Agnes Magnúsdóttir

Agnes Magnúsdóttir (27 October 1795 – 12 January 1830) was the last person to be executed in Iceland, along with Friðrik Sigurðsson. The pair were sentenced to death for the murder of Nathan Ketilsson, a farmer in Illugastaðir in Vatnsnes, and Pétur Jónsson from Geitaskarð on 14 March 1828. They were executed by beheading in Vatnsdalshólar in Austur-Húnavatnssýsla on 12 January 1830.

Agnes had been described as an intelligent, imaginative and talented woman. Her appearance is disputed, but one source says she is "not visible"^{[clarification needed]}, while another describes her as more complete and fun in her approach^{[clarification needed]}. Agnes was in her thirties and worked as a maid at Geitaskarð when she met Nathan Ketilsson. At the same time they were attracted to each other and Agnes was hired at Illugastaðir for the next few days.^[1] Agnes no doubt hoped to become Nathan's housekeeper and wife, but when he got there it turned out not to be^{[clarification needed]}. Nathan had chosen Sigríður Guðmundsdóttir as housekeeper, but she was only 16 years old.^[2] Friðrik Sigurðsson liked Sigríður, and Agnes probably hoped that she would choose Friðrik and Nathan would then choose herself. That did not happen, however.^[1]

In media[]

Agnes was the subject of the 1995 Icelandic film Agnes by Egill Eðvarðsson and novel, Burial Rites by Australian writer Hannah Kent (May 2013).^[3] In 2017, it was announced that Jennifer Lawrence would play the role of Agnes in the film adaptation of Burial Rites.^[4]

See also[]

• List of most recent executions by jurisdiction

References[]