An Online Catalogue of Icelandic Heritage Manuscripts in North America

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An Online Catalogue of Icelandic Heritage
Manuscripts in North America
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Handrit.is

• A searchable catalogue of all Icelandic
  manuscripts From medieval sagas to farmers
  letters and journals.

• In English, Icelandic and Danish
• For handwritten books in public institutions and
  private collections worldwide

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Digitally reuniting heritage

• A way of digitally reuniting Icelandic
  manuscripts without having to move them
  physically
• Icelandic heritage manuscripts brought to North
  America or written by immigrants are very
  scattered, with no one main repository or library

• Icelandic manuscript brought to Winnipeg in ca.
  1883, written by Einar Einarsson.

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Cataloguing heritage manuscripts

• At least 100 manuscripts have been identified in
  Manitoba that could be added to the digital
  catalogue in collaboration with owners.
• Most belonged to Icelandic immigrants who came to
  North America in 18731914.

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Cataloguing heritage manuscripts

• The catalogue is in XML format (a computer
  language used for formatting digital documents
  like this). Adding 100 manuscripts would take an
  estimated three months.

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Last chance for manuscripts

• Every manuscript is unique, and every manuscript
  matters.
• The immigrants who owned these manuscripts
  treasured them, but conditions were not ideal for
  fragile paper. Many manuscripts are seriously
  damaged and at risk of being thrown away.
• Even if only one or two pages survive, they are
  still important heritage.

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Meet the researcher

• Katelin Parsons is a PhD student at the
  University of Iceland.
• She has been working with Icelandic manuscripts
  since 2010, including Icelandic heritage
  manuscripts in Canada.

Mynd Jóhanna Ólafsdóttir
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Supporting the project

• Three main institutions are behind the digital
  catalogue and have agreed to house information on
  Icelandic manuscripts in North America on their
  site
• The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic
  Studies in Reykjavík
• The Arnamagnaean Institute in Copenhagen
• The National and University Library of Iceland
  Manuscript Department

• Initial funding came from research project led by
  Dr. Margrét Eggertsdóttir on Icelands manuscript
  heritage
• Possibilities for funding current catalogue work
  include the Manitoba Heritage Grant Program

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Next steps

• Manitoba wasnt the only place where Icelandic
  immigrants to North America lived, so the next
  step is to expand the project to include other
  communities
• For more information on the project or any
  questions, you can contact Katelin Parsons
  (katelin_at_hi.is)
• Takk fyrir! Thank you!