Miklabæjar-Sólveig (died 11 April, 1778) (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈmɪhklaˌpaiːjar-ˌsoulˌveiːx]) was an Icelandic woman who lived in the late 18th century and the subject of local folklore.[1]
Legend
editSólveig is said to have committed suicide after an unrequited love affair with Reverend Oddur, a minister, at his manor in Skagafjörður. After the local church refused her dying request to be buried in the churchyard, her ghost supposedly haunted the manor, the minister, his family, and his staff. According to the tale, Sólveig's ghost was responsible for Reverend Oddur's later disappearance. Sólveig’s remains were moved to a cemetery in Glaumbær in 1937. The tale has been compared to gothic romance.[2][3][4][5]
Popular culture
editPoet Einar Benediktsson wrote the poem “Hvarf séra Odds á Miklabæ” (The Disappearance of Reverend Oddur from Mikilbær) based on the legend of Oddur and Miklabæjar-Sólveig.[6]
References
edit- ^ Háskólabókasafn, Landsbókasafn Íslands-. "Tímarit.is". timarit.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2024-11-20.
- ^ Magnússon, Haukur S (2008-10-10). "More Monsters and Mythical Beings: Miklabæjar-Sólveig: Unrequited love breeds unholy hatred". The Reykjavik Grapevine. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ Ghosts, Witchcraft and the Other World: Icelandic Folktales. Iceland Review Library. 1977. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ "Miklabæjar-Solveig". Byggðasafn Skagfirdinga (Folk Skagfirdinga). Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ Icelandic legends and fairy tales (Reykjavik 1980), p. 284-286. Arni Böðvarsson and Bjarni Vilhjálmsson
- ^ Daisy Neijmann (2006). A history of Icelandic literature. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 354–. ISBN 978-0-8032-3346-1. Retrieved 8 May 2013.