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Paper short abstract

A narrative analysis contextualising two variants of a 19th century Icelandic folk legend telling of historical poet Guðmundur Bergþórsson's magical resistance to a threat of forced relocation to King Frederick IV's court.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores legends which deal with King Frederick IV of Denmark's purported plans to acquire the popular poet Guðmundur Bergþórsson, and Guðmundur's magical resistance. The legend has been recorded in two 19th century variants, which both tell of how Guðmundur employed supernatural methods to abort the trip, using magical poetry to engineer a situation whereby he died before departure was scheduled. This study aims to better contextualise the variants of this legend. Firstly, they will be studied in relation to the life of their subject, Guðmundur Bergþórsson. Guðmundur's poetry has been widely preserved and his works draw inspiration from both Icelandic and Danish traditions. He lived with physical impairment from a young age– a detail that is integral to both legend variants. In one variant, the impairment increases his desirability to the King, while the variant recorded by lesser-known collector Magnús Bjarnason presents Guðmundur's use of mobility aids as a stumbling block to those sent to forcefully transport him. Secondly, the variants will be contextualised in relation to the lives of those who told and recorded them. I propose that Magnús Bjarnason's own experience of impairment could have been a factor behind the stark difference in the role impairment plays in the two variants. Finally, Guðmundur's last stand will be placed in its pre-independence Icelandic cultural and political context, and the legend studied as an expression of anxieties concerning Icelanders' vulnerabilities in the colonial relationship, as well as an assertion of Icelandic cultural identity and resolve for self-determination.