History
Agnes had been described as an intelligent, imaginative and talented woman. Her appearance is disputed, but one source says she is "not visible", while another describes her as more complete and fun in her approach. Agnes was in her thirties and worked as a maid at Geitaskarð when she met Natan Ketilsson. At the same time they were attracted to each other and Agnes was hired at Illugastaðir for the next few days. Agnes no doubt hoped to become Natan's housekeeper and wife, and went to his home in Illugastaðir but when she got there this did not happen. Natan had chosen Sigríður Guðmundsdóttir as housekeeper, but she was only 16 years old. Friðrik Sigurðsson liked Sigríður, and Agnes probably hoped that she would choose Friðrik and Natan would then choose her. That did not happen, however.The murder
On the evening of March 13, 1828, Friðrik came to Illugastaður and had the two maids, Agnes and Sigríði, hide in a barn until Natan and Pétur Jónsson, a night visitor to the farm, were asleep. When the men were asleep, Agnes and Friðrik went into the (the main living space of the house) where the two men were sleeping and Friðrik killed them both with a knife. It is not known whether Sigríður took part in the murder itself, but before Friðrik and Agnes set the baðstofa on fire, she stole what was considered valuable. On the night of March 14, local people woke up in the town of Stapakoti in Vatnsnes when Agnes was there with news. She said that Illugastaðir was engulfed in light flames and that the owner of the farm, Natan, was burned inside together with Pétur Jónsson. But when the fire was put out and the bodies were found, it turned out that it was not an accident.Execution
The axe blade used to behead Agnes is on display at theIn the arts and media
Agnes was the subject of the 1995 Icelandic film '' '' by . She is also the subject of the 2013 novel '' Burial Rites'' by Australian writer Hannah Kent. In 2017, it was announced thatMemorial
The site of the execution is now a memorial, the paths to it lined with plaques engraved with lines from Kent's novel ''Burial Rites''.See also
* List of most recent executions by jurisdictionReferences
Bibliography
* * *External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Agnes Magnusdottir 1795 births 1830 deaths Executed Icelandic people People executed for murder People convicted of murder by Denmark People executed by Denmark by decapitation 19th-century Icelandic people 19th-century Icelandic women