Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hrafnkelsstaðir
Around 8km south of Hallormsstaður, out of the woods and on the old gravel road
around the lake, is
Hrafnkelsstaðir
, the farm that features in the latter stages of
Hrafnkel's Saga
(see box below). Though there's no trace of saga times in the current
buildings, it remains an atmospheric, brooding location, with views across to the steep
slopes above Lögurinn's opposite shore, bald and shelved along their length like a very
broad flight of steps.
Valþjófsstaður
Near where the river descends from the highlands and flows into Lögurinn,
Valþjófsstaður
is another historic farm, this one founded by the influential twelfth-
century chieftain Þorvarður Þórarinsson. The
church
here, built in 1966, replaced a
structure from Þorvarður's time whose
wooden doors
are now in Reykjavík's National
Museum. The building is plain but replicas of the original doors, the central roundels
carved deeply with intertwined dragons, lions and knights on horseback, are on the
inside of the current doors.
7
Skriðuklaustur
Towards the lower end of Lögurinn's southwestern shore,
Skriðuklaustur
was founded
as a monastery in medieval times, now comprising a pleasant homestead built in the
1930s by novelist
Gunnar Gunnarsson
, the recently excavated
monastery site
, and the
brand-new
Snæfellsstofa Visitor Centre
, well worth a visit if you're planning on
ascending the nearby Route 910 to the highlands.
HRAFNKEL'S SAGA
Lögurinn and the lands to the west form the stage for
Hrafnkel's Saga
, a short but striking
story set before the country converted to Christianity in 1000. It tells of the landowner
Hrafnkel
, a hard-working but headstrong devotee of the pagan fertility god Freyr, who settled
Hrafnkelsdalur
, a highland valley 35km west of Lögurinn. Here he built the farm
Aðalból
,
and dedicated a shrine and half his livestock to the Viking fertility deity Freyr - including his
favourite stallion, the dark-maned
Freyfaxi
, which he forbade anyone but himself to ride on
pain of death.
Inevitably, somebody did. Hrafnkel's shepherd,
Einar
, borrowed Freyfaxi to track down
some errant ewes and, caught in the act, was duly felled by Hrafnkel's axe. Looking for legal
help, Einar's father enlisted his sharp-witted nephew
Sámur
, who took the case to court at
the next Alþing at Þingvellir (see p.101). But nobody wanted to support a dispute against
such a dangerous character as Hrafnkel, until a large party of men from the suitably distant
West Fjords offered their services. As Sámur presented his case, his allies crowded around
the gathering and Hrafnkel, unable to get close enough to mount a defence, was
outlawed
.
Disgusted, Hrafnkel returned home where he ignored his sentence, but Sámur and the West
Fjorders descended on his homestead early one morning, dragged him out of bed, and told
him to choose between death or giving his property to Sámur. He took the latter option,
leaving Aðalból and moving east over the Lagarfljót to
Hrafnkelsstaðir
, a dilapidated farm
that he was forced to buy on credit.
Over the next six years Hrafnkel built up his new property and, his former arrogance deflated,
became a respected figure. Meanwhile, Sámur's brother
Eyvind
returned from a long overseas
trip and decided to visit Sámur at Aðalból. Stupidly riding past Hrafnkelsstaðir, Eyvind was cut
down by Hrafnkel and his men, who then launched a raid on Aðalból, capturing Sámur and
giving him the same choices that Sámur had given him: to die or hand over the farm. Like
Hrafnkel, Sámur chose to live and retired unhappily to his former estate. For his part, Hrafnkel
regained his power and influence and stayed at Aðalból until his death.
