126 THE KING'S MIRROR 



Now we have mentioned and described most of those 

 things in the Icelandic waters that would be counted 

 wonderful, and among them a few that are more plenti- 

 ful in other seas than in those which we have just dis- 

 cussed. 



XIII 



THE WONDERS OF ICELAND 



Son. Now since we have named most of the species of 

 fish that roam about in the ocean, those that are worth 

 mentioning or discussing, I should like to hear about 

 those features of the land itself that are most worthy of 

 mention. What do you think of the extraordinary fire 

 which rages constantly in that country ? Does it rise 

 out of some natural peculiarity of the land, or can it be 

 that it has its origin in the spirit world ? And what do 

 you think about those terrifying earthquakes that can 

 occur there, or those marvelous lakes, or the ice which 

 covers all the higher levels ? 



Father. As to the ice that is found in Iceland, I am 

 inclined to believe that it is a penalty which th land 

 suffers for lying so close to Greenland; for it is to be 

 expected that severe cold would come thence, since 

 Greenland is ice-clad beyond all other lands. Now since 

 Iceland gets so much cold from that side and receives 

 but little heat from the sun, it necessarily has an over- 

 abundance of ice on the mountain ridges. But concern- 

 ing the extraordinary fires which burn there, I scarcely 

 know what to say, for they possess a strange nature. I 



lantic about the middle of the sixth century. The oldest extant form of the 

 legend, the Navigatio Brendani, dates from the eleventh century. For earlier 

 versions of the myth see Nansen, In Northern Mists, II, 234. 



