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ÞRÆÐIR Á LANDI THREADS ON THE LAND Borghildur Óskarsdóttir 1

ÞRÆÐIR Á LANDI THREADS ON THE LAND

Borghildur Óskarsdóttir

Þræðir á landi/Threads on the land © Borghildur Óskarsdóttir http://borghildur.com Höfundur: Borghildur Óskarsdóttir Aðstoð: Björg Vilhjálmsdóttir Prófarkalestur: Guðrún Óskarsdóttir Ensk þýðing: Sigrún Harðardóttir Ljósmyndir: Borghildur Óskarsdóttir og Vilhjálmur Hjálmarsson, Pétur Ársælsson bls. 54,55 og 71, Vilhjálmur Ólafsson bls. 68 Prentun: Prentmet Oddi ehf. Pappír: Munken Polar 120g innsíður, 300g kápa Letur í meginmáli: Garamond Regular 11pt. á 13,5pt. fæti Bók þessa má ekki afrita með neinum hætti, svo sem ljósmyndun, prentun, hljóðritun eða á annan sambærilegan hátt, að hluta eða í heild, án skriflegs leyfis höfundar og útgefanda. Reykjavík, ágúst 2022

Efnisyfirlit/Contents Efnisyfirlit/Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Þræðir á landi/Threads on the land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Reynifell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Mörk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Gamli-Klofi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Stóri-Klofi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Gamla-Skarðssel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Skarðssel við Þjórsá . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Skarfanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Athvarf í landi Stóra-Klofa/ Sanctuari at Stóri-Klofi . . . . . . . . . . 66 Búskaparþula/Mantra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Þakkir/Thanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Þræðir á landi

Threads on the land

Línur landsins liggja frá hálendinu í norðaustri í sjávarátt til suðvesturs. Heiðar og holt, fell og fjöll og farvegir vatna liggja um landið eftir þessum línum. Fjöllin rísa við sjóndeildarhring, hvert með sínu sniði og Hekla, drottningin sjálf, skipar öndvegi við hálendisbrún; náttúran er stórbrotin og fögur en getur líka verið ógnvekjandi.

The main lines in the landscape run from the highlands in the northeast to the sea in the southwest. Lines of heaths and hills, fells and mountains and water courses trace the land along these lines. The mountains soar on the horizon, each in its own shape, and Hekla, the Queen herself, takes centre place on the rim of the highlands. The nature is dramatic and beautiful but can also be menacing.

Í þessari sveit, sem er á mörkum byggðar og óbyggðar bjuggu forfeður föður míns og móðir hans Ragnhildur Höskuldsdóttir fæddist hér og ólst upp. Fólkið er horfið en víða eru ummerki búsetu þess. Faðir minn, Óskar B. Bjarnason (f. 1912) hætti störfum á Atvinnu deild Háskólans á áttunda áratug síðustu aldar. Þar hafði hann unnið mest allan starfsaldur sinn frá því hann lauk námi í efnaverkfræði í Kaupmannahöfn. Eftir starfslok fór hann meðal annars að grúska í ættfræði. Hann sat löngum við borðstofuborðið heima í Hörðalandi, umkringdur pappírum og bókum og skrifaði minnispunkta á tilfallandi pappíra og umslög. Hann fór líka á Þjóðskjalasafnið og stundum fór ég með honum og hjálpaði til við að grafast fyrir um fólk og sögu. Síðan fórum við í leiðangra, þangað sem fólkið hafði búið; fyrst austur í Flóa þaðan sem föðurfólkið hans var. Seinna var keyrt upp Rangárvelli og í Landsveitina. Þar höfðu mörg býli farið í eyði fyrir og um aldamótin 1900, vegna harðnandi veðráttu og náttúruhamfara. Við leituðum þar bæjartófta og annarra ummerkja, sem nú eru ﬂest undir grænni torfu. Faðir minn náði að komast til og sjá þrjá staði, þar sem forfeðurnir höfðu búið en hann andaðist í október 2007. Ég hélt áfram að leita og fann að lokum alla staðina sjö.

In this countryside, on the periphery of settlement and wilderness, my father´s ancestors farmed and his mother was born and raised. The people are now long gone but traces of their existence can be found in many places. My father fired in me an interest in the family thread of our ancestors and took me with him to the places these people had farmed. Narratives of the people are connected to the countryside and to the places where they were born, where they lived and where they died. Those narratives are woven into this landscape. In a way, historical places are holy places and if we know the history and respect it, that respect is transferred onto places, onto nature. The work Threads on the land is the history of five generations who lived in seven locations in the southern uplands from 1760 to 1941. The beginning of the historical thread is Reynifell in Rangárvellir. From there it runs up to Landsveit, to six locations: Mörk, Gamli-Klofi, Stóri-Klofi, Gamla-Skarðssel, Skarðssel by Þjórsá and Skarfanes.

Sögustaðir eru að vissu leyti heilagir staðir og ef við þekkjum söguna og virðum hana þá flytst sú virðing yfir á staðina og yfir á náttúruna. Verkið Þræðir á landi var unnið árið 2014. Það er saga fimm kynslóða, sem bjuggu á sjö stöðum í uppsveitum Suðurlands frá 1760 til 1941. Upphafið er Reynifell á Rangárvöllum en þaðan liggur þráðurinn í Landsveit að sex stöðum: Mörk, Gamla-Klofa, Stóra-Klofa, Gamla-Skarðsseli, Skarðsseli við Þjórsá og Skarfanesi.

Reynifell

Horft frá Þríhyrningi niður á tóftir Reynifells og til Heklu, 2005. View from Mount Þríhyrningur to the ruins of Reynifell farm and towards Hekla.

