Magnús Jónsson or Magnús prúði (c. 1530 – 1591) was an
Icelandic official and poet.
He was born to a well-off family and received his education in Iceland and
Germany, probably
Hamburg. Given his career, the curriculum must have included jurisprudence.
After a period as a farmer and landbroker, he held office as ''sýslumaður'', or chief administrator in two counties in Iceland, first ''Þingeyjaþingssýsla'' and later ''Ísafjarðarsýsla'', both now defunct as administrative units. He was a famous man in his time, but what has preserved his name for posterity are his writings or, to be specific, the first part of ''
Pontus rímur
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in mode ...
'', a
rímur
In Icelandic literature, a ''ríma'' (, literally "a rhyme", pl. ''rímur'', ) is an epic poem written in any of the so-called ''rímnahættir'' (, "rímur meters"). They are rhymed, they alliterate and consist of two to four lines per stanza. T ...
cycle about a Spanish prince. Pontus rímur are among the better ones of the genre and are based, as many of the rímur were, on a
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
romance transmitted to Iceland through a German translation.
Rímur are not widely read today, but Pontus rímur have secured themselves a special place in Icelandic literature by being a recurring theme in
Íslandsklukkan by
Halldór Laxness
Halldór Kiljan Laxness (; born Halldór Guðjónsson; 23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) was an Icelandic writer and winner of the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote novels, poetry, newspaper articles, essays, plays, travelogues and s ...
, where the protagonist of the story invariably alleviates boredom by chanting ''Pontus rímur the Elder''. There are no such rímur, but since Pontus rímur have three authors, it is difficult to resist seeing it as a reference to the first part, composed by Magnús.
His nickname, ''prúði'', can be variously interpreted as ''elegant'' or ''wise''.
Of his eleven surviving children,
Ari Magnússon
Ari may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Ari (name), a name in various languages, including a list of people and fictional characters
* Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534–1572), Jewish rabbinical scholar and mystic known also as Ari
* Ari (foo ...
is of particular note, being the man responsible for the last massacre in Icelandic history, the so-called
Spánverjavígin
The Slaying of the Spaniards (also known as the Spanish Killings; is, Spánverjavígin ) was the last documented massacre in Icelandic history. Some Basque whalers went on a whaling expedition to Iceland and were killed after conflict in 1615 ...
of 1615.
References
*Grímur M. Helgason (ed.) (1961). ''Rit Rímnafélagins X : Pontus rímur''. Rímnafélagið: Reykjavík.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus Jonsson
Magnus Jonsson
Magnus Jonsson
1530s births
1591 deaths
16th-century Icelandic poets