Eilev Jonsson Steintjønndalen

Who was Eilev Jonsson Steintjønndalen?

Eilev Jonsson Steintjønndalen was a Norwegian Hardanger fiddle maker from Bø in Telemark, Norway.

Eilev was the brother of Erik Jonsson Helland. He learned the art of fiddle making from his father and his elder brother. Around 1850, he married and moved to Steintjønndalen, a cotter's sub-farm on the Nordigard Folkestad farm a few miles away from the rest of his family. He took the name of the farm, started his own workshop and made fiddles until his death in 1876.

Some are of the opinion that he worked more carefully and made better fiddles than his brother Erik. But the fiddles were never so sought-after as Erik's. One reason could be that he was known by another family name than that of the Helland family.