Bæjartóftir Reynifells við Reynifellsöldu og fjallið Þríhyrningur. The ruins of Reynifell farm beneath Reynifellsalda and Mount Þríhyrningur.

Reynifell 1760-1835 ÞORGILS AND GUÐRÚN Husband and wife Þorgils Þorgilsson, 42 and Guðrún Erlendsdóttir, 38, settled at Reynifell in the spring of 1760. They had previously lived at Kot, one of the so-called Hekla farms. The Reynifell farm stood by the ridge Reynifellsalda, to the north, by the foot of the mountain Þríhyrningur. From there one can see far and wide across well grown lava fields beyond the home-field and mountains in the distance where Hekla, the great volcano, takes pride of place. Water trickling from Reynifellsalda was channelled into a dry-stone well at its roots. The couple had four children in spring 1760: Magnús twelve, Kristín nine, Sigurður eight and Jón three. That summer a fifth child was born, a son who was named Finnbogi. Another son was born in 1763 but he died that same year. That year, the father, Þorgils and the couple´s only daughter, Kristín, twelve, died as well. Guðrún continued farming at Reynifell with her sons and managed the farm for 27 years after the death of her husband. The three older sons later became farmers on neighbouring farms in the district Rangárvellir, Magnús farmed at Foss and later Tunga, Sigurður at Bolholt and later Stúfholt and Jón at Rauðnefsstaðir, becoming district administrative officer in Rangárvellir. A BIG ERUPTION IN HEKLA 1766-1768 Three years after Þorgils and the two children died, a great eruption began in Hekla. It was in the morning of the 5th of April 1766 that the eruption began, with sharp seismic activity. Then fire was seen rising from the mountain, in up to 18 places at the same time and rock, pumice and ash rained over the surrounding area. Lava flowed in all directions, though mainly to the southwest but ash came down mostly to the east of any habitations. The people at Reynifell had one of the greatest Hekla eruptions in Icelandic history before their eyes for two years. A great lava field flowed up to the slopes of the mountains Vatnaf jöll and on in the direction of the mountain Hafrafell but stopped there. Nothing obscured the view from the farm of the ongoing cataclysm. FINNBOGI AND HELGA Finnbogi, Guðrún and Þorgils´ youngest son took the Reynifell farm over in 1790. His wife was Helga Teitsdóttir from Gunnars holt. Their children were: Teitur, b. 1788, d. 1873; Árni, b.1790,

d.1849; Guðrún, b. 1792, d. 1810 (only 18 years old); Jón, b. 1794, d. 1859; Höskuldur, b. 1797, d. 1832 and Finnur, b. 1802, d. 1832. FINNBOGI AND HELGA´S SONS Teitur farmed at Efrihvolur in Hvolhreppur in 1812, married to Kristín Björnsdóttir from Efrihvolur. Later they lived at Skeið by Þverá. Kristín died in 1831 but Teitur continued farming at Skeið. They had no children. He later married Sigríður Styrsdóttir. Árni lived in Vestritunga in Landeyjar from 1822 and at Galtalækur in Land from 1828 with his wife Margrét Jónsdóttir. Jón lived in Vatnagarður in Land from 1824 with his wife Guðrún Einarsdóttir from Þverá. His father, Finnbogi, bought the farm Mörk in Land at auction in 1818 and gave to Jón in 1825. Jón and Guðrún moved there in 1827. Höskuldur farmed at Þorleifsstaðir, the next farm to Reynifell, from 1829, with his wife Guðrún Jónsdóttir. Finnur, the youngest son, worked as farm hand for his parents. His fiancé, Þorbjörg Sigurðardóttir, was there as well and they intended to take the Reynifell farm over. TURBULENT ÞVERÁ 1832 The brothers Höskuldur and Finnur were travelling in Fljótsh líð on the 5th of August 1832 and had business across Þverá, which at that time was a turbulent major river. They were on horseback and both ended up in the river and drowned. Finnur was thirty and Höskuldur would have become 35 the following day. It is not unlikely that they were on their way to or from the farm Skeið on the southern bank of Þverá where their brother Teitur lived with his wife Sigríður. A few months after the accident, Þorbjörg, Finnur´s fiancé, gave birth to a baby girl who was named Finnbjörg. FARM SOLD 1835 But who was now to carry on at Reynifell? Helga and Finnbogi were beginning to tire, being in their seventies. The summer after the accident, Finnbogi died but Helga farmed on for another two years. She had two sons farming in Landsveit, Árni at Galtalækur and Jón at Mörk. In 1835, Helga moved to her son and daughter-inlaw, Jón and Guðrún at Mörk. The oldest son Teitur moved a year later to Landsveit and took over the farm at Skarð. Reynifell was sold and the farm taken over by Böðvar Tómasson.

Skipt um jarðveg fyrir Reynifellstöflu, 2014. / Laying the foundation of the Reynifell tablet.

Villar að verki. / Two Villis at work.

Mörk

Horft í vestur til Skarðsfjalls. View to the west towards Mount Skarðsfjall.

Sumarbústaður Jóhönnu Jóhannesdóttur og Þórs Jakobssonar, Mörk á Landi. Skipt um jarðveg fyrir Merkurtöflu. Hagafjall í fjarska. The summer house of Jóhanna Jóhannesdóttir and Þór Jakobsson, Mörk in Land. Laying the foundation of the Mörk tablet.

