Plaques Tell A Story Along Walkway Þrístapar Site, Hringvegur 541, Iceland
ICELAND
The population of Iceland amounted to about 50,000 around 1830. The so-called vistarband rule, which required all landless people to be employed on a farm, was in effect and severely enforced. Everyone had to be housed and freedom of movement was forbidden. The vistarband therefore restricted people's liberty to travel and earn a living at will. This era is remembered for notorious criminal cases.
PRISTAPAR
The last execution in Iceland took place here in Þrístapar. On 12 January 1830, an axe severed the heads of Agnes Magnúsdóttir and Friðrik Sigurðsson, who, along with others, were convicted for the murders of Natan Ketilsson and Pétur Jónsson.
NATAN (B.1792)
Natan Ketilsson lost his father at a young age and was brought up by his mother. He acquired knowledge of homeopathy in Copenhagen and treated patients in the districts of Húnavatn and Skagafjörður.
NATAN
Natan had a bad reputation, however, and was considered dishonest and dangerous. Thus, when a farmer became ill, Natan managed to take possession of the Illugastaðir farmstead when he refused to treat the man unless he was given the land in exchange.
AGNES (B. 1795)
Agnes Magnúsdóttir grew up in the countryside, but her parents were unmarried servants. Agnes was considered intelligent and could both read and write. She had worked as a maidservant on several farms before Natan employed her at Illugastaðir. She was over thirty by then. Accounts differ on whether Agnes and Natan had an affair.
AGNES
""I hated being his servant. One night I would be his lover, with the hard rhythm of his breath matching my own. And then, the next, I was Agnes the workmaid. Not even the housekeeper!"
Hannah Kent - Burial Rites (2014)
SIGRÍÐUR (B. 1811)
Sigríður Guðmundsdóttir was the tenth child of her parents, but her father died when she was still in the womb. Just after her confirmation, she was sent to Natan in Illugastaðir where she first worked as a maid and then as a housekeeper.
FRIÐRIK (Β. 1810)
Friðrik Sigurðsson was the son of a farmer in Katadalur near ittugastaðir. He was considered unruly and domineering, avaricious and impetuous. He became a regular visitor to Illugastaðir and courted Sigríður, even though he already had a mistress, Þórunn, at home in Katadalur.
ILLUGASTAÐIR
Agnes and Sigríður became good friends, but neither of them felt comfortable in the dwelling, where Natan vented his wild temper on them. He accused Agnes of stealing four sheep and violently abused her, so she fled to another farm. She later had to return home to Illugastaðir and to apologise to the perpetrator, Natan, for leaving.
PREMONITIONS
"Natan dreamt a lot and often had bad dreams about himself. He said he had dreamt that an evil spirit had stabbed him in the gut, such dreams overwhelmed him and he always felt despondent afterwards."
Gísli Konráðsson - History of Natan Ketilsson (1892)
ILLUGASTAÐIR
Natan was a harsh master, whom Agnes and Sigríður feared. He ordered the teenage girl Sigríður to sleep with him whenever he felt like it, and she did not dare to do anything but obey.
ILLUGASTAÐIR
"He pulled down his trousers and slowly lifted his shirt above his head. His clothes lay scattered on the floor. Fle stood up again, and for a moment | thought I saw him move in my direction. But then he took two soft steps towards the window, and in the poor light I saw him draw back the covers of Sigga's bed."
Hannah Kent - Burial Rites (2014)
ILLUGASTAÐIR
In Illugastaðir there was a small so-called baðstofa, a communal two-bed room typical of Icelandic living conditions in the 19th century. Natan lived there with Sigríður, Agnes and a child called Þóranna Rósa, who was the daughter of the poet Rósa and Natan. Natan travelled extensively for medical purposes, and sometimes workers from other farms came to do farmwork while he was away.
Plaques Tell A Story Along Walkway Þrístapar Site, Hringvegur 541, Iceland
ICELAND
The population of Iceland amounted to about 50,000 around 1830. The so-called vistarband rule, which required all landless people to be employed on a farm, was in effect and severely enforced. Everyone had to be housed and freedom of movement was forbidden. The vistarband therefore restricted people's liberty to travel and earn a living at will. This era is remembered for notorious criminal cases.
PRISTAPAR
The last execution in Iceland took place here in Þrístapar. On 12 January 1830, an axe severed the heads of Agnes Magnúsdóttir and Friðrik Sigurðsson, who, along with others, were convicted for the murders of Natan Ketilsson and Pétur Jónsson.
NATAN (B.1792)
Natan Ketilsson lost his father at a young age and was brought up by his mother. He acquired knowledge of homeopathy in Copenhagen and treated patients in the districts of Húnavatn and Skagafjörður.
NATAN
Natan had a bad reputation, however, and was considered dishonest and dangerous. Thus, when a farmer became ill, Natan managed to take possession of the Illugastaðir farmstead when he refused to treat the man unless he was given the land in exchange.
AGNES (B. 1795)
Agnes Magnúsdóttir grew up in the countryside, but her parents were unmarried servants. Agnes was considered intelligent and could both read and write. She had worked as a maidservant on several farms before Natan employed her at Illugastaðir. She was over thirty by then. Accounts differ on whether Agnes and Natan had an affair.
AGNES
""I hated being his servant. One night I would be his lover, with the hard rhythm of his breath matching my own. And then, the next, I was Agnes the workmaid. Not even the housekeeper!"
Hannah Kent - Burial Rites (2014)
SIGRÍÐUR (B. 1811)
Sigríður Guðmundsdóttir was the tenth child of her parents, but her father died when she was still in the womb. Just after her confirmation, she was sent to Natan in Illugastaðir where she first worked as a maid and then as a housekeeper.
FRIÐRIK (Β. 1810)
Friðrik Sigurðsson was the son of a farmer in Katadalur near ittugastaðir. He was considered unruly and domineering, avaricious and impetuous. He became a regular visitor to Illugastaðir and courted Sigríður, even though he already had a mistress, Þórunn, at home in Katadalur.
ILLUGASTAÐIR
Agnes and Sigríður became good friends, but neither of them felt comfortable in the dwelling, where Natan vented his wild temper on them. He accused Agnes of stealing four sheep and violently abused her, so she fled to another farm. She later had to return home to Illugastaðir and to apologise to the perpetrator, Natan, for leaving.
PREMONITIONS
"Natan dreamt a lot and often had bad dreams about himself. He said he had dreamt that an evil spirit had stabbed him in the gut, such dreams overwhelmed him and he always felt despondent afterwards."
Gísli Konráðsson - History of Natan Ketilsson (1892)
ILLUGASTAÐIR
Natan was a harsh master, whom Agnes and Sigríður feared. He ordered the teenage girl Sigríður to sleep with him whenever he felt like it, and she did not dare to do anything but obey.
ILLUGASTAÐIR
"He pulled down his trousers and slowly lifted his shirt above his head. His clothes lay scattered on the floor. Fle stood up again, and for a moment | thought I saw him move in my direction. But then he took two soft steps towards the window, and in the poor light I saw him draw back the covers of Sigga's bed."
Hannah Kent - Burial Rites (2014)
ILLUGASTAÐIR
In Illugastaðir there was a small so-called baðstofa, a communal two-bed room typical of Icelandic living conditions in the 19th century. Natan lived there with Sigríður, Agnes and a child called Þóranna Rósa, who was the daughter of the poet Rósa and Natan. Natan travelled extensively for medical purposes, and sometimes workers from other farms came to do farmwork while he was away.