Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín (1749-25 December 1835) was an Icelandic priest and writer. He composed verse and prose, and his writing was influenced by Icelandic tradition, Christian learning, and Enlightenment thought.

Biography

Jón graduated from Skálholtsskóli in 1776 and became a priest at Háls in Hamarsfjörður 7 April 1777. He then took up the ministry at

Kálfafell Kálfafell () is a hamlet in south east Iceland, near the Vatnajökull glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumu ...

on 12 July 1780, before proceeding to Hvammur in

Norðurárdalur Norðurárdalur (North River Valley) is a valley in eastern Skagafjörður, Iceland bordered by the Bóluá river, which forms the boundary between Blönduhlíð and Norðurárdalur. Route 1 runs through the valley up to the Öxnadalsheiði ...

on 9 June 1783. Then, in 1786, he moved to Saurbær in Hvalfjarðarströnd 1786. He finished his career by taking up the ministry at Breiðabólstaður in Skógarströnd 1811, where he remained before retiring on 1 February 1835. During this time, he was also offered the position at

Helgafell Helgafell may refer to: * Helgafell (Hafnarfjörður), a mountain , on the Reykjanes peninsula, south-west Iceland * Helgafell, a mountain , in Mosfellsbær north-east of Reykjavík * Helgafell, a mountain at , in Rangárþing eystra, south-cen ...

, but chose not to accept it. Jón was noted for his achievements in many fields, and today is best known for his many songs, psalms, ''

rímur In Icelandic literature, a ''ríma'' (, literally "a rhyme", pl. ''rímur'', ) is an epic poetry, epic poem written in any of the so-called ''rímnahættir'' (, "rímur meters"). They are rhymed, they alliterative verse, alliterate and consist of ...

'' and sagas. The main biographical study of Jón is by Matthew James Driscoll.Matthew James Driscoll, ''The Unwashed Children of Eve: The Production, Dissemination and Reception of Popular Literature in Post-Reformation Iceland'' (Enfield Lock: Hisarlik Press, 1997).

Works

In Jón's own lifetime, his work circulated mostly in manuscript, and printed editions came only later.

Romances

*'' Fimmbræðra saga'' *'' Sagan af Bernótus Borneyjarkappa'' *'' Sagan af Hinriki heilráða'' *'' Sagan af Ketlerus keisaraefni'' *'' Sagan af Mána fróða'' *'' Sagan af Marroni sterka'' *'' Sagan af Natoni persíska'' *'' Sagan af Reimari keisara og Fal hinum sterka'' *'' Sagan af Rígabal og Alkanusi'' *'' Sarpidons saga sterka''

Other prose

* Summary of ''

Heiðarvíga saga ''Heiðarvíga saga'' () or ''The Story of the Heath-Slayings'' is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It is badly preserved; 12 leaves of the only surviving manuscript were destroyed along with their only copy in the fire of Copenhagen in 1728. The co ...

'' * ''Sagan af Zadig'' (an adaptation of Voltaire's ''

Zadig ''Zadig; or, The Book of Fate'' (; 1747) is a novella and work of philosophical fiction by the Enlightenment writer Voltaire. It tells the story of Zadig, a Zoroastrian philosopher in ancient Babylonia. The story of Zadig is a fictional story. ...

'')

Verse

* ''Níutíu og þrír Hugvekju Sálmar útaf Stúrms Hugvekna 1sta Parti frá Veturnóttum til Lángaføstu og til vissra tíma'' (Copenhagen, 1835) * ''Bæna- og Sálma-Kver: sem inniheldur Fimm viku-kvöld-bænir'' (Akureyri: Grímur Laxdal, 1853) * ''Sálmar og ljóð'' (Reykjavík: s.n., 1934)

References

1749 births 1835 deaths

Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín Jón Oddsson Hjaltalín (1749-25 December 1835) was an Icelandic priest and writer. He composed verse and prose, and his writing was influenced by Icelandic tradition, Christian learning, and Enlightenment thought. Biography Jón graduated from S ...

18th-century hymnwriters 18th-century Icelandic poets 19th-century hymnwriters 19th-century Icelandic poets 18th-century male writers 17th-century Icelandic Lutheran clergy 18th-century Icelandic Lutheran clergy {{Iceland-bio-stub