Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson (4 July 1924 – 23 December 1993) was an Icelandic religious leader and singer of

rímur In Icelandic literature, a ''ríma'' (, literally "a rhyme", pl. ''rímur'', ) is an epic poem written in any of the so-called ''rímnahættir'' (, "rímur meters"). They are rhymed, they alliterate and consist of two to four lines per stanza. T ...

who was instrumental in helping to gain Icelandic government's recognition of the pre-Christian Heathenry in the country.

Biography

Sveinbjörn lived his entire life in West Iceland

Borgarfjörður Borgarfjörður () is a fjord in the west of Iceland near the town of Borgarnes. Although the waters of Borgarfjörður appear calm, the fjord has significant undercurrents and shallows. The many flat islands lying in the fjord are for the most ...

. From 1944 on, he was a sheep farmer while also pursuing literary interests on the side. He published a book of

in 1945, a textbook on the verse forms of rímur in 1953, two volumes of his own verse in 1957 and 1976, and edited several anthologies. He was married to Svanfríður Hagvaag with whom he had two sons, born in 1965 and 1966. The

Ásatrúarfélagið Ásatrúarfélagið (, ''Ásatrú Fellowship'') is an Icelandic religious organisation of heathenry (in Iceland also called ', " ás faith"). It was founded on the first day of summer (Iceland) 1972, and granted recognition as a registered rel ...

("Fellowship of

Æsir The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, res ...

faith"), which he co-founded in 1972, and for which he acted as '' allsherjargoði'', was officially recognised as a religious body in 1973. Sveinbjörn is regarded with much respect and affection amongst Germanic neopagans. Not only was he a well known rímur singer, or ''kvæðamaður'', in Iceland, he also gained an audience and followers in Europe and North America. He sometimes performed at rock concerts and is the opening act in the film

Rokk í Reykjavík ''Rokk í Reykjavík'' () is a documentary directed by Icelandic Friðrik Þór Friðriksson during the Icelandic winter of 1981-1982 and released for the local television in 1982. With this documentary, Friðriksson showcases the alternative m ...

, directed by

Friðrik Þór Friðriksson Friðrik Þór Friðriksson (born 12 May 1954; pronounced ), sometimes credited as Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, is an Icelandic film director and producer. Biography Fridriksson started his film making career with experimental films and documenta ...

. Sveinbjörn can be heard singing on the

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

album "Ragnarok (A New Beginning)" by Burzum, on the last track of the album entitled "Havamal". In 1978, Sveinbjörn appeared on the television program In Search Of in an episode on “Lost Vikings” which examined the possibility of Viking pre-Columbian contact with North America. Sveinbjörn can be heard performing Ásatrú marriage rites for

Genesis P-Orridge Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was a singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmissions arti ...

and

Paula P-Orridge Paula P-Orridge (born Paula Jean Brooking, 23 February 1963), also known as Alaura O'Dell, is an English musician, writer, and entrepreneur. Career P-Orridge's musical career began in 1979 when she met musician and artist Genesis P-Orridge while ...

on Psychic TV's LP ''Live in Reykjavik'' and on the double LP entitled ''Those who do not''. Monument Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson

In 1982 Sveinbjörn released an album, Eddukvæði (Songs from The

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...

), in which he recites in rímur style 75 stanzas from

Hávamál ''Hávamál'' ( ; Old Norse: ,Unnormalised spelling in the :Title: Final stanza: ../ref> classical pron. , Modern Icelandic pron. , ‘Words of he High One��) is presented as a single poem in the Icelandic , a collection of Old Norse poems fr ...

Völuspá ''Vǫluspá'' (also ''Völuspá'', ''Vǫlospá'' or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress'; reconstructed Old Norse: ) is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It tells the story of the creation of the world and ...

and

Sigrdrífumál (also known as ) is the conventional title given to a section of the ''Poetic Edda'' text in . It follows without interruption, and it relates the meeting of Sigurðr with the valkyrie Brynhildr, here identified as ("driver to victory"). Its ...

. The album, on the Gramm label, included a booklet of the poems in Icelandic, with translations into English, Swedish, and German.

David Tibet David Tibet (born David Michael Bunting; 5 March 1960) is a British poet and artist who founded the music group Current 93, of which he is the only full-time member. He was given the name "Tibet" by Genesis P-Orridge, and in January 2005 he ...

released a CD of Sveinbjörn performing his own rímur and reciting the traditional

under the title ''Current 93 presents Sveinbjörn '

Edda "Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poem ...

in two editions through the

World Serpent Distribution World Serpent Distribution was a British record label and music distribution house formed in the 1990s by David Gibson, Alan Trench and Alison Webster. Douglas Pearce of Death In June coined the company name in 1991, ''World Serpent'' being anot ...

. His biography ''Allsherjargoðinn'' was written by Berglind Gunnarsdóttir and published in 1992. A memorial stone for Sveinbjörn was inaugurated in Reykjavík on 22 April 2010. It is located next to the site of the planned ''

hof Ásatrúarfélagsins Hof Ásatrúarfélagsins is a religious building under construction in Reykjavík, Iceland. When finished it will be used by the Heathen organization Ásatrúarfélagið for religious ceremonies, concerts, exhibitions and administrative work. It ...

'' on the hill

Öskjuhlíð Öskjuhlíð () is a hill in the centre of Reykjavík, Iceland. It is above sea level. The hill is a designated outdoors area and is covered with trees. At the top of the hill stands Perlan, a landmark building set on top of six water tanks. It ...

. His sister, Halldóra B. Björnsson, translated ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

'' into Icelandic as ''Bjólfskviða'', "The Lay of Bjólfur" in 1968; a version was published in 1983.

Publications

Writings

* Gömlu lögin, 1945. * Bragfræði og háttatal, 1953. * Stuðlagaldur, 1954. * Vandkvæði, 1957. * Reiðljóð, 1957. * Heiðin, 1984. * Gátur I-III, 1985-91. * Bragskógar, 1989.

As editor

* Rímnavaka, 1959. * Rímnasafn, 1966. * Fúsakver, 1976. * Rimnasafn Sigurðar Breiðfjörð 1-6, 1961-73. * Borgfirðingaljóð: ljóð eftir 120 höfunda, 1991.

Discography

* Snælda tengd Bragfræði og háttatali, 1981. * Eddukvæði, 1982. * 93 Current 93 Present Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson: Edda, 1990.

References

External links

Discogs

Háttatal
In Icelandic, but probably the best modern introduction to the metrics of

Rímur In Icelandic literature, a ''ríma'' (, literally "a rhyme", pl. ''rímur'', ) is an epic poem written in any of the so-called ''rímnahættir'' (, "rímur meters"). They are rhymed, they alliterate and consist of two to four lines per stanza. T ...

. * * In Search of... "Lost Vikings" (TV Series) episode 61 Season 3 #13 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beinteinsson, Sveinbjorn 1924 births 1993 deaths Sveinbjorn Beinteinsson Adherents of Germanic neopaganism Founders of modern pagan movements Sveinbjorn Beinteinsson Modern pagan poets Sveinbjorn Beinteinsson Performers of modern pagan music Sveinbjorn Beinteinsson