Páll Melsteð (13 November 1812 - 9 February 1910) 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 historian, official, editor and member of the

Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...

. In 1892 he was awarded the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

Early life

Páll was the son of Páll Melsteð the official. At the age of 16 Páll entered the Learned School and graduated in 1834. He then went to study law at the

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

but also studied history and the fine arts, especially singing. He returned to Iceland in 1840 when he married his first wife, Jórunn Ísleifsdóttir. They lived in

Álftanes Álftanes () is the name of a town and a collection of small peninsulas in Iceland. It means ''swan peninsula''. The best known of these peninsulas extrudes from the eastern part of Reykjanes with the town of the same name in the Capital Regio ...

for several years where Páll started working on his first book, ''Ágrip af merkisatburðum mannkynssögunnar'' A Synopsis of the Significant Events of History" which was printed in

Viðey Viðey (; sometimes anglicised as Videy) is the largest island of the Kollafjörður Bay in Iceland, near the capital of Reykjavík. Overview The island covers ; its highest point is above sea level. The island is divided by a narrow piece ...

in 1844. He had also started work on a history of Iceland but in 1844 his house burnt down and his manuscripts were lost.

Editor

Páll now moved to

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

where he was the prime mover in founding ''Reykjavíkurpósturinn'' at a time when no newspaper was being published in Iceland. Páll had a role in editing the paper from 1846 through 1849. In 1848 he also played a role in founding '' Þjóðólfur''. He also had a large role in the first years of ''Íslendingur'' (1860–1863) and was the editor of ''Víkverji'' in 1873 and 1874.

Official

In 1848 and 1849 Páll was the

sýslumaður (; plural: ; non, sýslumaðr , no, sysselmann, da, sysselmænd) is a governmental office or title used in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. The position originated in Norway in the Middle Ages, where it was used as a noble title, and ...

(a kind of

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

) of

Árnessýsla 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 ( ...

but from 1849 to 1854 he was the sýslumaður of Snæfellsnessýsla. He was elected as a representative of

Snæfellsnes The Snæfellsnes () is a peninsula situated to the west of Borgarfjörður, in western Iceland. The Snæfellsjökull volcano, regarded as one of the symbols of Iceland, can be found in the area. With its height of 1446 m, it is the highest ...

to the

National Assembly of 1851 The National Assembly of 1851 (Icelandic language, Icelandic ''Þjóðfundurinn 1851'') was a Constitutional convention (political meeting), constitutional convention called to decide the political status of Iceland. The assembly was called in 18 ...

and to the

in 1859. In 1855 Páll again went again to Copenhagen to study law since he had not completed a degree the first time. He graduated in Danish laws in 1857. From 1858 to 1862 Páll was sýslumaður for Gullbringu- og Kjósarsýsla. In 1858 Jórunn died and Páll married his second wife, Þóra Melsteð. They were to work together on establishing Kvennaskólinn, the first girls' school of Iceland.

Historian

From 1862 to 1885 Páll worked as a lawyer in Reykjavík. In 1868 he started teaching part-time at the Learned School and in 1885 he became a full-time history professor. In the 1860s Páll wrote and published a multi-volume work on world history, ''Fornaldarsagan'' (1864), ''Miðaldarsagan'' (1866), ''Nýja sagan'' (1868). In 1891 his ''Norðurlandasaga'' History of the Nordic Countries"was published. He also wrote a number of historical articles in various periodicals. Páll's historical writings were praised for their lively and lucid writing style but criticized for their heavy emphasis on warfare and giving short shrift to cultural history. Páll's memoirs, ''Endurminningar'', were published posthumously in 1912.

References

* Ó

afur Somali cuisine is the traditional cuisine of Somalis from the Horn of Africa. Somali cuisine does have moderate foreign influence from different countries mainly due to trade but traditionally also varies from region to region due to the expansiv ...

D víðsson(1892). "Páll Melsteð", published i
''Sunnanfari'', July 1892
In Icelandic. (The present article is largely a translation of Ólafur Davíðsson's (1862–1903) article.) * Kr. Kaalund:
Melsteð, Páll, f. 1812
', entry in C. F. Bricka (ed.): '' Dansk biografisk lexikon: tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537–1814''; Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1887–1905; vol. XI (1897), p. 257f. In Danish. URL last accessed 2007-09-12. * N.N.
Páll Melsteð
(2001). Published online, in Icelandic. Last retrieved on September 15, 2007. * Valtýr Guðmundsson:
Páll Melsted
', in ''

Illustreret Tidende ''Illustreret Tidende'' was a Danish weekly illustrated magazine published from 1859 to 1924 in Denmark with international news, literature and entertainment content. History and profile ''Illustreret Tidende'' was founded by Otto Herman Delbanc ...

'', vol. 34, no. 7, pp. 76–77; November 13, 1892. In Danish. URL last accessed 2007-09-18. {{DEFAULTSORT:Melsted, Pall (historian) Pall Melsted Icelandic editors Order of the Dannebrog Pall Melsted 1910 deaths 1812 births