Mörk 1827-1891 JÓN AND GUÐRÚN Jón Finnbogason, from Reynifell in Rangárvellir and his wife, Guðrún Einarsdóttir, midwife, from Þverá in Fljótshlíð, started farming at Mörk in Land in 1827. He was then 31 years old and she 25. Previously they had farmed at Vatnagarður in the same area for a few years. In their hands, Mörk became a big farm and Jón came to be called “Jón the rich”. THE FARM AND THE LAND The farm stood in the centre of the area called Landsveit, on the north-eastern end of the heath Baðsheiði, close to clear streams that alternatively bubble up from under lava fields and then dive back under them. To the west rises the Skarðsfjall, the mountain of the area and in the east soars Hekla, which from here seems taller and wider than from Reynifell. Þríhyrningur is to the south, in the distance. JÓN AND GUÐRÚN´S MOTHERS Guðrún´s mother, Ragnhildur Sigurðardóttir, was with them in Vatnagarður and moved with them to Mörk. She had 10 children with her husband Einar Ásmundsson, farmer at Þverá, but he drowned at Suðurnes in 1818. Guðrún was the youngest of their children but only two of them lived to adulthood. Jón´s mother, Helga Teitsdóttir, widow of Finnbogi Þorgilsson at Reynifell, moved to Mörk in 1835. JÓN AND GUÐRÚN´S CHILDREN Jón and Guðrún had 18 children in 21 years. Ten of the children died the year they were born and one of the children, Helga, b. 1842, lived for two years. Seven lived into adulthood, they were: Guðrún, b. 1828, d. 1889; Ragnhildur, b. 1830, d. 1924; Sigurður, b. 1831, d. 1877; Finnur, b. 1833, d. 1880; Höskuldur, b. 1835, d. 1907; Jónas, b. 1837, d. 1912; and Jóhann, b. 1839, d. 1901. They also fostered two children. HEKLA ERUPTION 1845-1846 On the morning of the 2nd of September 1845, an eruption began in Hekla, with great earthquakes, explosions and commotion. The ash mostly carried to the east but lava flowed to the west and crawled down the gully Bæjargil by Næfurholt, the highest farm in Rangárvellir. People abandoned the farm but it was not submerged by the lava. The farmer who lived there moved the farm after the eruption and rebuilt, to the north under the mountain Bjólfell.

JÓN´S BROTHERS Jón Finnbogason´s brothers, Teitur and Árni, also became farmers in Landsveit. Teitur lived at Skarð from 1836 with his wife Sigríður Styrsdóttir. They had seven children in nine years. Six of the children died young. Sigríður died of childbirth in 1841. Teitur later married Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir. They had one daughter. Teitur died in 1873 at Skarð, 85 years old, but Ingibjörg lived for another 20 years. Árni lived at Galtalækur from 1828 with his wife Margrét Jónsdóttir. Of their 17 children, eight died young. Árni drowned in the river Ytri-Rangá on the 2nd of March 1849, a little less than sixty years old. He had business in Næfurholt and crossed the river on an ice bridge above Klapparfoss. He did not return home and was found the next day in the river by a rock, which has since been called Árnaklettur. Margrét lived at Galtalækur until she died in 1860. THE SIBLINGS FROM MÖRK Jón Finnbogason died at Mörk in 1859 but Guðrún lived for another nine years. In 1860, their daughter Ragnhildur married Jón Gíslason who was then farm labourer at Mörk. They took the farm over in 1862. Jón was district administrative officer in Landmannahreppur. He was a good carpenter but was not considered a great farmer. They lived well, however, because Ragnhildur was a good housekeeper. Of their four children, three died young. The other siblings from Mörk also became farmers and housekeepers in Landsveit: Guðrún lived at Hjallanes; Sigurður at Yrjar; Finnur at Hvammur; Jónas at Garðar; Jóhann at Klofi and Höskuldur began his farming at Mörk. HÖSKULDUR AND ARNDÍS Höskuldur Jónsson from Mörk and Arndís Magnúsdóttir from Skarðssel were the same age, born in 1835. They no doubt knew each other from a young age as there is only a short distance between the farms. Arndís was housekeeper at Mörk when they married in 1863 and they began farming in an unnamed cottage in the land of Mörk. Their son Finnbogi Höskuldsson says in an interview 1941: “Due to a lack of farmtenancies, my parents built a new farm between streams to the west of Mörk in 1865 (but) … due to poor living conditions, they seized the opportunity when half of Klof became available 1868 and began farming there” SANDSTORM AND HARD TIMES 1882 Ragnhildur and Jón Gíslason were still living at Mörk in 1882, the year of the great sandstorm. People abandoned the area. Ragn hildur and Jón abandoned their farm a year later and moved to Minnahof in Eystrihreppur. Mörk continued to be owned by the family until 1891.

Magnús og vinir og Pétur Ársælsson. Villi við græna jeppann. Magnús and friends and Pétur Ársælsson. Villi by the green jeep.

Jóhanna, Þór og Villi bardúsa við töfluna í Mörk. Veðurathugunarstöðin hans Þórs á miðri mynd. Jóhanna, Þór and Villi exert some elbow grease on the tablet in Mörk. Þór´s weather station in the middle of the photograph.

Gamli-Klofi

Hér var bærinn Klofi og Klofakirkja til ársins 1879, en þá var bærinn og kirkjan flutt vegna sandágangs. Búrfell og Hekla í fjarska.

