History & Language
The Reykjavík Grapevine takes on Iceland’s history, language and related topics
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Just Sayings: Helm of terror
[su_pullquote]GREETINGS GRAPEVINE NATION: our Youtube Membership scheme is LIVE! Don’t know what we’re talking about? Check out our introduction video here for all the info![/su_pullquote]In Icelandic, it goes like this: Að bera ægishjálm yfir [einhvern]. This literally means, to wear the helm…
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Saga Stories #8: Witches and Wonders in Eyrbyggja saga
Join Dr Matthew Roby on another trip to the majestic Snæfellsnes peninsula for the first of two videos about Eyrbyggja saga. This text depicts more supernatural phenomena than most other family sagas and this video looks at two such episodes: the first…
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Just Sayings: “Að finna einhvern í fjöru”
Tired of uttering the same old threats? Feeling like your old ultimatums have lost their power? It’s a tale as old as time, but luckily Iceland has the solution. In Icelandic, when you really want to intimidate someone, say you will “find…
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Saga Stories #7: Bárðar Saga Snæfellsáss
Join Dr Matthew Roby on a trip around the beautiful Snæfellsnes peninsula and he’ll tell you the tale of Bárðr, a troll who comes to Iceland with the other original settlers during the ninth century and eventually becomes a guardian spirit for…
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Just Sayings: Hallærisplanið (“The Cringe Zone” )
This edition of Just Sayings isn’t so much about an Icelandic catchphrase as it is about a cultural institution: Hallærisplanið. Hallærisplanið literally means “the tacky lot” and can be more precisely translated as “the cringe zone.” But it’s more than a concept;…
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Just Sayings: The Devil’s Grandmother!
We know you love your grandmother and think she’s the world. And perhaps she is. But you haven’t met the devil’s grandmother yet. The saying “þegar skrattinn hittir ömmu sína” or “when the devil met his grandmother” describes that relatable situation when…
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Just Sayings: “Að gera garðinn frægan”
Do you want to be famous? Of course you do. But here’s the real question: Have you made your garden famous? Wait—you don’t have a garden? No worries. It’s not required. The Icelandic saying “Að gera garðinn frægan” literally means “to make…
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Just sayings: Að leika tveimur skjöldum
It doesn’t perhaps sound like a wise decision to go into battle armed only with two shields (unless you’re a Viking in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla), but it can be effective if you’re a Danish intelligence agent. The saying “Að leika tveimur skjöldum”…
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Saga Stories #6: Harðar Saga
Join Dr Matthew Roby on a trip around southwest Iceland and he’ll tell you all about Harðar saga, the tale of an unlucky hero, some tough outlaws, and two even tougher women. For the first story, we travel to the southwestern shore…
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Just Sayings: Úr Öskunni Í Eldinn
“Úr öskunni í eldinn” means “from ashes into the fire.” It’s a saying that is still commonly used in Iceland, and most importantly, it’s a bad thing. It seems that the phrase is fairly well-known in English—in fact, a simple Google search…
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Saga Stories #5: Volcanoes In The Sagas
Join Dr Matthew Roby on a trip to see the volcanic eruption in Geldingadalur! While we’re there, Matthew will explain the surprising absence of volcanoes in medieval Icelandic literature, before going on to talk about some of the rare instances in which…
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Just Sayings: Rúsínan í Pylsuendanum
Ever had a hot dog filled with raisins? Doesn’t sound good, does it? Still, Icelanders have the saying “Rúsínan í Pylsuendanum,” which translates to “the raisins in the tail of a hot dog.” It’s sort of a vague way to describe something…
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Saga Stories #4: Njáls Saga
Join Dr Matthew Roby on a trip to the countryside around the town of Hvolsvöllur in south-east Iceland, as he walks you through three stories from perhaps the most famous Icelandic saga of them all: Brennu-Njáls saga. This saga is extremely long…
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Saga Stories #3: Flóamanna Saga
This is the third in the ‘Saga Stories’ series from the Reykjavík Grapevine. Join Dr Matthew Roby on a trip to south east Iceland, as he walks you through three tales from Flóamanna saga. Set around the year 1000, this saga is…
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Just Sayings: ‘Dropinn holar harðan stein’
This saying is one of my all-time favourites and is still widely used today. Translated, “Dropinn holar harðan stein” literally means: “Drops of water will make a hole in the stone.” As it goes, most people have their own personal interpretation of…
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Saga Stories #2: Egils Saga
This is the second in the ‘Saga Stories’ series from the Reykjavík Grapevine. Join Dr Matthew Roby on a blustery day in West Iceland, as he walks you through three tales from Egils saga: the story of Egill’s first poetic composition at…
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Just Sayings: Those White Ravens
This saying, ‘Sjaldséðir eru hvítir hrafnar’ is something that all Icelanders use at least once over their lifetime. It is also a saying that makes you sound like a badass old Viking in a mood for war at the same time. Well,…
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Saga Stories #1: Þingvellir
Meet Dr Matthew Harold Roby, a postdoctoral fellow from the University of Iceland, who will be the host of a new video series entitled ‘Saga Stories’. In this series, Matthew will be taking you to beautiful places throughout Iceland and telling you…
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Just Sayings: The Complicated Honour System
The Icelandic honour system is complicated. If you have a shitty reputation, it will literally be more difficult for you to get a job than for those that have a good reputation. This can be especially true in smaller towns. But if…
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Just Sayings: “Ekki er úti öll nótt enn, sagði draugurinn”
This saying is from one of Iceland’s most famous books, simply called ‘Íslenzkar þjóðsögur og æfintýri’, which was compiled and published by Jón Árnason. The saying translates to this: “The night is not over yet, said the ghost.” The story is about…
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Just Sayings: Lazy Co-Workers That Just Can’t Shut up
Are you really frustrated by that guy who can’t stop talking at work but doesn’t actually do any work? The one who is just hanging there, beside the cooler, talking to random coworkers? Well, we have a saying about these types in…
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Just Sayings: “Sannleikurinn er sagnafár en lygin langorð”
The Icelandic idiom “sannleikurinn er sagnafár en lygin langorð” is especially fitting for this week. In English, it roughly translates to “The truth doesn’t need many words, but lies do.” It goes without saying that this means that the truth is simple,…
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Just Sayings: “Öll er æfin dauði”
Are you hating the pandemic? Don’t like the looming death in every man’s cough? Well, here is an optimistic way to look at things: the ancient Icelandic idiom “Öll er æfin dauði” which means, simply, that life is death! How does that…