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Papers by Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany

Religions, Apr 16, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Religions

About fifteen illustrated cloths have been preserved from medieval times in Iceland. One of them ... more About fifteen illustrated cloths have been preserved from medieval times in Iceland. One of them is an antependium from Svalbarð church on Svalbarðsströnd. The embroidered iconography on it is believed to depict the story of John the Apostle, who was the patron saint of the Svalbarð church. Upon closer inspection, the cloth appears to have been cut from a larger cloth, most likely a wall-hanging, in order to be used as an antependium. Moreover, the story that is embroidered on it seems to be related to secular people, because none of those appearing on it have halos around their heads, but halos are generally used in iconography to differentiate sanctified people from seculars. In this article, this discovery is discussed, and a theory that the embroidery shows the story of the most prominent woman of medieval Iceland, Ólöf the Rich, is proposed.

Religions, 2023

Nottingham medieval studies, 2018

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2021

Palaeoecological research in Iceland has rarely considered the environmental consequences of land... more Palaeoecological research in Iceland has rarely considered the environmental consequences of landlord-tenant relations and has only recently begun to investigate the impact of medieval monasticism on Icelandic environment and society. Through the medium of two tenant farm sites, this investigation seeks to discern whether or not monastic landlords were influencing resource exploitation and the land management practices of their tenants. In particular, sedimentary and phyto-social contexts were examined and set within a chronological and palaeoecological framework from the late 9th century down to the 16th century. How this relates to medieval European monasticism is also considered while the prevailing influences of climate and volcanism are acknowledged. Palaeoecological data shed light upon the process of occupation at the two farms during the settlement period, with resources and land use trajectories already well-established by the time they were acquired by monastic institutions. This suggests that the tenant farms investigated were largely unaffected ecologically by absorption into a manorial system overseen by monasticism. This could be a consequence of prevailing environmental contexts that inhibited the development of alternative agricultural strategies, or simply that a different emphasis with regard to resource exploitation was paramount.

The Awakening of Christianity in Iceland - summary, 2004

... The distinct, though similar, branches of Christianity are traced through the archaeological ... more ... The distinct, though similar, branches of Christianity are traced through the archaeological record, where the excavation of an Early Medieval timber church and graveyard at Thórarinsstadhir in Seydhisfjördhur is used as a basic source. ...

Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet, 2014

Syftet med Nordiskt nätverk för Trädgårdens Arkeologi och Arkeobotanik (NTAA), som det formulerad... more Syftet med Nordiskt nätverk för Trädgårdens Arkeologi och Arkeobotanik (NTAA), som det formulerades de där första dagarna på Alnarp i början på mars 2010, är att: "sammanföra forskare från olika ämnesområden för att tvärvetenskapligt diskutera växternas och trädgårdsodlingens historia, arkeologi och arkeobotanik". Ingen av oss anade då hur uppskattat nätverket skulle bli, men faktum är att 2014 hölls det femte seminariet i NTAA på lika många år, den gången på Visingsö, 1-3 juni och 12-14 juni 2015 äger det sjätte seminariet rum i Kristiansand i Norge. Särskilt glädjande är det att vi nu kan publicera en rapport, Källor till trädgårdsodlingens historia: fyra tvärvetenskapliga seminarier 2010-2013 arrangerade av Nordiskt Nätverk för Trädgårdens Arkeologi och Arkeobotanik (NTAA), som baseras på de fyra första årens teman och bidrag. Inte mindre än 26 artiklar har det blivit. De flesta har sitt ursprung i ett föredrag på något av seminarierna 2010, 2011, 2012 respektive 2013, men redaktionsgruppen har även tagit sig friheten att med nätverkets syfte i minnet be ytterligare några forskare om bidrag i några ämnen som vi gärna ville också skulle behandlas. Artiklarna i skriften är indelade efter fyra teman som i princip är knutna till de olika årens seminarier. Det första temat Arkeologins källor till trädgårdarnas och kulturlandskapets historia har anknytning till det första seminariet på Alnarp 2010 och fokuserar framförallt på metod, på det viktiga samarbetet mellan arkeologi och arkeobotanik, och på de intressanta framsteg som gjorts inom ämnet trädgårdsarkeologi under det senaste decenniet. Det andra temat Kålgårdar och Köksträdgårdar har anknytning till det andra seminariet i Norrköping 2011 och fokus ligger här på historisk, kulturgeografisk, arkeologisk och arkeobotanisk forskning kring nyttoträdgårdar, samt på benämningen kålgård och dess innehåll och former genom tiderna. Det tredje temat Kultur-och trädgårdsväxter: under mark, på mark, i herbarier och arkiv är knutet till det tredje seminariet i Uppsala 2012. Artiklarna är återigen fokuserade på källor, källkritik, tvärvetenskaplighet och olika forskningsmetoder att komma åt trädgårdsodlingens och kulturväxternas historia. Bland annat diskuteras herbarier, skriftliga källor, DNA och molekylära markörer, pollenanalys och georadar. Det fjärde temat för NTAAs årliga seminarium var Kulturreliktväxter och hölls på Bornholm 2013. Seminariets fokus låg på forskning om och bevarande av kulturreliktväxter, det vill säga kvarstående kulturväxter som under speciellt gynnsamma omständigheter kan leva kvar på en plats långt efter att den egentliga odlingen upphört. Vi tillägnar denna rapport Kjell Lundquist (1955-2011) som var en av initiativtagarna till nätverket och vi hoppas att den skall inspirera till fortsatt forskning och nya metoddiskussioner.

