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May 13
4 min

Dare to Share: Do You Have a Favourite Book or Author?

The Icelandic Roots Book Club reaches its First Anniversary. Heather recaps the past year and provides a glimpse of what is to come for...

Jan 22
3 min

2023 Book Club Titles Announced

By Beth Finnson The first Samtal Hour of 2023 was hosted by Becky Byerly Adams and featured a presentation by Heather Goodman Lytwyn who...

Jan 22
3 min

The Saga of Hrafnkel Frey’s Godi

The Icelandic Roots Book Club for Thursday, February 2, 2023, will feature The Saga of Hrafnkel Frey’s Godi, with Jason Doctor as our...

Dec 25, 2022
8 min

Snorri Plus Program - Lectures in Reykjavík, 2022

Editor's note: Laura Hackney wrote this report to give a sense of the valuable background information that is a part of the Snorri Plus...

Dec 11, 2022
3 min

How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island

The Icelandic Roots Book Club for Thursday, January 5, 2023, will feature How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small...

Dec 11, 2022
2 min

A Brief Look Inside Reykdæla Saga

This month's newsletter is about Suður Þingeyjarsýsla and there is no better saga to represent this region than Reykdæla saga ok...

Oct 2, 2022
5 min

LEIFUR EIRÍKSSON DAY

by Doreen (Borgfjord) McFarlane In the month of October, we celebrate everyone’s favourite Viking, Leifur Eiríksson. (Unlike German, the...

Jun 19, 2022
4 min

Bárðar Saga Snæfellsáss

Probably the best-known saga to highlight Snæfellsnesi is Bárðar Saga Snæfellsáss (The Saga of Bárður God of Snæfellsnes). This saga...

Apr 22, 2022
5 min

Flóamanna Saga

Flóamanna saga is the only of the 40 family sagas centered in Árnessýsla. It begins about 15 km south of the modern town "Selfoss" at a...

Apr 14, 2022
4 min

Hofsós and Icelandic Roots

This article has many links to more information. Enjoy! On Monday, April 18th, 2022, we are pleased to have Valgeir Þorvaldsson join us...

Apr 6, 2022
5 min

What Is A Saga?

The Chinese have the Great Wall, the Egyptians the Pyramids, the Germans have Beethoven, and the Italians Michaelangelo. Icelanders have...

Mar 25, 2022
4 min

Skálholt-The Religious, Cultural and Educational Center of Early Iceland

Skálholt Church photo by Jody Arman-Jones Located in the southern part of the Biskupstungur valley between the rivers Hvítá and Brúará,...

Mar 13, 2022
2 min

Guðríður Arrives in Vinland 2022

We are so excited to announce Guðríður's Saga is available for purchase! The children's book and complementary coloring book will be...

Mar 12, 2022
5 min

Fljótsdæla saga

Fljótsdæla saga was the last of the forty family sagas written. It was likely written in the 15th or 16th Century. Most believe it was...

Mar 11, 2022
3 min

The Irish In Iceland

The oral history of Iceland was written down about 1125 and states that ”Christian men” (called Papar by the Norse settlers) were there...

Jan 26, 2022
4 min

Connecting landscape to literature in Dalasýsla

If you are interested in connecting events that took place in the Icelandic saga literature to the physical landscape of Iceland, then...

Dec 5, 2021
21 min

Our Second Annual Book Flood

Icelanders love books so it is not surprising that one of the most beloved traditions in Iceland today is Jólabókaflóðið, the annual...

Nov 18, 2021
7 min

The Saga of Þorsteinn Staff-struck

The third installment of ancient writings about Vopnafjörður is the Saga of Þorsteinn Staff-struck. Many Western Icelanders emigrated...

Oct 23, 2021
5 min

Family Storytelling and Icelandic Folklore; a Perfect Partnership

Guest Blog By Karen Gummo Have you considered how your own family stories might be connected to ancient folklore? We hear very often,...

Oct 23, 2021
4 min

Inspired by a Global Pandemic

While there is a long list of things that have gone wrong over the past two years due to a global pandemic from Covid-19, let's look at...