The Sunnefa Cases
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All cases are featured in seperate episodes in both Icelandic and English
Icelandic
English
ABOUT THE CASE
In the first part of The Sunnefa Cases, I tell you about the siblings Sunnefa Jónsdóttir and Jón Jónsson, who at the age of 16 and 14 had a child together. According to an order of the Grand Judgment, this was an incestuous crime, and therefore, they were sentenced to death; Sunnefa was to be drowned and Jón to be beheaded. But then there‘s a turning point in their case when Sunnefa gives birth to another child in the custody of the magistrate Hans Wium, and she accuses her brother of being the child‘s father, but then she declares Hans Wium is the real father, who had forced her and Jón to confess to committing yet another incest. This causes a commotion at Alþingi the Icelandic Parliament, and a 20-year legal proceeding ensues which looks like it‘s never going to end.
The key Personas
Sunnefa Jónsdóttir
Believed to be born in 1723.
Died in 1757.
Sunnefa was described as the most beautiful of women at the time, dark-eyed with long black hair, drawn-out features and pale skin.
When Sunneda was 16 years old, she was sentenced to death for committing incest with her little brother, Jón Jónsson.
She then had another child 2 years later, and declared Hans Wium, the magistrate of Múlasýsla county, was the father of her child, and had impregnated her while in custody and forced her to accuse her brother for committing incest a second time.
No picture exists of the real Sunnefa Jónsdóttir
Jón Jónsson
Believed to be born in 1725.
Death unknown.
Jón was described as being a typical 14-year-old boy, when and Sunnefa, his older sister, committed incest. Two years later, Sunnefa gave birth to another child and accused her brother of committing incest a second time with her, after Hand Wium persuaded her to accuse Jón after she told Hans Wium he was the real father of her child.
Hans Jensson Wium
Believed to be born in 1715.
Died April 30th 1788.
Hans Wium was the magistrate of Múlasýsla county, when he took over the incestuous crime case of the siblings Sunnefa and Jón in 1740, after his father Jens Wium passed away.
Later, Sunnefa had another child while in Hans Wium’s custody, and told him he was the child’s father. He persuaded her to accuse her brother Jón of committing incest with her a second time.
The grand Judgment
or ‘Stóridómur’
The Grand Judgment, or ‘Stóridómur’ in Icelandic, was a legislation passed at Alþingi in Þingvellir, the annual Icelandic Parliament, in 1564. After Iceland adopted Lutheranism in 1550, the Danish King urged the importance of reducing moral licentiousness and sexual lasciviousness in Iceland. Therefor greater and harsher punishments were introduced to the Icelandic nation, and people were punish for various moral crimes, like theft, incest and having children out of wedlock, and murder.
After The Grand Judgment was legalised, the power of punishment was put into the hands of county magistrates, on behalf of the Danish King. Approximately 248 individuals are known to having been executed between 1550-1830, mainly at Alþingi in Þingvellir in four execution sites; women were drowned in Drekkingarhylur (Drowning Pool), mainly for committing incest and infanticide; men were beheaded with an axe at Höggstokkseyri (Execution Block Spit), preferably for murder, but beheading was the main method of execution in Iceland; for "smaller" crimes such as theft, people were hanged at Gálgaklettur (Gallows Cliff), but for witchcraft they were burnt at the stake in Brennugjá (Bonfire Fissure).
Thumbscrews
A thumbscrew, or ‘þumalskrúfa’ in Icelandic, is a vice which was used to torture out a confession during questioning in the 17th and 18th centuries. This was a common torture instrument in Europe, and was also used on African-American slaves in the United States as a punishment.
A thumbscrew had two bars with protruding studs on the interior surfaces. The thumbs weeere placed in it, and sometimes even other fingers or toes, and then slowly crushed. Sometimes they were lined with sharp studs to puncture the nailbed to inflict even greater pain.
Sunnefa may have been tortured, or threatened with, a thumbscrew during questioning to get a confession from her, but it is not known. But historical documents show that another Icelandic woman by the name Þórdís Halldórsdóttir was threatened during questioning to have her declare her brother-in-law, Tómas Böðvarsson, as her child’s father. According to The Grand Judgment, or ‘Stóridómur’ in Icelandic, it was an incestuous crime to have a child with your brother-in-law.
Cairns of the Condemned / Dysjar hinna dÆmdu
Click the picture above to take you to the interactive map of Cairns of the Condemned
Cairns of the Condemned search for and collect data on those executed in Iceland from 1550 to 1830. On their site is a remarkable interactive map showing the names of 248 individuals known to be sentenced to death and where they were executed in Iceland, and it also lists their crimes and convictions. Those who stand behind this project also look for archeological remains at the sites of executions.
Click here for their website
The Sunnefa duologue
The theater group Svipir will give the performance of Sunnefa – Was she a heroine, a victim, or a bitch? in Tjarnarbíó theatre in Reykjavík, Iceland.
This is a duologue performance by Tinna Sverrisdóttir - who takes the role of Sunnefa - and Margrét Kristín Sigurðardóttir - who takes the roles of those Sunnefa meets throughout life.
They first performed this duologuee in September 2020 in Egilsstaðir in Fljótsdalur, Múlasýsla county, where Sunnefa had been held in custody for 20 years, and where she supposedly died.
Show dates: New dates released after Covid-19 restrictions have passed.
Tickets: Buy online here