Albert Jóhannesson and the scribes of Hecla Island: Manuscript culture and scribal production in an Icelandic-Canadian settlement

Manuscript culture in Icelandic immigrant communities in North America is examined through the case study of an immigrant-scribe, Albert Jóhannesson (1847–1921), who left Iceland as an adult in 1884 and eventually settled in the community of Hecla Island, Manitoba, Canada. Albert Jóhannesson is one...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Parsons, Katelin Marit
Other Authors: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum (HÍ), The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum 2019
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/1770
Description
Summary:Manuscript culture in Icelandic immigrant communities in North America is examined through the case study of an immigrant-scribe, Albert Jóhannesson (1847–1921), who left Iceland as an adult in 1884 and eventually settled in the community of Hecla Island, Manitoba, Canada. Albert Jóhannesson is one of the last known individuals in the Icelandic tradition to participate in manuscript production as a pastime: he started his oldest saga manuscript in 1889, and his last dated saga is from 1910. He worked mainly from manuscript exemplars borrowed from fellow immigrants. At least one of Albert's exemplars, SÁM 35 from 1827-1829, was brought to Canada by another Hecla Islander, Grímólfur Ólafsson (1827–1903). Albert grew up in dire poverty, and his experiences as an immigrant prior to moving to Hecla Island included what would today be defined as human trafficking. Albert's experiences deeply impact his scribal activities, and instances can be found where he choses to depart dramatically from his exemplars, particularly where they deal with children encountering hardship or danger. Albert appears to have been an active participant in a scribal community on Hecla Island. The study demonstrates that scribes operated in collaboration with others in their local Icelandic settlements and made new connections on their arrival to North America that enabled the continued circulation of manuscript material. Albert Jóhannesson (1847–1921) var íslenskur skrifari sem flutti til Vesturheims árið 1884. Tæplega áratug síðar settist hann að á Mikley (e. Hecla Island) í Manitoba og bjó þar til æviloka. Þrjú handrit í eigu Alberts hafa varðveist á Íslandi: Lbs 3022 4to, Lbs 4667 4to og Lbs 3785 8vo. Aftur á móti skrifaði hann fjögur sagnahandrit í Vesturheimi sem öll hafa varðveist í Manitoba: Jóhannesson A (1889–1891), Jóhannesson B (1892+), Jóhannesson C (1900–1901) og NIHM 020012.3301 (1901–1910+). Reynsla og ritvirkni Alberts er skoðuð í ljósi nýrra rannsókna um handritamenningu síðari alda. Niðurstaða höfundarins er að Albert ...