Representations of the West Nordic Isles

Following the "discovery" of the new world, travellers, explorers, whale hunters, missionaries and scholars were inspired by sovereigns and religious authorities to choose other ways in the unexplored Far North. The first-hand knowledge from the Arctic communicated by travellers since the 17th century in their travel diaries was precious, triggering new ideas about man and nature during the European Enlightenment. Travels to the North Atlantic Region brought new knowledge about islands and archipelagos like Greenland and Spitzbergen, which were considered as being one up until the 18th century, as well as Iceland and the Faroe Islands on the way to the Far North.
The travel narratives dedicated to those islands have purposed different, even opposite representations of space, culture and nature. The essays in this volume discuss several of these narratives from the earliest reports to the 19th century, when these various representations were then to become a reference for touristic exploration of the Artic.
This volume makes an important contribution to travel writing research, the history of the West Nordic Isles, and the creation, dissemination and transformations of knowledge about this distant part of Europe.


Nach der "Entdeckung" der Neuen Welt wurden Reisende, Entdecker, Walfänger, Missionare und Gelehrte von weltlichen Herrschern und religiösen Autoritäten dazu inspiriert, neue Wege im unerforschten hohen Norden zu wählen. Das Wissen über die Arktis, das Reisende seit dem 17. Jahrhundert aus erster Hand in Reisetagebüchern kommunizierten, war wertvoll und löste während der europäischen Aufklärung neue Ideen über Mensch und Natur aus. Reisen in den Nordatlantik brachten neue Erkenntnisse über Inseln und Archipele wie Grönland und Spitzbergen, die bis zum 18. Jahrhundert als eins galten, sowie über Island und die Färöer auf dem Weg in den hohen Norden.
Die diesen Inseln gewidmeten Reiseerzählungen haben unterschiedliche, sogar gegensätzliche