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Paper Short Abstract:

In the course of rural exodus, a rich landscape-related storytelling tradition in the Icelandic Westfjords has begun to vanish. Out of an ongoing project combining archival and field research, the question arises: How will the narratives change when the landscape and land use change?

Paper Abstract:

The region of Strandir in the Icelandic Westfjords features a rich and living cultural heritage in the form of landscape-related storytelling. Apart from some extant medieval sagas partially set in the area, this tradition has mainly been documented since the 19th century, for example in folktale collections, records of the place name institute and audio recordings of interviews. Although many of these narratives are not fully fledged stories but rather snippets, when compiled and located on a map, they appear to fill the space between farms with places and place-lore. In the collective memory of the elder locals, the seemingly “untouched” landscape shaped by centuries of sheep farming is layered with history and filled with hidden inhabitants and anecdotes about the interaction of humans, other species and landscape elements. As these narratives are rooted in a specific environment, visiting the places mentioned in them often helps with understanding the stories, as several months of field research in 2023 and 2024 have shown. In the wake of the change in agriculture through mechanization and the ongoing rural exodus, a large portion of this storytelling tradition is sinking into oblivion. The landscape itself is changing, too: There are less sheep and more trees, some road construction is going on, a hydroelectric plant is being planned and in the north of the region, where most farms have turned to summerhouses or ruins, a protected area was designated in 2021. So the question emerges: How do landscape-related narratives change when the landscape changes?