• See detail of farmhouse
• See detail of field
• See detail of shore
• See detail of mountains
• See detail of geothermal area

Icelandic farm (ca. 1760). This meticulously composed and carefully executed watercolor drawing was made in Copenhagen in the third quarter of the eighteenth century, either by Eggert Ólafsson himself or under his supervision. It is intended to provide a schematic and panoramic view of a "middle-size Icelandic farm" and its environs, as these would have appeared in the 1750s and 60s. Little had changed (except human costume) during the half century that passed between that date and the time when Jónas Hallgrímsson and his contemporaries grew up on farms of the same kind, so the picture repays careful study. It provides a visual context for a large number of passages in Jónas's poetry.¹

In the center foreground is the residential complex, sited (like most Icelandic farmsteads) near a supply of fresh running water and with its main entrance facing downslope.

It is surrounded by the farmyard wall (húsagarður). In the yard (hlað) in front of its buildings stand two saddled horses with elegant saddle-cloths, the white one (and perhaps the brown one too) tied to a large hitching-rock (hestasteinn). To their left stands the farmer himself, carrying what is probably a whip; then his dog; then his two children (a son and daughter). In the doorway behind is the woman of the house, her feet on the edge of the pavement of flat stones (hlaðin stétt) that fronts all the buildings in the complex and assures mud-free conditions in their immediate area.

A farmhouse complex of the kind illustrated here is known as a "gable farm" (burstabær), since its front elevation consists of a row of gabled façades (burstir) standing side by side. In the middle of this front elevation is the main door of the farmstead, giving access to the front hall (bæjardyr) and, behind it, the central axial passageway (bæjargöng) leading to the back of the complex. The artist has taken pains to show the wooden panelling (timburþil) of the three façades, as well as the decorative finials (vindskeiðar) and weather-vanes (vindhanar) that crown the gables. (Note that the verticality of all buildings in the drawing is somewhat exaggerated.)

The front hall (a.) was used for storage of frequently required items (tools, riding gear, etc.). Above it there was often an upper chamber with a window (as there is here). It is flanked on the right (g.) by a storage room (skemma) and on the left (h.) by a guest apartment (skáli or stofa), both with storage lofts above them. These three front rooms share a single turf roof (c., b.). Behind and parallel to this roof is the roof (d.d.) that covers the pantry (on the left) and the kitchen (on the right, with its two chimneys). The third roof (f.) covers the common living/sleeping/working room (baðstofa). One end of the baðstofa was often panelled off to provide a private apartment (baðstofuhús) for the farmer and his wife. The semi-detached structure to the left (i.), with openings between its boards, is probably a drying-shed (hjallur) for fish (and laundry). The smaller detached structure on the right may be a fuel shed (eldiviðargeymsla).

The farmstead shown here is a "middle-size farm," as Eggert claims, and not a particularly grand one, though the artist's attention to detail makes it appear brand-new and quite elegant, especially the attention that has been devoted to the construction of its walls. Their outer face consists of rows of rectangular blocks of turf (kvíahnausar), shaped like bricks and laid (like bricks) in horizontal courses, with the grassy edge facing out. Between every group of courses is a course of stones.

Not only the residential complex, but a number of the farm's outbuildings, are located within the homefield (tún), which is surrounded by a wall (túngarður) with gates (hlið) on the right and at the back. This wall keeps livestock out of the homefield, which is manured and used to grow high-quality hay (taða) intended for use as winter fodder for the cows. (The sheep and horses were given úthey, cut from meadows and wetlands near the farm.) In the lower right-hand corner of the homefield, hay-harvest is in progress: a man is scything the grass and a woman is walking behind him raking the hay into small piles (flekkir) to dry. There is a small haystack (sáta) not far from the right-hand gate.

In the upper left-hand corner of the homefield are five sheepbarns (fjárhús). To their right is first the cowbarn (fjós) and then another structure which may be a horsebarn. Between these two structures are four hayricks (heystæður). These sit atop a raised platform of earth faced with stones (des) and are covered with pitched roofs of turf; both features are designed to protect them from moisture. Crossing the homefield, linking the various structures within it to the gates in its wall, is a network of paths (traðir).

To the right, huddled outside the gate in the homefield wall, a herd of cows is milling around. They are probably waiting to be milked. Beyond them (and slightly to the left) is the sheep-pen (kvíar) into which the ewes are herded twice daily to be milked.

In the immediate foreground is the sea. Close offshore, two fishermen are setting out in a four-oared boat (fjórróinn bátur or tveggja manna far). Behind them on the beach another fisherman, dressed in water-repellent leather clothing (skinnklæði), stands in front of a similar boat. To his right a horse with a pack-saddle and its underpadding (klyfberi and reiðingur) stands ready to transport a load of fish to the drying-shed. To the left of this group is a boathouse (naust) containing a third boat. Even farther left is the rack on which heavy leather fishing garb was stretched out to dry.

Beyond the homefield is open pastureland (hagi), dotted with sheep and large boulders that have rolled down from the cliffs along the valley's edge. At its head a stream comes tumbling down from the highlands, foaming over a series of waterfalls. (Notice the trees growing in a sheltered nook to the left of the falls. Trees grow easily in Iceland only where they find substantial shelter from the wind.) The stream subsequently meanders along the right-hand side of the picture until it flows into the sea.

On both sides of the waterfalls are mountains. They probably represent what Eggert classified as "regular mountains," i.e., mountains of basalt lavas, often consisting of thick strata of basalt separated by thin red interbasaltic beds (a number of these are clearly visible in the drawing). The red slope farthest right probably consists of rhyolite scree, like Rauðaskriða (Red Scree) near Djúpivogur in Eastern Iceland, with which Eggert was familiar.

Glaciers dominate the distant horizon.

At the left, clouds of steam rise from steam-vents in a barren region of intense geothermal activity (hverasvæði). It is much less likely that we are witnessing a volcanic eruption. (If we are, the people and animals in the picture are certainly behaving with admirable nonchalance.)

Source: National Museum of Iceland (Þjóðminjasafn Íslands).

---