Gamli-Klofi 1869-1879 HÖSKULDUR AND ARNDÍS Höskuldur Jónsson was born in Mörk on the 5th of August 1835. He was the son of Jón Finnbogason from Reynifell, farmer at Mörk and Guðrún Einarsdóttir, midwife, his wife. Arndís Magnúsdóttir was born in Suðurkot in Grímsnes on the 2nd of November 1835. She spent the first years with her parents, Magnús Ólafsson, farmer and spinning wheel maker and Sigríður Guðmundsdóttir. Magnús died at the age of 51 when Arndís was five years old. Sigríður then went to work for Jón Hreiðarsson, farmer in Skarðssel in Land and Arndís grew up there. FARMING IN MÖRK 1863-1869 Höskuldur and Arndís married in 1863 and began farming in an unnamed cottage in the land of Mörk. Their first six children were born there. Three of them died young. Among them a promising boy named Magnús, after Arndís´ father. He died of a serious cut at the age of seven months after having fallen onto a scythe. MOVE TO KLOFI 1869 Höskuldur and Arndís moved to Klofi in the summer of 1869 with their three children; Jón six, Sigríður five and a newborn son, Magnús “the younger”. Klofi was south of the western end of Baðsheiði where it had always stood and is now called Gamli-Klofi. DEATHS AND BIRTHS Magnús “the younger” died three months old, the first summer in Klofi. Just over a year later, on the 9th of October 1870, Finnbogi was born and in spring 1874, Guðni was born. In January 1875, Sigríður, Arndís´ mother, died at the age of 73. The following spring, a baby girl was born, named Sigríður after her recently deceased grandmother. The older sister had previously been named after the

same grandmother and ever since the sisters in Klofi were called Sigríður “the older” and Sigríður “the younger”. Guðni died in August that same year, just over one year old. A year later, twins were born, a boy named Ólafur on 6th of August 1876 but he died a week old. His twin sister was born one month and twenty days later, on the 26th of September, named Guðrún. She lived for five and a half years. Kjartan was born on the 17th of November 1878. A LIVING STREAM Finnbogi Höskuldsson remembers his youth at Klofi in an inter view in 1941: “… for example, I remember a stream that flowed all the way down from Leyni, east of Mörk and east below Baðsheiði; it was only a trickle of water at the top but other water sources flowed into it on the way down and made the stream bigger when it reached the farm. There it flowed through a steep rocky slope under a stone arch. Us kids ran across it with dry feet and we could hardly hear each other through the din of the water. I still recognise the rocky hill where the stone arch used to be. …” FARM MOVED AWAY FROM SAND Because of the encroachment of sand, Höskuldur moved Klofi in 1879, to the south, about one and a half kilometres, to the place where Stóri-Klofi now stands. For the same reason, Jónas Jónsson, Höskuldur´s brother, farmer at Garðar, and their cousin Jón Árnason, farmer at Skarð, had moved their farms a few years previously, from their historic sites by Skarðsfjall. Klofakirkja and Skarðskirkja were also taken apart and joined at Skarð in 1878. Garðar was re-built where the farm Fellsmúli now stands. The Klofi farm was built to the east of Skarð and between the farms clear streams flow from Baðsheiði and join in Klofalækur.

Grunnur tekinn fyrir töflu í Gamla-Klofa. / Foundations laid for the tablet at Gamli-Klofi.

Sáning fræja. / Sowing seeds.

Stóri-Klofi

Tóftir Klofa frá 1879./ Walls from Klofi 1879.

Margrét Grétarsdóttir ábúandi í Stóra-Klofa og Grétar Steinn sonur hennar. Sést til Skarðsfjalls.

Stóri-Klofi 1879-1882 HÖSKULDUR AND ARNDÍS Höskuldur Jónsson and his wife, Arndís Magnúsdóttir, had lived for ten years at Klofi when the farm was moved in the summer of 1879, from where it had stood from historic times. It is now called Gamli-Klofi. The church in Klofi had been taken down the previous year and joined with the church Skarðsk irkja. Their son Finnbogi says in an interview in 1941: „… damage due to sand drift was most severe during my father´s farming period at Klofi in the years 1877 and 1878 and this is why he moved the farm …“ Six of Höskuldur and Arndís´ children were born in Gamli-Klofi and six had already been born at Mörk. Half of the children died young. Those living in the spring of 1879 were Jón 16, Sigríður the older 15, Finnbogi eight, Sigríður the younger five, Guðrún two and Kjartan in his first year. BIRTH IN A NEWLY BUILT FARM 1880 Höskuldur moved the Klofi farm a kilometre and a half further south, close to the farm Skarð, which had been moved there two years previously. Arndís gave birth to a baby girl in the newly built Klofi farm on 20th of January 1880. The girl was named Ragnhildur. THE GREAT SUMMER OF SUNSHINE 1880 The next summer was very good, with sunshine throughout, all over the country. Þorvaldur Thoroddsen called it the great summer of sunshine. THE HARD WINTER OF 1880-1881 The winter 1880-1881 has been called the hard winter. Arndís and Höskuldur were then in their 46th year, both born in 1835. They had one cow, 30 sheep and three horses. The oldest children, Jón and Sigríður the older, were sent to other farms to work. THE BLACK SANDSTORM 1882 Höskuldur and Arndís stayed on at Klofi into spring 1882 with their five children. Finnbogi was in his twelfth year, Sigríður the younger was seven, Guðrún was in her sixth year, Kjartan in his

fourth and Ragnhildur was two years old. It was an extraordinarily cold and stormy spring and the ground was free of snow with nothing to protect it. After the beginning of summer, there was further inclement weather with storms carrying rock and sand raging through the area. This has been called the black storm. It lasted without relent for three weeks. The livestock was killed, some immediately, some later that summer. Yet another baby was added to the group of siblings that hard spring, a baby girl born on the 26th of March. She was named Guðný. A few days after her birth, Guðrún died, five years old. THE HOME DISSOLVED The ground was blowing away and the livestock was mostly dead. The cow was still standing. But there was no hay to be had anywhere so the cow was slaughtered and it was the family´s main source of food until the home dissolved at the end of May. Höskuldur and Arndís had to get their children to safety. They sought out Höskuldur´s cousin, Helga Árnadóttir in Flagbjarnarholt, a childless widow. Arndís went there on foot with Guðný, her newborn daughter. “… Then there came to Flagbjarnarholt … a poor and exhausted woman from one of the farms that had suffered the most in the tragedy of this memorable spring. She had walked a 10-15 kilometre route along the roadless heath in the merciless weather. She carried in her arms a small parcel woven into a black shawl. In this parcel was her daughter of a few weeks. The mother´s errand was to seek refuge for the little girl as her home was about to be deserted on account of the awful sand drift but the children were many and provisions meagre …“ (F.A.) FLIGHT “… Then my parents lost everything … became destitute and had to flee the farm. …“ (F.H.) Finnbogi was sent to Árhraun in Skeiðar and Ragnhildur was sent to Flagbjarnarholt where Guðný was already. The husband and wife went to work in Biskupstungur, on different farms, and each with one child with them, Sigríður the younger and Kjartan.

