Jens Christian Djurhuus or Sjóvarbóndin (August 21, 1773 – November 21, 1853) was the first

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

who wrote in Faroese. He composed several Faroese ballads in traditional style on historical themes. The best known is ''

Ormurin langi Ormurin Langi ("The Long Serpent") is a Faroese folk ballad. It was written in ca. 1830 by Jens Christian Djurhuus. Written in 86 verses in Faroese, the song deals with the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason. The title ''Ormurin Langi'' refers to ...

''. Djurhuus also composed satirical poems directed against Danish rule in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

Biography

Djurhuus was the fourth son of Johan Christian Djurhuus (1741–1815) and Maria Rønning (1741–1807). They lived in

Nes, Eysturoy Nes ( da, Næs) is a village in Nes Municipality on the southwest coast of the Faroese island of Eysturoy. History The 2005 population of the village of Nes was 230. Besides Nes, the two other towns of Toftir and Saltnes are part of Nes Municip ...

, where his Danish grandfather Christen Djurhuus (1708–1775) was provost. His mother came from Aust-Agder in Norway. She was reportedly a descendant of Earl

Haakon Sigurdsson Haakon Sigurdsson ( non, Hákon Sigurðarson , no, Håkon Sigurdsson; 937–995), known as Haakon Jarl (Old Norse: ''Hákon jarl''), was the ''de facto'' ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995. Sometimes he is styled as Haakon the Powerful ( n ...

. In 1797, he married Jóhanna Maria Jensdóttir from

Kollafjørður Kollafjørður ( da, Kollefjord) is a village in the Faroe Islands, located on the island of Streymoy. As of 1. January 2022, the village had a population of 828. Its postal code is FO 410. Until 2001 it was a municipality in its own right but is ...

, daughter of farmer Jens Didriksen (1710-1771) of Við Sjógv on Streymoy. Because Jóhanna Maria was his only child, she was sole heiress of the farm. The couple moved to this farm the same year, and it became the cultural centre of the village. Two of his great grandsons,

Janus Djurhuus Jens Hendrik Oliver Djurhuus, called Janus Djurhuus, (26 February 1881, Tórshavn – 1 September 1948, Tórshavn) was the first modern Faroese poet. He and his younger brother Hans Andreas Djurhuus, also a poet, are called the ''Áarstova'' ...

(1881-1948) and Hans Andrias Djurhuus (1883-1953) were are among the best known poets of the Faroe Islands. They were also commonly known as the Áarstova brothers (''Áarstovubrøðurnir'') after Áarstova, the house in Tórshavn where they grew up.

References

Other sources

* Rossel, Sven H. (1992). ''A History of Danish Literature''. University of Nebraska Press. * Hanus Kamban: ''J.H.O. Djurhuus: En litterær biografi''. Odense Universitetsforlag, 2001 - 1773 births 1853 deaths Faroese people of Danish descent Faroese people of Norwegian descent 19th-century Faroese poets Faroese-language poets Faroese songwriters Faroese male poets 18th-century Faroese people 19th-century male writers {{faroes-poet-stub