to search
through and to reference the grammar of the Icelandic language.

The Ominglot Guide to Icelandic Pronunciation - Omniglot is a website devoted to
alphabets, writing systems and the languages that use them. This site is the creation
of Simon Ager, a webmaster and multilingual wizard in Brighton, England.

University of Manitoba - Icelandic Department - Serious students of the Icelandic
language should find a good school where they can persue their studies. In Winnipeg,
that would be the University of Manitoba's Department of Icelandic Language and
Literature, established in 1951. The chair in Icelandic Studies is currently held by Dr.
Birna Bjarnadóttir, a fine teacher with a rich sense of humour. For those who do not
have the good fortune to live in Manitoba, The Icelandic Language Institute maintains
a list of schools teaching Icelandic.

MUSEUMS

Safnahandbókin (The Museum Handbook) - A bilingual guide to the museums of
Iceland, organized by region. The listings of individual museums are in Icelandic but if
you click on the links, you'll be rewarded with descriptions, in both Icelandic and
English, which detail the collections, hours of operation, addresses and contact
information.

The New Iceland Heritage Museum - Located in Gimli's Waterfront Centre, the New
Iceland Heritage Museum is home to a carefully assembled collection of artifacts from
the time of the Icelanders' first settlement in Manitoba to the present. In addition to
the core collection, the museum also features seasonally-changing special exhibitions.

Skógar Folk Museum - The Folk Museum at Skógar preserves the cultural heritage
of the Rangárvallasýsla and Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla region. The museum first opened
in 1949 in a small basement room of the Skógar School, moving into its own facilities
six years later. In 1968 work commenced on the reconstruction of the museum's
signature feature - its old turf farmhouses, which are a familiar scene in books and
postcards. Visitors to this museum complex and the nearby waterfall, Skógarfoss,
should plan on spending an entire day there. The museum's inspiration and curator is
Þórður Tómasson, a remarkable educator whose familiarity with local lore is enormous.

PUBLICATIONS

The Icelandic Canadian Magazine - Since 1942, The Icelandic Canadian has been
the premiere English-language publication devoted to Icelandic culture and heritage.
Founded by a group of forward-looking Icelandic Canadians who believed that the
future of Icelandic heritage preservation in North America did not lie with publications
in the Icelandic language, The Icelandic Canadian is an attractive quarterly magazine.

Lögberg-Heimskringla - An Icelandic bi-weekly in the English language. Lögberg-
Heimskringla is the oldest continuously published ethnic newspaper in Canada, being
the successor to Heimskringla (founded 1886), whose editorial policy was
Conservative in politics and Unitarian in religion, and Lögberg (founded 1888), which
was Liberal in politics and Lutheran in religion.

RELIGION & THE CHURCH

The Church of Iceland - The official web site of the Church of Iceland. This link
leads directly to an essay by Karl Sigurbjörnsson, Bishop of Iceland, which offers a
brief history of the church and a sketch of current religious conditions in the country.
From here, it is possible to navigate to the rest of the web site, which is mostly in
Icelandic. During my most recent visit to Reykjavík, I had the pleasure of meeting with
Bishop Karl and Halldór Reynisson, the director for education and public relations.
Despite our differences -- I'm a Unitarian minister and the Church of Iceland is
Lutheran -- I was treated with the greatest respect, reflecting the "Broad Church"
tradition that has characterized the Icelandic church throughout its history.
Compared with the Unitarian Universalist Association, the headquarters of the Church
of Iceland is rather small but it houses a dedicated, professional and friendly staff,
not to mention an excellent bookstore!

Icelandic Unitarians - From its beginnings in 1886 until its gradual decline following
World War II, the Unitarian movement flourished among Icelandic immigrants in
Canada and the United States. It was the most successful effort at ethnic outreach
every undertaken by the American Unitarian Association, the predecessor of the
Unitarian Universalist Association.

Interlake Unitarians (Canada) - Five congregations perpetuate the legacy of
Icelandic Unitarianism in North America, two of which are located in the Manitoba
Interlake, at Arborg and Gimli.

The Pagan Society (Ásatrúarfélagið) - Ásatrú is the belief in the Æsir, the old Norse
gods. Icleand has had a small but spirited pagan movement since the late Sveinbjörn
Beinteinsson "resurrected" the old faith in the early 1970s. Like all contemporary
neo-pagan movements, it's hard to say how much is authentic and how much is
invented ... but that doesn't make Ásatrúarfélagið any less interesting!

The Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association (Siðmennt) - Siðmennt was founded in
1990 by humanists who had organized the first civil confirmation in Iceland and now
aims to provide secular versions of all the services religious organizations offer.
Siðmennt is affiliated with the International Humanist and Ethical Union.

Reykjavík Cathedral (Dómkírkjan í Reykjavík) - Built between 1787 and 1796, the
Cathedral stands next to the Parliament Building (Álþingihúsið). Together, these twin
landmarks offer one of the most familiar and representative scenes of the Icelandic
captial.