Sveinn Sigurjónsson frá Galtalæk einn af mörgum sem hjálpuðu við framkvæmdir. Sveinn Sigurjónsson from Galtalækur.

Klofatafla við Klofalæk.

Gamla-Skarðssel

Ekki fékkst leyfi landeiganda til að setja niður sögutöflu í Gamla-Skarðsseli. Landowners did not give permission for the tablet at Gamla-Skarðssel.

Horft í vesturátt, Þjórsá í fjarska. / View to the west, Þjórsá in the distance.

Gamla-Skarðssel 1882-1894 HÖSKULDUR AND ARNDÍS In the summer of 1882, the husband and wife Höskuldur Jónsson and Arndís Magnúsdóttir came to Skarðssel in Landsveit. In the great sandstorm in the spring, their land Klofi had been devastated and their livestock killed. Their children were now distributed all over the area: The two youngest, Guðný not yet four months and Ragnh ildur in her third year, were in Flagbjarnarholt, Finnbogi eleven at Árhraun in Skeiðar and the oldest two, Jón 19 and Sigríður the older in her eighteenth year, were working on unnamed farms. Having found places for their children, Höskuldur and Arndís had fled their area, destitute, with two of the children, Sigríður the younger, seven and Kjartan, in his fourth year. They went to work on separate farms in Biskupstungur. No solutions seemed immediate. But they could not accept this situation and wanted above all to be together and to be able to take their children back. TO THE NATIVE PLACE Höskuldur and Arndís knew that Skarðssel had been deserted because the farmer had fled from there that spring. The land´s owner, Stefán Þórðarson in Núpstún in Ytrihreppur, kindly gave them permission to settle there and they decided to return to their native place. They came to Skarðssel in midsummer, on foot from Biskupstungur, with the children Sigríður the younger and Kjartan. They must have secured ferry services across the major rivers Þjórsá and Hvítá. SITTING ROOM THE LENGTH OF A BED Their son Finnbogi says in his memoires “… When coming to Skarðssel, the situation was such that there was one bed´s length left of the sitting room, that was the north end, the front end had been sawed away across. Turf and rock had to be stacked into the opening to form a wall and to get some shelter in this cave. They had to make do with settling there because they had no other options. The same goes for other living conditions because most people in this area had to live with a shortage of necessit ies. …” The farm stood north of the hill Skarðsfjallsháls where it had stood since time immemorial. Arndís had grown up there with her mother and stepfather. She therefore knew the local conditions well and

knew that the source of water was a spring on the western fringe of the field. The spring had now disappeared beneath a tall sand drift. They found another place where they could get water, socalled Litlulækir, but it was far to go along a steep route. They had to have some livestock and soon they acquired a good mare, which they later paid for with lamb fodder. DIDN´T WANT TO LET GO OF THE CHILD When a milking cow had arrived in the cowshed in Skarðssel, it was possible to get the youngest children, Ragnhildur and Guðný, from foster care. They didn´t manage to get both of them because their fosterer, Helga Árnadóttir, Höskuldur´s cousin, housewife at Flagbjarnarholt, didn´t want to let go of Guðný and she remained with Helga into adulthood. DECISION FOR THE FUTURE Finnbogi had been placed at Árhraun in Skeiðar in spring 1882. He was then in his twelfth year. In 1887, the farmer there, Eiríkur Ingimundarson, decided to go to America with all his people and he invited Finnbogi to come with them. “… I had the opportunity to go with them to America and to work for the cost of the trip when I got there. But I turned the offer down just because I had no inclination, because of course I completely lacked judgement for deciding for the future, then only 16 years old. …” (F.H.) Finnbogi went to work in Grindavík and worked there rowing out to sea for fishing and other work for many winters. In spring he came home to Skarðssel and worked for his parents till autumn. LIVESTOCK IN SKARÐSSEL 1888 After six years in Skarðssel, Höskuldur and Arndís had built up their livestock, 16 ewes, two horses and one cow. THE FARM MOVED TO ÞJÓRSÁ In 1890, every impression in the field was becoming filled to the brim with sand and the water well Litlulækir likewise completely covered in sand. They therefore began work in 1893 to move the farm to Þjórsá and in spring 1894 the family moved there.

Skarðssel við Þjórsá

Skarðssel við Þjórsá 2005, áður en fornleifafræðingar unnu sínar rannsóknir. Ekki fékkst leyfi landeiganda til að setja þar niður sögutöflu. Í skírslu Bjarna F. Einarssonar fornleyfafræðings um Skarðssel við Þjórsá frá 2016 kemur fram að ekki hafi verið byggt á þessum stað fyrr en Höskuldur og Arndís reistu þar bæ árið 1894. Bærinn var byggður samkvæmt fornu byggingarlagi og gerði Minjastofnun þá kröfu að Skarðssel yrði rannsakað. Það var mótvægisaðgerð gegn því að tóftirnar hyrfu undir vatn og stýflugarð.

