Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson
ᛉ July 4, 1924 - December 23, 1993 ᛦ
Allsherjargoði Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson entered Miðgarðr on July 4th, 1924. He is known for reviving Ásatrú in Iceland, having the Æsir be recognized by the Icelandic government, and forming the Ásatrúarfélagið for that purpose. While his organization is no longer what he created it to be, his work in the early reforging of Ásatrú is forever honoured by the Asatru Folk Assembly!
Sveinbjörn lived his entire life in western Iceland, with much of his early adulthood spent as a poet and sheep farmer. He was also married, and sired two sons with his wife, Svanfriður, in the 1960s.
The winter of 1972 saw the beginnings of Sveinbjörn’s greatest deeds, as he and three friends would meet in a Reykjavik café to discuss Ásatrú. They quickly decided that the faith of their ancestors was one to be practiced as a community, as one Folk, and began the work to make this a reality. These four men were the earliest leading figures of the Ásatrúarfélagið: Allsherjargoði Sveinbjörn, future Allsherjargoði Jörmundur Ingi Hansen, Goði Þorsteinn Guðjónsson, and theosophist Dagur Þorleifsson.
Sveinbjörn described the revival of Icelandic Ásatrú as “the desire that Icelanders could have their own faith, and nourish it no less than imported religions.” Dagur emphasized a return to nature and a rejection of the negatives of industrial civilization. The Ásatrúarfélagið was officially formed on the “first day of summer” in 1972, with Sveinbjörn very soon after being named Allsherjargoði.
Just before Jól 1972, Allsherjargoði Sveinbjörn and Goði Þorsteinn sought official government recognition for our faith. They visited Ólafur Jóhannesson, the Icelandic minister of justice and ecclesiastical affairs. He initially thought the two Goðar were joking about their request, but then asked for paperwork to be filled out when he realized that they were serious. Shortly after Sveinbjörn and Þorsteinn exited the building, the power in the center of town went out due to a large and sudden thunderstorm, showing that Lord Þórr himself gave his stamp of approval! Many Christian Icelanders at the time even viewed this as a sign!
The Bishop of Iceland, and others, recommended denying the request for recognition as the faith was and is Folkish in nature. After another five months or so of discussion and paperwork, the Ásatrúarfélagið was officially recognized by the government of Iceland as a religious organization in May of 1973. This gave them the rights of any other church: marriage, share of the church tax, etc, which they still hold to this day.
On August 5th of 1973, Allsherjargoði Sveinbjörn led the first public Blót in nearly one thousand years. The rite took place at his farm in heavy rain, under a statue of Lord Þórr, who had intervened on their behalf eight months earlier. A local newspaper described the Blót as “vigorous and energetic”!
Allsherjargoði Sveinbjörn held his title until his death around Jól of 1993. He lived a simple but happy life on his farm, without many luxuries. He was an author and poet, having published eight different written works and three different musical recordings. He was said to be soft spoken, and even a bit shy, but his thunderous impact on our native faith more than made up for this!
Despite standing nearly alone in his mission to reestablish Icelandic loyalty to the Æsir, he never wavered or compromised in his duty to Gods and Folk. His resolve was so mighty that even Lord Þórr himself intervened to sway the minister’s decision to recognize the Ásatrúarfélagið!
Hail Allsherjargoði Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson!