n. ‘Hecla-fell’ the name of mount Hecla, Bs., Ann. passim; in mod. usage abbreviated Hekla, prob. called so from its frock or hood of snow. Fourteen eruptions of mount Hecla are recorded, of A. D. 1104, 1158, 1206, 1222, 1300, 1341, 1389, 1440 (the exact year uncertain), 1510, 1597, 1636, 1693, 1766, 1845, besides earthquakes or partial eruptions in the immediate neighbourhood in 1294 and 1554, see Ísl. Ann., Jón Egilsson (Annals), Björn á Skarðsá (Annals). In the Middle Ages Hecla became mythical in Europe, and was regarded as a place of punishment for the damned; the Danes say ‘begone to Heckenfjæld,’ the North Germans ‘to Hackelberg,’ the Scots ‘to John Hacklebirnie’s house,’ cp. the Sks. 154.