top of page
Free!
**Never Miss a Blog Post: Subscribe to Icelandic Roots!**
Are you eager to stay informed about all things Icelandic? Look no further than the Icelandic Roots newsletter! Our dedicated team of authors and guest writers brings you insightful and engaging content on various topics related to Icelandic culture, history, travel, famous people, language, genealogy, and upcoming events.
Subscribe Today!


Reconstructing Old Iceland from North America - Part Two
Jakob Sigurðsson and his Melsted Edda by Jason Doctor and Cathy Josephson Editor’s Note: You will recall Part One addresses the life,...
Apr 12, 20246 min read


Reconstructing Old Iceland from North America - Part One
Jakob Sigurðsson and his Melsted Edda by Jason Doctor and Cathy Josephson Today if you want to see pictures of the Norse gods, an...
Mar 27, 20248 min read


Ari the Wise: Our Interesting Icelander for March 2024
By Gay Strandemo This month we continue learning about interesting Icelanders that were important to the settlement era of Iceland. As a...
Mar 15, 20243 min read


Nineteenth Century Education in/of Iceland: A Journey of Learning for Pliny Miles - 1852
By Brian Borgford “In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue.” People of a certain age will remember the little...
Mar 15, 20243 min read


All new! The Icelandic Connection literary journal
by Sharron Arksey Although the last print edition of The Icelandic Connection came out in the summer of 2023, the saga of the literary...
Feb 29, 20241 min read


Iceland: An Outsider's View (1845)
by Brian Borgford “I must confess that I found the character of the Icelanders in every respect below the estimate I had previously...
Feb 29, 20243 min read


Bibles in the Icelandic Immigration to North America: Part One
by Doreen M (Borgfjord) McFarlane At the time of the immigration, 1875–1914, nearly all Icelanders were baptised and confirmed in the...
Feb 29, 20246 min read


Margaret Willson Tells of Icelandic Seawomen
On March 4th, Icelandic Roots hosted a conversation with anthropologist and writer Margaret Willson. You may view her presentation here...
Feb 16, 20244 min read


What about the Vikings?
By Bryndís Víglundsdóttir In this paper, I intend to share information I have gathered about the Vikings from books, articles, and...
Feb 3, 20249 min read


Interesting Icelander for January 2024
By Shaune Jonasson Welcome to our first Interesting Icelander of 2024 who also happens to be an important part of this year’s theme, the...
Jan 20, 20243 min read


Book Club: February 2024
by Heather Goodwin Lytwyn On February 1st, the Icelandic Roots Book Club will feature the author Margaret Willson and talk to her about...
Jan 20, 20242 min read


Infant Mortality in Iceland
By Susan Huff As I studied my Icelandic family history, I noticed families where many of the children died in infancy. I made some...
Jan 20, 20248 min read


Discovering the Land of Fire and Ice: What We Know about Iceland's Settlement
"So many men of lore claimed land, that the whole country was settled in the course of sixty winters so that since it has not been...
Jan 20, 202412 min read


The Power of the Word: The Mead of Poetry
By Karen Gummo A poet, dancer, and visual artist, Karen Gummo has been performing as a storyteller for almost 40 years in schools,...
Jan 6, 20242 min read


Going Where the Log Lands
By Rob Olason In 2023 Icelandic Roots explored the topic of the nineteenth-century emigration period in Icelandic history. Throughout the...
Jan 6, 20242 min read


November's Interesting Icelander
Árni Magnússon (I41634) 13 November 1663 – 7 January 1730 By Brian Borgford "And that is the way of the world, that some men put errors...
Nov 24, 20232 min read


Icelandic Roots Emigration Port Plaques
By Rob Olason In September 2023 a group of Icelandic Roots volunteers traveled to Iceland to dedicate four monuments in four emigration...
Nov 11, 20234 min read


Do You Care About Your Icelandic Heritage?
Yes. Of course, you care about your Icelandic heritage. That is why you are reading this! Ten years ago, on November 12, 2013, Icelandic...
Nov 11, 20233 min read


The Sagas of Vopnafjörður
Icelandic Roots Volunteer Cathy Josephson guides us on a literary journey through the Sagas of the Icelanders that take place in the...
Nov 9, 20232 min read


Why The Icelanders Left
By Sharron Arksey Why did thousands of Icelanders leave their homeland for North America in the late 1800s and early 1900s? The easy...
Oct 29, 20233 min read
bottom of page
