1341-00-00-Iceland 006
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| Date startStart date of the disease. | 1341 | + |
| Date endEnd date of the disease. | + | |
| SeasonSeason (spring, summer, fall or winter) | Spring | |
| Date otherOther mentioned dates. | ||
| PlacePlace(s), city or location of the disease. | Borgarfjörður, Skaga | |
| RegionHistorical region(s) | ||
| CountryCurrent country | Iceland | |
| RiverMentioned river(s) | ||
| Natural eventMentioned natural event(s) | Fire, Hekla, Volcanic eruption | |
| PersonMentioned persons(s) | ||
| GroupGroup(s) of people mentioned | ||
| VictimIndication of victims | + | |
| AnimalMentioned animal(s) | Cattle | |
| DiseaseMentioned disease(s) | ||
| Epidemic waveAssociated epidemic wave | ||
| Social responseSocial response that happened in reaction to the disease | ||
| LanguageLanguage of the original text | Icelandic | |
| KeywordFurther keyword(s) | Mortality | |
| last edited | 23. 12. 2025 by EpiMedDat-Bot. |
Volcanic eruption of Hekla in spring 1341. Followed by mortality of cattle in south-western Iceland.
Text originalOriginal text
elldz vppkuoma i Heklu felli .vj. drottins dagin næsta eptir [skírdagr]. med sua miklum fædæmum ok ausku falli at eyduz margar sueitir þar i nændir ok myrkr sua mikit enn fyrsta dag vti sem þa er suartazst er i husum a hævetri vm nætr. dunur vm allt land sem hiæ væri auskufall vm Borgar fiord ok Skaga sua ad fenadr fell af ok hueruetna þar i milli. menn foru til fiallzins þar sem vpp varpit var ok heyrdiz þeim sem biargi storu væri kastat innan vm fiallit. þeim synduzst fuglar fliuga i elldinum bædi smair ok storir med ymsum lætum. hugdu menn vera sælir. huitasalt sua mikit læ þar vm huerfis opnuna at klyfia mætti hesta af ok brennu steini.
Text translationEnglish translation of the text
A fire broke out in Mount Hekla on the Lord's Day (= Sunday) after (Maundy Thursday), with so much hostility and ashfall that many nearby villages were laid waste, and it was so dark on the first day outside how it is blackest in houses in the dead of winter at night. Rumbling all over the country and ashfall around Borgarfjörður and Skaga, and everywhere in between, so that livestock died. People went to the mountain where the casting (= eruption) was, and they heard that a large rock had been thrown from within the mountain. They appeared to be birds flying in the fire, both small and large, with various sounds. People thought they were souls. There was so much white salt around the opening that a horse could be split, and sulfur.
