Hekla was the most studied of Iceland's volcanoes. For Jules Gabriel Verne (1828-1905) fans in our
audience (and who is not?) Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) starts with a cryptogram
hidden inside a version of the Heimskringla, the chronicle of the Norwegian kings who ruled over
Iceland written around 1230 by Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241). Fictional Icelandic alchemist Arne
Saknussemm, whose Latin needed polishing, provided a runic annotation that was a actually a
transposition of Latin letters that had to be read in reverse pointing to Snæfellsjökull as an entry.
audience (and who is not?) Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) starts with a cryptogram
hidden inside a version of the Heimskringla, the chronicle of the Norwegian kings who ruled over
Iceland written around 1230 by Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241). Fictional Icelandic alchemist Arne
Saknussemm, whose Latin needed polishing, provided a runic annotation that was a actually a
transposition of Latin letters that had to be read in reverse pointing to Snæfellsjökull as an entry.
