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1635: Haunting, chilling and religious beliefs in 1600s Iceland
From the Mouth of the Whale
What you need to know before your trail
Iceland 1635
The country is a cold and dark one and not only keeps its people in the dark for those who value science are being tortured and burnt. Books are destroyed and knowledge is not power. Superstition and poverty rule and cruelty is their master.
Jonas Palmason, has been condemned to exile for heretical conduct since he is a a poet and self-taught healer. He is banished to an island and as a man before his time, he recalls of the past cures he has created and the suffering he must now endure.
Travel Guide
From the very first page, the raw, chilly and volcanic landscape of early seventeenth century Iceland, pricks your eyes and chills your fingers as you hold the book.
For Iceland is not just a landscape of snow and ice and mountains – it is the land of mystery and stories of mermen and other fantastical creatures. This however is a dangerous landscape where some beliefs are punished and lutherism has taken its hold and is being used as a weapon to bash the poor.
For a man who believes in the healing properties of Coral for example, the landscape is harsh and unwelcoming and the island he is thrown onto harsh.
But he sits and recalls his amazing story – how he has survived this land until now and is even shipped to Denmark to plead his case.
A memorable scene for its shock value is the massacre of several Basque whalers. Soon Jonas will begin to expose the very myths and legends he is being punished for for speaking of. The revelation of the ‘unicorn horns’ is particularly revealing. These ‘unicorn horns’ were found in Greenland. There could be paintings or models of them in the Art museum today – http://www.kunstmuseum.gl/
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information From the Mouth of the Whale
Destination: Iceland, Snjáfjöll Departure Time: 1635
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