The 19th century saw unusually frequent removals of families as well as individuals from one farm and placement in another. Thorough studies by Stefán Aðalsteinsson and Bernharður Haraldsson of such occurrences in parts of Eyjafjörður show as much.
The expression “better one housefire than three removals” may apply here, but rootlessness was considered one of the concerns in the 19th century. One obvious reason was the fact that the vast majority of farmers leased the land they farmed. According to Hagskinna (historical data) in 1901, more than 70% of all farmers in the country leased their farms. This ratio was even higher in the 19th century.
Life in poverty
In the fall of 1875, Archdeacon Rev. Jón Guttormsson in Dalasýsla, complained to the Governor of Iceland for not getting paid the hay-tax from tenant farmers who “have use of pasture land for grazing and haymaking to make a living”. The assumption can be made that these tenants lived on the farms they used for grazing livestock and making hay.
In his book about a farmer at Stóruvellir, the author Jón Sigurðsson, mentions the poverty tenant farmers live in, but they were also expected to tend the sheep of their landlord during the winter. But the tenant farmers “struggled in such poverty”, wrote Jón “they gave up so every spring there would be new tenant farmer at Stóruvellir”.
A variation
The tenant farmers were simply at the mercy of their landlord – or his custodian – who determined if the tenant could stay or would have to go. Such was the agreement. On the other hand, the tenant could give notice and move elsewhere. Rarely would he have found something better in another community; the houses were the same or similar everywhere so to move his belongings were not a big issue. But perhaps men welcomed a variation and possibly the grass was greener at the next farm.
The above was based on research by the Icelandic Historian Jón Hjaltason and his article “Tíðir búferlaflutningar, því?” English version by Thor group