History
Background
Icelandic immigration to North America actually began in the 1850s. The main immigration began in 1870 with a small group of people immigrating to North America, and continued on a much larger scale through 1914 and later.''Heimskringla'' newspaper
The first of the larger Icelandic weeklies was ''Heimskringla''. ''Heimskringla'' derived its name from the sagas of the Norse Kings, written in the early 13th century by Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturlusson. It is an amalgamation of the first two words of one of the historic manuscripts, ''Ynglinga Saga'' which are "kringla heimsins", meaning "the round world". The founder of the newspaper was Frimann B. Anderson, who worked with Eggert Johannsson and Einar Hjörleifsson on the publication, which first appeared on September 9, 1886. In the first issue, the paper commits to cover the interests of Icelanders in the west, including public affairs, employment, and education. It vows to keep Western Icelanders in touch with the politics and culture of their homeland. It states that it will be politically independent, and would include works of fiction and poetry. It said, however, that it would not be an agent of immigration. The paper‘s early days were fraught with problems, both of personality clashes and financial difficulties. There was a period from December 16, 1886 when the paper did not publish again until April 7, 1887. ''Heimskringla'' had its ups and downs financially and with a series of editors through March, 1898, when Baldvin L. Baldwinson became publisher and editor. His management skills were good and the paper prospered under him. After its first year, ''Heimskringla ''became Conservative in Canadian politics and Democratic in United States politics, and espoused liberal religious views. Baldvin L. Baldwinson remained with Heimskringla until April 17, 1913.''Lögberg'' newspaper
Partly as a result of Icelandic immigrants having aligned themselves with different political parties and religions, there became a demand for another newspaper as a competitor for ''Heimskringla. On January 14, 1888 the new Lögberg was launched by six men – Sigtryggur Jónasson, Bergvin Jónsson, Arni Frederickson, Einar Hjörleifsson (formerly of Heimskringla), Ólafur Thorgeirsson, and Sigurdur J. Johannesson. The name of the paper means, literally, "Law Rock" and refers to the rock on which the speaker of the ancient Althing in Iceland read the codified laws out loud. ''Lögberg'' emphasized its ties with the now-defunct ''Framfari'' and with ''Leifur'', also defunct. It stated from the outset that if only one Icelandic weekly could survive, then the better of the two would remain. The first editor of ''Lögberg'' was Einar Hjörleifsson, who remained in his position until February 1895 and then returned to Iceland. During his editorship, he had strengthened Icelandic cultural groups in Winnipeg, taking part in many events. He was also a brilliant translator of books, poems, and short stories from English to Icelandic, publishing them in the paper. The paper began with exactly the same format as its rival, ''Heimskringla''. It was four pages long. On January 15, 1890 Lögberg increased its size to eight pages, doubling that of ''Heimskringla''. A regular women´s interest column, edited by Ingibjorg Jonsson, was introduced in ''Lögberg'' in the 1950s.Amalgamation
Both newspapers, ''Heimskringla'' and ''Lögberg'' were important influences in keeping the Icelandic community in North America informed about communities in other places, politics and culture in their homeland, literature, religion, and politics in North America. In both newspapers, different editors had different ideas and focus and varied the newspapers in coverage during their tenure. Both newspapers stressed the importance of loyalty to their readers' North American communities and countries. It was rare to find an Icelandic home in North America that did not subscribe to one or the other newspaper, and some subscribed to both. However, due to differences in the two papers regarding politics and religious stances, some people were either fiercely in the camp of ''Heimskringla'' or vice versa.August 1959 amalgamation of ''Lögberg'' and ''Heimskringla''
For several years prior to the actual amalgamation of the two weekly Icelandic newspapers, there was talk of such an amalgamation. However, this concept was not accepted at the time. Dr. P.H.T. Thorlakson on behalf of ''Lögberg'', and Senator G.S. Thorvaldson on behalf of ''Heimskringla'', had been conducting negotiations for amalgamation during this time. The amalgamation finally took place as a result of finances. Both newspapers needed to apply for funds from the Canada Iceland Foundation, which was considered to be too much. The Icelandic Canadian journal was also supported by that Foundation. The amalgamation was finally achieved by a voluntary committee of five – Stefan Hansen, Chairman, Consul Grettir I. Johannson, Judge W. J. Lindal, Rev. Philip M. Petursson, and Dr. P.H. T. Thorlakson. The North American Publishing