Skarðssel by Þjórsá 2005 before an archaeological dig took place. Permission was not granted by landowners to place a history tablet there.

Skarðssel við Þjórsá 2005. Bærinn Hagi og Hagafjall handan ár.

Skarðssel við Þjórsá 1894-1898 HÖSKULDUR AND ARNDÍS MOVE THE FARM In spring 1894, Höskuldur Jónsson and Arndís Magnúsdóttir, his wife, had completed the move of their farm Skarðssel to Þjórsá, from its historic site in Bæjarnes, north of the mountain Skarðsfjall. There their water well had disappeared under sand. It was not a long way to go between the old and the new place but conditions were much better there. A site was chosen for the new farm on the riverbank. THE WATER AND THE LAND Their son Finnbogi says in his memoires “… There was no sand drift there, a decent place for a field, good pasture and water close by in the river and the moving of the farm and stables was completed and fairly well inhabitable by the time it was time to bring in the hay in 1894 …” Þjórsá fans out but rapids and currents form where it narrows by over-grown islands. On the banks of the river, the family had what was most important, the life-giving water. Views are beautiful and expansive as in the old Skarðssel, although the home mountain partially obstructs vision of the mountain ring, the frame that graces this country. Hekla reigns majestic in the east, Búrfell further up and beyond the river Hagafjall and the farms in Eystrihreppur. THEIR CHILDREN IN SPRING 1894 There were four siblings at home in Skarðssel in spring 1894: Ragnhildur fourteen, Kjartan fifteen, Sigríður the younger 19, who worked for her parents. Finnbogi, 23, had just come home from a winter fishing season in Grindavík after many days walking from there and delays by the big rivers. Three of Höskuldur and Arndís´ children lived elsewhere: Guðný, the youngest child, thirteen, was fostered by Helga Árnadóttir in Flagbjarnarholt. Jón, the oldest of the siblings, 31, was a farm hand at an unnamed farm. Sigríður the older was in her thirtieth year, housewife at Ásar in Eystrihreppur, married to Guðmundur Þormóðsson, farmer there. They had two daughters, María two years old and Guðríður in her first year. SENT AWAY FROM HOME In autumn 1894, Kjartan was hired as a farm hand by his uncle Guðni Jónsson in Skarð, who had just taken over the farm there. It was common that the children of poor farmers were sent, immediately after confirmation, to other farms as labourers. But Kjartan was angry and hurt about having to leave the family and the new home by Þjórsá and to leave the small play farm he and Ragnhildur

had made together in this beautiful place, in the field by the farm. The next spring, Ragnhildur was sent west across Þjórsá, as a worker, to Eystrihreppur. She was bored there and had a profound desire to return home. She heeded good advice from a boy on the next farm, she stopped eating and this worked because after a few days she was sent home. But soon she was taken across the river again. SUÐURLANDSSKJÁLFTI 1896 Finnbogi says in his memoirs “… It was at about 11 o´clock at night on the 25th of August 1896, that I along with my father was finishing stacking hay in the garden, when we felt as if the ground was upending itself from the east. And all of a sudden the turf started crawling from the top of the hay and after the biggest commotion had come to an end, we ran to the doors of the farm and there were my mother and sister – there was nobody else on the farm – breaking out through rocks and rafters all jumbled up and it was nothing short of a miracle that they got out unhurt. Next we tended to the cows which were tied in the cowshed, they were still standing by the support columns holding the roof and keeping it from pinning them down but we could not have saved them had we come much later. In the morning of the next day, at going on for ten o´clock, there was another similar commotion, which can be said to have razed to the ground all that the previous one had left half-standing. …” Most farms in Landsveit fell in the quake but the churches survived and it became evident that timber houses could take earthquakes better than turf houses. Weather was singularly good that autumn. “… I do not remember as long a period of good weather at that time of year as that time. There were no tents, except on the odd farm and in some places people made do with sleeping between haystacks at night …” (F.H.) People helped each other with mending and restoring and a workforce of people came from Skaftafell County. “ … because they got away without damage that time from the catastrophe …” (F.H.) Money was collected both in Iceland and abroad and most farms were rebuilt in the area of the earthquake, including the farm at Skarðssel. Höskuldur and Arndís lived on there for the next two years. FROM SKARÐSSEL TO SKARFANES 1898 Finnbogi decided to become a farmer and purchased the farm Skarfanes, then deserted. The farm is high up in Landsveit, next farm to Ósgröf. Finnbogi began farming there in spring 1898 and his parents, Höskuldur and Arndís moved there with him, as did his sister Sigríður the younger. 51

Myndirnar voru teknar sumarið 2016, eftir að fornleifafræðingar höfðu unnið þar við rannsóknir. Ef af Hvammsvirkjun verður þá munu eyjar í Þjórsá og tóftir Skarðssels hverfa. The photograph was taken in summer 2016, after archaeologists had excavated. If Hvammsvirkjun becomes reality, the some islands in Þjórsá will disappear under water and the ruins of Skarðssel. 54

Skarfanes

Garðabrúða í landi Elísabetar og Finnboga. Valerian on the land of Elísabet and Finnbogi.

