PUBLIC NOTICE

There will be an auction on the 24th of March 1828, at Illugastadir, for thevaluables the farmer Natan Ketilsson has left behind. There is one cow, a fewhorses, a considerable amount of sheep, hay and furniture, a saddle, a bridle,and many dishes and plates. All this will be sold if a decent offer ispresented. All valuables will be awarded to the highest bidder. If the auctionis not possible due to bad weather, it will be canceled and held the next day,weather allowing.

District CommissionerBjörn Blöndal

20th of March 1828

To the Very Reverend Jóhann Tómasson,

Thank you for your worthy letter from the 14th, where you wished to be informedof how we attended to the burial of Pétur Jónsson from Geitaskard, who is saidto have been murdered and burned on the night between the 13th and the 14th ofthis month, with Natan Ketilsson. As my Reverend is aware, there was somedeliberation over whether his bones should be buried in consecrated ground. Hisconviction and punishment for robbery, theft, and receiving stolen property wasto follow after his prosecution in the Supreme Court. However, we have not hadany letters from Denmark. The Land Court judge convicted Pétur on the 5th ofFebruary last year, and sentenced him to four years of hard labor in the Rasphusin Copenhagen, but at the time of his murder he was on "free foot." Therefore,in answer to your inquiry, his bones were buried with Christian rites, alongsideNatan's, as he could not yet be thought of as belonging to those outside theChristian way. These people are expressly defined in the letter from His Majestythe King on the 30th of December 1740, which lists all persons who shall not bepermitted Christian burial rites.

District CommissionerBjörn Blöndal

30th of May 1829

Rev. T. JónssonBreidabólstadur, Vesturhóp

To the Assistant Reverend Thorvardur Jónsson,

I trust this letter finds you well and thriving in your administration of theLord's work in Vesturhóp.

Firstly, I wish to extend to you my congratulations, however belatedly, for thesuccessful completion of your studies in the south of Iceland. Your parishionerssay that you are a diligent young man, and I approve of your decision to repairto the north to begin your chaplaincy under the supervision of your father. Itis of considerable joy to me to know that there remain righteous men willing tofulfill their duties to man and God.

Secondly, I, in my capacity as District Commissioner, write to you in request ofservice. As you will be aware, our community has recently been darkened by theshadow of crime. The Illugastadir murders, committed last year, have in theirheinousness emblematized the corruption and ungodliness of this county. AsDistrict Commissioner for Húnavatn, I cannot abide societal waywardness and,after the anticipated authorization from the Supreme Court in Copenhagen, Iintend to execute the Illugastadir murderers. It is with this event in mind thatI ask for your assistance, Assistant Reverend Thorvardur.

As you will recall, I related the event of the murders in a letter circulated tothe clergy almost ten months ago, with orders that sermons of chastisement bedelivered. Allow me to repeat what occurred, this time to provide you with amore invested consideration of the crime.

Last year, on the night between the 13th and 14th of March, three peoplecommitted a severe and loathsome act against two men, with whom you may befamiliar: Natan Ketilsson and Pétur Jónsson. Pétur and Natan were found in theburnt ruins of Natan's farm, Illugastadir, and a closer examination of theircorpses revealed wounds of a deliberately inflicted nature. This discovery ledto an inquiry, and from there a trial ensued. On the 2nd of July last year thethree persons charged with these murders—one man and two women—werefound guilty in the District Court, presided over by myself, and sentenced to bebeheaded: "He that Smiteth a Man so that he Die, shall be surely put to Death."The death sentences were upheld in the Land Court on the 27th of October lastyear, which met in Reykjavík. The case is currently being tried in Copenhagen'sSupreme Court, and it is likely that my original judgment will stand there also.The name of the convicted man is Fridrik Sigurdsson, the son of the farmer atKatadalur. The women are workmaids, named Sigrídur Gudmundsdóttir and AgnesMagnúsdóttir.

These convicted persons are currently held in custody here in the north, andwill be until the time of their execution. Fridrik Sigurdsson has been takeninto Thingeyrar by Reverend Jóhann Tómasson, and Sigrídur Gudmundsdóttir wasremoved to Midhóp. Agnes Magnúsdóttir was to be kept until her execution atStóra-Borg, but for reasons which I am not at liberty to state, will be moved toa new holding at Kornsá in the valley of Vatnsdalur next month. She isdiscontented with her current spiritual administrator, and has used one of herfew remaining rights to request another priest. She has requested you, AssistantReverend Thorvardur.

It is with some uncertainty that I approach you for this task. I am aware thatyour responsibilities have so far been confined to the spiritual education ofyour parish's youngest members, which is to say, of undoubted value, but it isof little political import. You may yourself admit that you are too pale inexperience to know how to bring this condemned woman to the Lord and Hisinfinite mercy, in which case I would not protest your disinclination. It is aweight that I would hesitate to bestow on the shoulders of experiencedclergymen.

Should you, however, accept the responsibility of preparing Agnes Magnúsdóttirfor her meeting with our Lord, you will be obliged to visit Kornsá regularlywhen the weather allows. You must administer God's word and inspire repentanceand an acknowledgment of Justice. Please do not let flattery influence yourdecision, nor kinship, if any resides between you and the convicted. In allthings, Reverend, if you cannot construct your own counsel, seek mine.

I await word of your response. Please provide my messenger with such.

District CommissionerBjörn Blöndal

Assistant Reverend Thorvardur Jónsson was inside the small farmsteadadjoined to the church of Breidabólstadur, repairing the hearth with new stones,when he heard his father clear his throat in the doorway.

"There's a messenger from Hvammur outside, Tóti. He's asking for you."

"For me?" In his surprise he let a rock slip out of his hand. It dropped to thepacked earth floor, narrowly missing his foot. Reverend Jón sucked his teeth inannoyance, ducked his head under the doorframe and gently pushed Tóti out of theway.

"Yes, for you. He's waiting."

The messenger was a servant, dressed in a worn coat. He gave Tóti a long lookbefore speaking. "Reverend Thorvardur Jónsson?"

"That's me. Greetings. Well, I'm an Assistant Reverend."

The servant shrugged. "I have a letter for you from the District Commissioner,the Honorable Björn Blöndal." He pulled a small slip of paper out from theinside of his coat, and gave it to Tóti. "I've orders to wait here while youread it."

The letter was warm and damp from sitting inside the servant's clothes. Tótibroke the seal and, noting that it had been...