Iceland and 'Eyafialla Iokul'

Whilst the world waits, literally and metaphorically, for the dust to settle from the recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland, we thought we would pass on this representation of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier 300 years ago, during rather calmer times.

It's a coloured aquatint, based on a plate from a work by Sir George Steuart Mackenzie (1780-1848), Travels in the island of Iceland (1811). The Wellcome Library holds a copy of this work, along with a number of other aquatints and engravings based on some of the book's plates.

Mackenzie was a chemist, geologist, and antiquary, whose landed seat was in the Highlands of Scotland (albeit the relatively low-lying eastern parts of Ross-Shire). Known as an agricultural improver, Mackenzie has been one of the Highland ancestral land owners indicted as part of the 'Highland Clearances' (which adds another shade to his thoughts on the relatively unpopulated countryside of Iceland).

Steered towards Geology whilst studying Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, Mackenzie also developed an interest in Iceland, and in 1810 journeyed there. His published account of his travels described the natural history of the island, along with Iceland's history and literature.

The work also described the diseases of the inhabitants. No surprise, given that Mackenzie was joined on his journey by the physicians Henry Holland (1788–1873) and Richard Bright (1789–1858). Bright and Holland made significant contributions to the publication, and it's from a sketch by Holland that the plate of 'Eyafialla Iokul' is derived from.

During the travels of Mackenzie, Bright and Holland, Eyjafjallajökull lay dormant. Mackenzie though, finishes his account with words that certainly chime in April 2010:

"If the details I have given shall have afforded any amusement to geologists; and if they shall induce them to pay more accurate attention to volcanic countries than has hitherto been bestowed upon them, I shall recollect only with pleasure, the difficulties and dangers to which I subjected myself, in exploring a country, which everywhere presents objects to fill the scientific mind with astonishment and delight".

Iceland may have filled the scientific mind of Mackenzie in 1810 with "astonishment and delight" but for travelllers stranded by flight restrictions caused by the Icelandic eruptions in 2010, those probably are not the emotions that the geology of the island inspires.

Icelandic Christian Embroidery

Illustration: Icelandic Church embroidery.

Icelandic Christian based and themed embroidery started with the conversion of Iceland in 1000 to the start of the Protestant Reformation church in 1550. Icelandic religious embroideries were used throughout the numerous Catholic Church services and came in the form of altar cloths, chalice veils and a range of other church furnishings.

Interestingly much of the work produced for the church was not as extravagant and expensive as some of the more flamboyant and wealthy areas of Europe. Icelandic embroidery tended to be limited to woollen items both for the threads and the background. The wool would all have been sourced locally and would have been the dominant resource on an island that was never at the heart of the greater European culture and was by no means its wealthiest part, financially or naturally. On occasion, linen and silk were used, but as these materials always had to be imported, they were rarely used.

Icelanders used materials that were immediately available on their limited island, it is the emphasis on the ordinary and the everyday, rather than that of the expensive, expansive and extravagant that places these church furnishings within a range of egalitarian textiles that are usually associated with domestic use, rather than that of ceremony. In fact, after the Protestant Reformation, much of the labour expended on embroidery was diverted to domestic use, such as wall hangings and blankets.

Illustration: Icelandic Church frontal embroidery, 13th century.

During the five hundred years of the Catholic Church in Iceland, church embroideries were almost exclusively the only embroideries produced on the island. All embroidery production was maintained and controlled by a select group of professional women who were in charge of all aspects of the craft. How these women faired after the Reformation when their custom was no longer needed in such volume by the reformed church, is unknown. Whether they maintained their rare professional status is also unknown.

It is thought that many of the compositions for the religious embroideries derived from outside the Icelandic community and may well have had their origin within medieval manuscripts from northern Europe or even the much more ornate and involved styling originating in Byzantium.

Whatever the initial inspiration, Icelandic Christian embroideries are an interesting example of a local culture playing a subservient role to that of a larger and more dominating culture, the Catholic Church. However, even when given the template of acceptable compositions and styling, it is interesting to see how local colour and character, even if only in the interpretation of materials and colours used, can flavour the dominating culture, making it more palatable, approachable and relevant to the local population.

 Illustration: Icelandic Church wall hanging embroidery, 19th century.

By using the available resource of their island, namely wool, rather than that of expensively imported silks and other materials, Icelanders were underlining their pride in their broadly egalitarian society. Despite the fact that embroidery was to be used for important and grandiose theatrical ceremonies within the church, the embroideries were not to upstage or belittle the culture that produced them. The craft of the island created the church furnishings and therefore those same furnishings should reflect and be a part of that culture, rather than seem to be imposed from outside by the use of fabrics and threads that were not locally derived and therefore foreign and alien to the local community.

Further reading links: Embroidery: Traditional Designs, Techniques, and Patterns from All over the World
Traditional Icelandic Embroidery
Icelandic Patterns in Needlepoint: Over 40 Easy-to-stitch Designs from the Land of Ice and Fire
Landscapes from a High Latitude: Icelandic Art, 1909-1989
A Showcase of Icelandic National Treasures: Survey of Icelandic Art and Artifacts from the Settlement to the 19th Century
Icelandic art
Icelandic Knitting: Using Rose Patterns
Ancient Icelandic art