Skarfanes 1898-1941 FINNBOGI AND ELÍSABET Finnbogi Höskuldsson began farming in Skarfanes in spring 1898 then 28 years old. His parents, Höskuldur Jónsson and Arndís Magnúsdóttir, gave up farming in Skarðssel and moved with him to Skarfanes. With them came his sister Sigríður the younger but she had always worked for her parents. Arndís became housekeeper for her son and maintained that position until spring 1901 when Elísabet Þórðardóttir, from Gröf in Ytrihreppur, came to them. Ragnh ildur, Finnbogi´s sister, who worked at Stóri-Núpur, had befriended Elísabet and recommended her for work at Skarfanes. Finnbogi and Elísabet married in spring 1902 and Ragnhildur was proud of having found her brother such a good wife. Their first child was born that autumn, a boy named Magnús, after Arndís´, the boy´s grandmother´s father. Arndís died in Skarfanes in 1904 and Höskuldur died there in 1907. THE LAND Skarfanes is high up in Landsveit, close to the imposing mountain Búrfell in the east, Hekla further away, the jewel of the area but also a threat. The terrible drifting sand largely originates from ash and pumice from that great volcano. Þjórsá frames the land, almost at a right angle, to the west and north. Skarfaneslækur flows by the farm on its route from sources further up in the lava field and into Þjórsá by Yrjar. East of the stream is the land of Ósgröf. THE FARM Finnbogi says in his memoirs “… The farm in Skarfanes was, as others, built only provisionally after the earthquake in 1896 and could therefore no longer be considered inhabitable. I therefore had to embark on improving the accommodation if there was to be a future in farming there. And early in spring 1905, we began gathering building material from Eyrarbakki. … The house, which was an iron-clad timber house, was erected before winter 1905. It was considered very well made by that time´s standard. …“ But three years later, on the night of the 25th of July 1908, the farm burnt to the ground. “ … And although I ran out as soon as we became aware of the fire I couldn´t save anything as the fire had spread along the floor of the storage loft where it began. In the loft were stored all the most valuable items and the home´s winter provisions. …“ There were now two options. “ … to flee or start building again. …“ They chose the latter option and with good help from their neighbours they managed to move into a half-built house, without any heating, at the end of October. There were now four children, the oldest six and the youngest in its first year. Next summer, the fitting of the house was completed and it was equipped with a new cooker.

WINTER OF FROST AND ERUPTION OF KATLA 1917-1918 “… The winter of 1917-1918 brought heavy frosts but was light in terms of snow. This led to the biggest lack of grass on all tough terrain in all my time as a farmer. In the summer of 1918, some of the hay therefore had to be fetched all the way from Austvaðsholt in the south but that is about 6 hours of walking with carrying horses each way. A week into October, Katla erupted and covered all grassy areas in ash. …“ (F.H.) FINNBOGI AND ELÍSABET´S CHILDREN Finnbogi and Elísabet had eleven children, ten of which grew into adulthood: Magnús, b. 1902, d. 1994; Þórður, b. 1906, d. 1991; Dagbjört, b. 1908, d. 1999; Þóra, b. 1910, d. 2001; Anna, b. 1911, d. 2006; Arndís, b. 1912, d. 1987; Óskar, b. 1913, d. 1976; Valdimar, b. 1915, d. 1985; Karl, b. 1917, d. 1997 and Laufey, b. 1919, d. 1957. WSOIL CONSERVATION In 1907, the Icelandic Soil Conservation Society was established and in the beginning, their work focused on stopping the drifting of sand. Skarfanes and Ósgröf were among the farms in Landsveit that were often badly affected by the drift of sand and inclement weather but Finnbogi considered conditions at Skarfanes for soil reclamation to be good. In 1924 he sought collaboration with the Soil Conservation Society. “… As our children were grown and well on their way to adulthood and I thought it likely that some of them would have a future there, I embarked upon asking the management of the soil conservation if it would begin by reclaiming the farmland and received a fairly enthusiastic response. …“ (F.H.) But the execution of the soil reclamation did not go well for various reasons. The farm Ósgröf, which had been deserted for five years, was part of the problem because the sand drifted from there onto the Skarfanes land. The owner of the Ósgröf land refused to participate in the cost of conservation and then pressure mounted on Finnbogi to buy that land. He believed he couldn´t afford it but decided to fence both farms at his own cost and the maintenance of the fences was in his care until 1941 when he gave up farming. There had been disputes about the fence and Finnbogi was of the opinion that these disputes were the main reason why none of his children had any desire to have a future at Skarfanes. TO REYKJAVÍK 1941 In spring 1941, Finnbogi and Elísabet gave the Iceland Forest Service the land Skarfanes and followed their children to Reykjavík.

Skarfanestafla við Skarfaneslæk.

Athvarf í landi Stóra-Klofa

Athvarf í Stóra-Klofa. Sögutöflur Gamla-Skarðssels og Skarðssels við Þjórsá eru nú í Stóra-Klofa. Sanctuari at Stóri-Klofi. The tablets of Gamla-Skarðssel and Skarðssel by Þjórsá are now at Stóri-Klofi.

Horft í vestur til Skarðsfjalls. / View to the vest towards Mount Skarðsfjall.

Vilhjálmur Ólafsson tók myndina af Borghildi ömmu sinni í Skarðsseli við Þjórsá, 17. júlí 2016. Vilhjálmur Ólafsson took the photograph of his grandmother Borghildur at Skarðssel by Þjórsá, 17 July 2016. 68

