Jón Thoroddsen elder (October 5, 1818 – March 8, 1868) was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic poet and novelist.

Biography

He was born at

Reykhólar Reykhólar () is an Icelandic village in the Westfjords, in the northwest area of the country. The village, with around 120 inhabitants, has a swimming pool near the local camp site with a great view on the sea and mountains. The camp site, hostel ...

in western Iceland. He studied law at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

, entered the Danish army as volunteer in 1848 in the war against the insurgents of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

, who were aided by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

and the other German states (see

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswi ...

). He went back to Iceland in 1850, became sheriff ( is, sýslumaður) of

Barðastrandarsýsla Iceland was historically divided into 23 counties known as ''sýslur'' (), and 23 independent towns known as ''kaupstaðir'' (). Iceland is now split up between 24 sýslumenn (magistrates) that are the highest authority over the local police ( ...

, and later in

Borgarfjarðarsýsla Iceland was historically divided into 23 counties known as ''sýslur'' (), and 23 independent towns known as ''kaupstaðir'' (). Iceland is now split up between 24 sýslumenn (magistrates) that are the highest authority over the local police ( ...

, where he died in 1868. His son, Þorvaldur Thoroddsen, became a well-known scientist.

Work

He is the first novel writer of Iceland.

Jónas Hallgrímsson Jónas Hallgrímsson (16 November 1807 – 26 May 1845) was an Icelandic poet, author and naturalist. He was one of the founders of the Icelandic journal Fjölnir (journal), ''Fjölnir'', which was first published in Copenhagen in 1835. The mag ...

had led the way by his short stories, but the earliest veritable Icelandic novel was Jón Thóroddsen's '' Piltur og Stúlka'' (“Boy and Girl”), a picture of Icelandic country life. Later followed '' Maður og Kona'' (“Man and Woman”), published after his death by the Icelandic Literary Society. His poems, mostly satirical, are popular; he follows Jónas Hallgrímsson closely in his style. Thoroddsen's poem " Krummi svaf í klettagjá" makes up the lyrics of a well known folk song in Iceland.

In English

* ''Lad and Lass, a Story of Life in Iceland'', trans. by

Arthur Middleton Reeves Arthur Middleton Reeves (1856 – 1891) was an American author and philologist, known for his work related to Icelandic and Old Norse studies. Biography Arthur Middleton Reeves was born October 7, 1856 in Cincinnati, Ohio and spent his early chil ...

, London: S. Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, ltd. (1890)

References

* ''Sýnisbók íslenskra bókmennta frá 1550 til 1900'', Kristján Eiríksson tók saman, Reykjavík 2003. * Jon Thoroddsen elder 1818 births 1868 deaths Jon Thoroddsen elder University of Copenhagen alumni {{Iceland-writer-stub