Borg á Mýrum, Iceland
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Borg á Mýrum is a settlement due west of Borgarnes township in Iceland. Its recorded history reaches back to the settlement of Iceland. One of the country's original settlers was Skallagrímur Kveldúlfsson (Skalla-Grímr), who claimed the area around Borg as his land, built a farm and made his home there. His son Egill Skallagrímsson then continued to live and farm at Borg á Mýrum.
Borg á Mýrum was visited in 1897 by a British antiquary, William Gershom Collingwood (1854-1932),(see note1) who found 'the historical homestead, still partly built of oak-beams carved and moulded in the ancient times'. |
www.west.is/en/place/borg |
Originally the home of Skalla-Grimur, father of Egill, hero of Egil´s Saga. Its full name means "rock in the marshes". The farmstead was defined by Kveld-Ulfur, Egill Skalla-Grimsson's grandfather, who got on the wrong side of King Harald Fairhair of Norway and fled to Iceland.
As they approached Iceland on their way from Norway, Kveld-Ulfur became ill and knew he would die. He instructed his son to make a coffin for him, place his body in it and throw it overboard. The son was to select the site for the family farm where the coffin washed ashore. This happened to be at Borg, where Egill's father settled and raised his family.
Today you can see a small church, the large rock that gave the place its name and an interesting sculpture at Borg by Asmundur Sveinsson commemorating Egil´s poem, Loss of a Son. A thoughtful reflection on the emptiness he felt after his son's death.
As they approached Iceland on their way from Norway, Kveld-Ulfur became ill and knew he would die. He instructed his son to make a coffin for him, place his body in it and throw it overboard. The son was to select the site for the family farm where the coffin washed ashore. This happened to be at Borg, where Egill's father settled and raised his family.
Today you can see a small church, the large rock that gave the place its name and an interesting sculpture at Borg by Asmundur Sveinsson commemorating Egil´s poem, Loss of a Son. A thoughtful reflection on the emptiness he felt after his son's death.