Company was formed, which took over the assets of both newspapers. The president of the company was Arni G. Eggertson. An editorial committee was formed. Dr. P.H.T. Thorlakson was the chairman, and Ingibjorg Jónsson was named editor, a post she held from August 20, 1959 until April 29, 1971. Both Dr. Thorlakson and Judge Lindal wrote articles about the amalgamation. Dr. Thorlakson‘s article appeared in the Lögberg-Heimskringla’s inaugural issue on August 20, 1959. Judge Lindal’s article appeared in ''The Icelandic Canadian''’s Fall 1959 issue. As for the combination of the two names, it was decided to keep both names for their emotional impact, and to use ''Lögberg'' first, because it sounded better that way. It was decided at the time, that the newspaper would remain in the Icelandic language and be an instrument of the preservation of the language among immigrants from Iceland and their families. ''The Icelandic Canadian'' magazine would fulfill the role of an English-language publication of Icelandic heritage interest. However, English-language articles began to appear immediately. In the inaugural issue of ''Lögberg-Heimskringla'' on August 20, 1959, the article written by Dr. P H. T. Thorlakson about the amalgamation was written in English, and appeared on the front page of the new newspaper. By August 1, 1980, the newspaper was almost all in the English language, with Icelandic articles interspersed. By August 31, 1990, the only Icelandic language articles were on the last page of the publication. Ten years after that, in August 2000, there were no longer any Icelandic language articles in ''Lögberg-Heimskringla''. This remains the case up to the present day, and is largely a reflection of the families of the original immigrants from Iceland having become predominantly English-speaking.Modern times
The newspaper depends on subscriptions, advertisements, paid notices, donations, and government grants from both Iceland and Canada. From time-to-time, Icelandic lessons have been included in the paper by various editors. Subscribers live in many countries, but are mostly located in Canada, the United States of America, and Iceland. For approximately one year in 2000 the newspaper had an office inSee also
* Canada-Iceland relations * Iceland-United States relations * Icelandic American *References
Bibliography
*Ervin, Linda and Ruth Bogusis. "Collections of Ethnic Canadiana at the National Library of Canada: the Ethnic Serials Project" Serials Librarian, Summer, 1977, 331-336. *Gislason, David. "Why Lögberg and Why Heimskringla?" Lögberg-Heimskringla, October 15, 2011, Special Anniversary Feature: 1. *Kristinsson, Június H. Vesturfaraskrá 1870-1914: A Record of Immigrants from Iceland to America 1870-1914. Reykjavík, Iceland: Institute of History, University of Iceland, 1983. *Kristjanson, Wilhelm. The Icelandic People in Manitoba: a Manitoba Saga. Winnipeg: Wallingford Press, 1965. *Lindal, Walter J. The Icelanders in Canada. Ottawa and Winnipeg: National Publishers and Viking Printers, 1967. *Sturlusson, Snorri. Heimskringla or the Chronicle of the Kings of Norway. (C.1230), trans. Douglas B. Killings. The Medieval and Classical Literature Library. accessed March 19, 2018. http://mcllibrary.org/Heimskringla/ *Styles, Deborah A. "Societal Influences on Children’s Psychology: The Schools in Iceland and Singapore Promote Prosocial Values, Positive Self-Concepts, and Achievement in Young Adolescents." Paper presented at the Oxford Round Table, London, England, 2005. *Thor, Jonas. "The Amalgamation of Heimskringla and Lögberg." Lögberg-Heimskringla, September 12, 1986: 5 and 7. *Thorlakson, Dr. Ken. "Why Lögberg-Heimskringla?" Lögberg-Heimskringla, October 15, 2011. Special Anniversary Feature: 1. *Thorlakson, Dr. P. H. T. "An Adventure in Co-operation." Lögberg-Heimskringla August 20, 1959: 1. accessed August 18, 2012, http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pubId=160&lang=en *Tímarit. Heimskringla, September 9, 1886. Accessed August 2, 2012. http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pubId=129&lang=en *Tímarit. Lögberg, January 15, 1890. Accessed August 3, 2012. http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pubId=132&lang=en *Tímarit. Lögberg-Heimskringla, August 1, 1980. Accessed August 18, 2012. http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pubId=160&lang=en *Tímarit. Lögberg-Heimskringla, August 31, 1990. Accessed August 18, 2012. http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pubId=160&lang=en *Tímarit. Lögberg-Heimskringla, August 18, 2000. Accessed August 18, 2012. http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pubId=160&lang=en *Tímarit. Lögberg-Heimskringla, January 16, 2004. Accessed August 18, 2012. http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pubId=160&lang=enExternal links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Logberg-Heimskringla Icelandic-Canadian culture in Manitoba Newspapers published in Winnipeg Newspapers established in 1959 1959 establishments in Manitoba Icelandic-language newspapers