Ritröð Guðfræðistofnunar, 2021

Stofnár þeirra fjórtán klaustra sem starfrækt voru í lengri eða skemmri tíma á Íslandi á miðöldum... more Stofnár þeirra fjórtán klaustra sem starfrækt voru í lengri eða skemmri tíma á Íslandi á miðöldum eru í flestum tilfellum þekkt en tímasetning og ástæður lokunar þeirra síður. Flestum, alls níu, var lokað í kjölfar siðaskiptanna um miðja sextándu öld en það gerðist ekki í einni svipan, heldur smám saman á tímabilinu frá 1539–1554. Nokkrum klaustranna hafði verið lokað löngu fyrr af ýmsum ástæðum en einkum þó vegna þeirra pólitísku deilna sem urðu um skiptingu veraldlegs og kirkjulegs valds í landinu á þrettándu öld. Hér er reynt að ná fram heildarmynd af lokun íslensku miðaldaklaustranna, um leið og skoðað verður með hvaða hætti lokunin átti sér stað í hverju tilviki fyrir sig, hvenær og hvers vegna. Stuðst verður við ritaðar heimildir sem veita vísbendingar um afdrif klaustranna en einnig er tekið mið af niðurstöðum úr fornleifauppgrefti á rústum Skriðuklausturs. Engu klaustri var lokað vegna áfalla eða hamfara. Vöxtur og viðgangur þeirra virðist í öllum tilvikum hafa verið undir k...

monastery was the youngest of nine clois-ters operated in Iceland during the Catholic period of t... more monastery was the youngest of nine clois-ters operated in Iceland during the Catholic period of the Middle Ages (figure 1). The first one was founded at Þin-geyrar in 1133 and the last one three and a half centuries later in 1493 at Skriðuklaustur. The monastic institutions were seven in number, four in the bishopric at Skálholt and three in the bishopric at Hólar. There were two nun-neries, one in each bishopric. Icelandic cloisters were all either Augustinian or Benedictine, and Skriðuklaustur monastery is commonly thought to have belonged to the Augustinian order. Other religious orders were not repre-sented in Iceland during the Catholic period. All of Ice-land’s nine Medieval cloisters were dissolved during the Lutheran Reformation (Gunnar F. Guðmundsson 2000: 212 f). Despite the fact that the cloisters in Iceland were equally divided between the two bishoprics, Hólar and Skálholt, their geographical distribution within the coun-try was rather unequal. One monastery, Helgafells...

Eight individuals with calcified cysts preserved in the thorax and abdomen, one of which had a ma... more Eight individuals with calcified cysts preserved in the thorax and abdomen, one of which had a maximum diameter of 17-20cm, were recovered during recent excavations at Skri﷿uklaustur, a medieval monastic site which also functioned as a hospital during its operation from AD 1493-1554 in Eastern Iceland. Hydatid cysts are the result of parasitic infection by Echinococci commonly in the liver and lungs of the accidental human host. Echinococcus granulosus was likely introduced to Iceland soon after the settlement period (9th century AD) and became endemic around AD1200 when dogs were introduced from Germany. It has since been eradicated in Iceland due to an extensive educational literature programme and government controls implemented since the mid-1800s. Reviews of the palaeopathological literature mentioning calcified shell fragments indicated hydatism to be the most logical aetiology. The eight individuals in question were buried in close proximity to one another. This may indicate ...

Religions, 2021

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the monastic houses operated on the northernmo... more The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the monastic houses operated on the northernmost periphery of Roman Catholic Europe during the Middle Ages. The intention is to debunk the long-held theory of Iceland and Norse Greenland’s supposed isolation from the rest of the world, as it is clear that medieval monasticism reached both of these societies, just as it reached their counterparts elsewhere in the North Atlantic. During the Middle Ages, fourteen monastic houses were opened in Iceland and two in Norse Greenland, all following the Benedictine or Augustinian Orders.