Helmut Hinrichsen

Fairytales and legends, literary forms that convey fantastical events, reveal a lot about the culture and identity of the country that produced them. This volume presents 139 Icelandic examples, stories aimed at both children and adults. For the most part, they are taken from the 19th-century collection of Jon Arnason and Magnus Grimsson and other similar collections from that time. Elves, trolls and gnomes are of course common themes, but natural phenomena such as the eruption of the volcano Hekla, the glacier flood in Hornfjaroarfljot or how the arctic fox came to Iceland are dominant elements in these narratives. Accompanying each story is a short description of the setting and its distinctive natural features. Numerous photographs conveying Iceland's enchanting and breath-taking natural beauty allow a unique and intensive immersive experience in the fantastical worlds of Icelandic fairytales and legends.