KAMBAN, GUDMUNDUR

born June 8, 1888, lfranes, Ice. died May 5, 1945, Copenhagen, Den. in full Gudmundur Jonsson Hallgrimsson Kamban one of Iceland's most important 20th-century dramatists and novelists. His work, which is anchored in a deep historical awareness, frequently criticized modern Western values and spoke in favour of attitudes of compassion and understanding. He wrote his works in both the Icelandic and Danish languages. Kamban's greatest work is the four-volume historical novel Sklholt (193032; Eng. trans. of vol. 1 and 2, The Virgin of Skalholt), a carefully researched fictional investigation of the life of the daughter of the 17th-century Icelandic bishop Brynjlfur Sveinsson. Another important work is Jeg ser et stort sknt land (1936; I See A Wondrous Land), a historical novel set in the 11th century that recounts the Viking expeditions to Greenland and America. Among Kamban's most important plays are Hadda Padda (1914), on the theme of erotic love, and Vi mordere (1920; We Murderers), which focuses attention on the penal system and raises questions concerning the legitimacy of punishment. Kamban was inadvertently shot and killed by the Danish resistance as they attempted to arrest him in order to question him concerning his alleged Nazi sympathies.