An article from Iceland Roots.com
Iceland’s Guardians
Here is the story about the symbols on Iceland’s Coat of Arms. A bull, a
mountain giant, a bird, and a dragon.
Iceland’s Coat of Arms
These four guardian spirits of Iceland protect each section of the island.
This is an old story about Harald ‘the Bluetooth’ Gormsson, the King of Denmark
and the guardian spirits of Iceland. This story is described in the Heimskringla
by Snorri Sturluson from the 13th Century and exerpted from the Prime Minister
of Iceland’s website.
“King Harald [Gormsson of Denmark] told a man versed in magic to
travel to Iceland in a different shape and find out what he could learn there to
tell him. The man set out in the shape of a whale. And when he approached land
he headed west along the north coast. He saw that all the mountains and hills
were full of land spirits, some large and some small. Off Vopnafjörður he
entered the fjord, intending to go ashore. Then a huge dragon came down along
the valley with a train of serpents, insects and toads breathing poison over
him.
He fled and went westward off the coast as far as Eyjafjörður and
went into the fjord there. Then a bird flew towards that was so great that its
wings spread over the mountains on either side of the fjord, and many other
birds with it, large and small.
He left there and continued westwards, then turned south into
Breiðafjörður, and headed for the fjord. A large bull came towards him there,
waded into the sea and began to bellow menacingly. A band of land spirits
followed it.
He headed south from there around Reykjanes and tried to go
ashore at Vikarsskeið. A mountain giant came towards him there with an iron
staff in its hands and its head higher than the mountains, and many other giants
were with it.
From there he went eastwards the length of the land, but “there
was nothing but sand and deserts, and surf off the shore, with such a vast sea
between the parts of land,” he said, “that a longship could not cross
it.”
The Icelandic coat of arms is the emblem of the government authorities. They
have the exclusive right to use of the coat of arms. Thanks to Prime
Minister Sigmundur Davíð and to Jóhannes Þór for all the great information (in
English) on the website and the permission to make this post.
According to the website:
“Iceland’s coat of arms is a silver cross in a sky-blue field, with a bright
red cross inside the silver cross. The arms of the cross shall extend to the rim
of the shield on all four sides. The width of the cross shall be 2/9 of the
width of the shield, but the red cross half as wide, at 1/9 of the width of the
shield. The upper sections shall be squares and the lower sections the same
width as the upper sections, but 1/3 longer. The shield rests on a plate of
columnar basalt and was modelled on the natural stone slabs of the church floor
at Kirkjubæjarklaustur.”
Here is a story about Kirkjubæjarklaustur, the Laki Volcano, and the
Eldmessa. For more information about the history of Iceland’s
various Coats of Arms go to this LINK.
Thanks also to Stefán Guttormsson and Nancy Marie Brown for the great
conversation about the guardian spirits at the Minnesota Leifur Eiríksson
dinner. It was fun to revisit this topic and I found out why he was named
“Bluetooth.”
Apparently, Harald “The Bluetooth” was given that nickname because he loved
blueberries which stained his teeth. Another interesting aside ….. You all have
heard of the wireless “Bluetooth technology” of today. Well, this technology is
actually named after Harald “The Bluetooth.” Legends and stories say that this
king was able to facilitate communications with people who were in disagreement.
He became king over Denmark and Norway and brought the Danes to
Christianity. The Bluetooth logo are his initials, an H and a B, in Nordic
runes.
Here is the story about the symbols on Iceland’s Coat of Arms. A bull, a
mountain giant, a bird, and a dragon.
Iceland’s Coat of Arms
These four guardian spirits of Iceland protect each section of the island.
This is an old story about Harald ‘the Bluetooth’ Gormsson, the King of Denmark
and the guardian spirits of Iceland. This story is described in the Heimskringla
by Snorri Sturluson from the 13th Century and exerpted from the Prime Minister
of Iceland’s website.
“King Harald [Gormsson of Denmark] told a man versed in magic to
travel to Iceland in a different shape and find out what he could learn there to
tell him. The man set out in the shape of a whale. And when he approached land
he headed west along the north coast. He saw that all the mountains and hills
were full of land spirits, some large and some small. Off Vopnafjörður he
entered the fjord, intending to go ashore. Then a huge dragon came down along
the valley with a train of serpents, insects and toads breathing poison over
him.
He fled and went westward off the coast as far as Eyjafjörður and
went into the fjord there. Then a bird flew towards that was so great that its
wings spread over the mountains on either side of the fjord, and many other
birds with it, large and small.
He left there and continued westwards, then turned south into
Breiðafjörður, and headed for the fjord. A large bull came towards him there,
waded into the sea and began to bellow menacingly. A band of land spirits
followed it.
He headed south from there around Reykjanes and tried to go
ashore at Vikarsskeið. A mountain giant came towards him there with an iron
staff in its hands and its head higher than the mountains, and many other giants
were with it.
From there he went eastwards the length of the land, but “there
was nothing but sand and deserts, and surf off the shore, with such a vast sea
between the parts of land,” he said, “that a longship could not cross
it.”
The Icelandic coat of arms is the emblem of the government authorities. They
have the exclusive right to use of the coat of arms. Thanks to Prime
Minister Sigmundur Davíð and to Jóhannes Þór for all the great information (in
English) on the website and the permission to make this post.
According to the website:
“Iceland’s coat of arms is a silver cross in a sky-blue field, with a bright
red cross inside the silver cross. The arms of the cross shall extend to the rim
of the shield on all four sides. The width of the cross shall be 2/9 of the
width of the shield, but the red cross half as wide, at 1/9 of the width of the
shield. The upper sections shall be squares and the lower sections the same
width as the upper sections, but 1/3 longer. The shield rests on a plate of
columnar basalt and was modelled on the natural stone slabs of the church floor
at Kirkjubæjarklaustur.”
Here is a story about Kirkjubæjarklaustur, the Laki Volcano, and the
Eldmessa. For more information about the history of Iceland’s
various Coats of Arms go to this LINK.
Thanks also to Stefán Guttormsson and Nancy Marie Brown for the great
conversation about the guardian spirits at the Minnesota Leifur Eiríksson
dinner. It was fun to revisit this topic and I found out why he was named
“Bluetooth.”
Apparently, Harald “The Bluetooth” was given that nickname because he loved
blueberries which stained his teeth. Another interesting aside ….. You all have
heard of the wireless “Bluetooth technology” of today. Well, this technology is
actually named after Harald “The Bluetooth.” Legends and stories say that this
king was able to facilitate communications with people who were in disagreement.
He became king over Denmark and Norway and brought the Danes to
Christianity. The Bluetooth logo are his initials, an H and a B, in Nordic
runes.