Saga-Sites of Memory: Jónas Hallgrímsson, Icelandic Nationalism, and the Íslendingasögur

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article examines the cultivation of saga-sites as lieux de mémoire by Icelandic national poet Jónas Hallgrímsson (1807–1845) and its ideological impact on the Icelandic nationalist movement. Fusing saga and landscape, cultural memory and place, in his poetry, Hallgrímsson reimagines sites from the Íslendingasögur as encapsulations of an Icelandic national spirit, access points to a past golden age, and catalysts of revitalization and political change. In doing so, Hallgrímsson contributed to the nationalist ideology that garnered widespread support for Icelandic nationalism and furnished Icelandic politicians with justifications for increased autonomy. Danish nationalists felt that the cultural past embedded within Iceland crossed national boundaries. The Danish state’s indebtedness to distinctly Icelandic contributions for their own nation-building arguably made Danish politicians amenable to arguments for greater Icelandic sovereignty.