BÚSKAPARÞULA / MANTRA

Þau byggðu kot og hófu búskap milli lækja í landi Merkur sex ár þar og fæddust börn á ári hverju en dóu þrjú fluttu svo í Stóra-Klofa áttu fleiri börn sem lifðu önnur undir þekju hurfu svo skreið sandur ofanfrá Hekla átti hulu þá eyddi gróðri gárinn fjárinn þá þau eftir tíu árin fluttu bæinn endurbyggðu á betri stað næsta sumar litlu börnin léku sér í sólskini en kjölfarið var frostavetur stormur svartur yfir lagðist verri en áður jörðin hörð á fellivori hrundi féð og kúnni slátrað soðin saddi maga tóma hjónin buguð hugur þungur leita hælis börnum sínum yfirgefa bæinn nýja flýja sjálf í vinnumennsku vestur út og yfir ár en fljótlega það kom í ljós þau illa þoldu aðskilnaðinn lögðu aftur undir fót landið komu í sína sveit til baka fengu leyfi þar að nota bæinn yfirgefna gamla Skarðssel en þar var aðeins eftir rúmlengd ein opinn skúti þau hlóðu skjól og fundu vatnsból gerðu samning eina hryssu byggðu fjós og keyptu kú náðu börnum til sín aftur nema einu því að fóstran ekki vildi frá sér láta unga snót síðan átta árum seinna gárinn aftur setti spor Litlulækir lautir allar sandi orpnar sléttfullar þá niður tóku þil og rafta fluttu burt og búpeninginn út á Þjórsárbakka græna líkn þar fengu vatn að drekka hlóðu veggi endurgerðu stofu skemmu Skarðsselið en tveimur árum seinna í ágúst náttúran þeim fleira sýndi skyndilega á rönd sig jörðin reisti breytti öllum húsum í hrærigraut en þakka ber það kraftaverki að björguðust bæði kýr og menn aftur húsin upp þau hlóðu byggðu bjuggu næstu ár fengu síðan skjól hjá syni og hans spúsu í Skarfanesi ævikvöldsins nutu þar og barnabarna sinna. Heimildir: Endurminningar Finnboga Höskuldssonar, bónda í Skarfanesi, f. 1870, d. 1950. Í þulunni er sagt frá foreldrum Finnboga, hjónunum Höskuldi Jónssyni og Arndísi Magnúsdóttur, sem bæði voru fædd árið 1835. Þau bjuggu alla sína búskapartíð í Landsveit, eignuðust fjórtán börn en sjö þeirra náðu fullorðinsaldri.

Þakkir

Thanks

Ég þakka eigendum og/eða umsjónarmönnum fimm jarða í Landsveit og á Rangárvöllum, fyrir að gefa leyfi og aðstoða mig við að setja niður á þeirra land til frambúðar, verkið mitt Þræðir á landi. Sjö sögutöflur.

I would like to thank the owners and/or supervisors of 5 farms in Landsveit and in Rangárvellir, for giving permission and assisting me in situating on their land for posterity, my art work Threads on Land. 7 history tablets.

Reynifell á Rangárvöllum F.h. hreppsráðs Rangárþings ytra, Drífa Hjartardóttir sveitar stjóri. F.h. eigenda um 20% jarðarinnar, Trausti Tómasson.

Reynifell in Rangárvellir On behalf of the Council of Rangárþing ytra, Drífa Hjartardóttir, Mayor. On behalf of the owners of 20% of the land, Trausti Tómasson.

Mörk á Landi Jóhanna Jóhannesdóttir og Þór Jakobsson. Gamli-Klofi F.h. Rangárþings ytra, Sveinn Runólfsson, landgræðslustjóri. Stóri-Klofi Grétar Skarphéðinsson, Margrét Grétarsdóttir og Ruth Árnadóttir. Skarfanes F.h. Skógræktar ríkisins, Hreinn Óskarsson skógarvörður. Einnig þakka ég fyrir aðstoð við verkefnið Bjarni E. Einarsson Bjarni Guðmundsson Björg Vilhjálmadóttir Borghildur Indriðadóttir Guðrún Óskarsdóttir Hjálmar Sveinsson Hólmgeir Guðmundsson Magnús Ólafsson og vinir Ólafur Guðmundsson Ósk Vilhjálmsdóttir Pétur Ársælsson Sigurður, tengdasonur Péturs Sveinn Sigurjónsson Vilhjálmur Hjálmarsson Vilhjálmur Ólafsson Vilhjálmur Yngvi Hjálmarsson Þorbjörg Jónsdóttir

Mörk in Land Jóhanna Jóhannesdóttir and Þór Jakobsson. Gamli-Klofi On behalf of Rangárþing ytra, Sveinn Runólfsson, Director of the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland. Stóri-Klofi Grétar Skarphéðinsson, Margrét Grétarsdóttir and Ruth Árnadóttir. Skarfanes On behalf of the Icelandic Forest Service, Hreinn Óskarsson, Warden. I would also like to thank the following for their assistance with the project Bjarni E. Einarsson Bjarni Guðmundsson Björg Vilhjálmadóttir Borghildur Indriðadóttir Guðrún Óskarsdóttir Hjálmar Sveinsson Hólmgeir Guðmundsson Magnús Ólafsson og vinir Ólafur Guðmundsson Ósk Vilhjálmsdóttir Pétur Ársælsson Sigurður, Pétur’s son in law Sveinn Sigurjónsson Vilhjálmur Hjálmarsson Vilhjálmur Ólafsson Vilhjálmur Yngvi Hjálmarsson Þorbjörg Jónsdóttir

Við Þjórsá skammt frá Skarðsseli.

Þræðir á landi er saga fimm kynslóða, sem bjuggu á sjö stöðum í uppsveitum Suðurlands frá 1760 til 1941. Upphafið er á Reynifelli á Rangárvöllum en þaðan liggur þráðurinn í Landsveit að sex stöðum: Mörk, Gamla-Klofa, Stóra-Klofa, Gamla-Skarðsseli, Skarðsseli við Þjórsá og Skarfanesi. Threads on the land is the history of five generations who lived in seven locations in the southern uplands from 1760 to 1941. The beginning of the historical thread is Reyni fell in Rangárvellir. From there it runs up to Landsveit, to six locations: Mörk, Gamli-Klofi, Stóri-Klofi, GamlaSkarðssel, Skarðssel by Þjórsá and Skarfanes.