Thormodus Torfæus (Thormodr Torfason, Thormod Torfæus, or Þormóður Torfason) (1636—1719) 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 ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

, born 27 May 1636 at

Engey Engey () is the second largest island of the Kollafjörður (Faxa Bay) fjord in western Iceland. Located north of the capital Reykjavík, the uninhabited island is in length and around in width. To the northern end of the island, a lighthouse, f ...

and educated 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 ...

. He lived and worked for most of his life in Kopervik, Karmøy, Norway. In 1667 he was appointed royal antiquary of

, and in 1682 King Christian V of Denmark appointed him Royal Historian of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway. He translated several Icelandic works into the Danish language and was the author of ''Historia Vinlandiæ Antiquæ'' (1705); ''Grœnlandia Antiqua'' (1706); and ''Historia Rerum Norvegicarum'' (four volumes, 1711). In 1711, Torfæus's Historia rerum Norvegicarum (history of Norway, written in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) was published in four folio volumes. It was the first comprehensive presentation of Norwegian history since

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

's Heimskringla. The work covers Norwegian history, from its earliest beginnings until 1387. The focus – and the strength of the work – lies in the older, medieval history. Torfæus had at his disposal a number of medieval Old Norse saga manuscripts, and he was a pioneer in using these as source material. He reworked this

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

literature into a coherent Latin history. As well, he built on a large amount of historical narratives in Latin, both medieval and more recent. Thus, the work is based on a mixed foundation of medieval Old Norse saga tradition and contemporary continental Latin culture. Through his adaptation this Norse literary tradition became known to a large public –

Dano-Norwegian Dano-Norwegian (Danish and no, dansk-norsk) was a koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1536/1537–1814). It is from this ...

as well as European. What was written during the next century about older Norwegian history was almost invariably based on Torfæus's work. Ludvig Holberg praised the work as "one of the most impressive and wonderful histories ever to have seen the light." Torfæus died on 31 July 1719 in Stangeland, Karmøy. A Norwegian state-funded project is currently in the process of translating all of his work into Norwegian.University of Stavanger - UiS-professor gir nytt liv til Torfæus
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Family

Torfæus' parents were Icelandic governor Torfi Erlendsson (1598–1665) and Tordis Bergsveinsdóttir (1602–69). Torfæus was married twice, 1.) on 9 July 1665, with the widow Anna Hansdatter (1620–16.12.1695), daughter of Hans Gabrielsen Kvinesdal and Sofie; and 2.) in 1709 with Anne Hansdatter Gammel (c. 1660–1723), daughter of councilman Hans Pedersen Gammel and Marie Clausdatter.

Works

* ''Commentatio historica de rebus gestis Færeyansium seu Færøensium'', Copenhagen 1695 * ''Orcades seu rerum Orcadensium historiae'', Copenhagen 1697 (English trans. 1866) * ''Series dynastarum et regum Daniæ'', Copenhagen 1702 * ''Historia Vinlandiæ antiquæ'', Copenhagen 1705 (English trans. 1891, Norwegian 2004) * ''Historia Hrolfi Kraki'', Copenhagen 1705 * ''Gronlandia antiquæ'', Copenhagen 1706 (new edi. w/notes 1947) * ''Trifolium historicum'', Copenhagen 1707 * ''Historia rerum Norvegicarum'', 4 b., Copenhagen 1711 * ''Torfæana'' (brevveksling), Copenhagen 1777 * ''Arne Magnusson – Brevveksling med Torfæus'', rel. by K. Kålund, Copenhagen 1916

Non-published material

* Torfæus' copybooks and letters are located in Det arnamagnæanske institut, Copenhagen University * Handwritten translations at Det kgl. Bibliotek, Copenhagen

References

External links

Store Norske Leksikon - Tormod Torfæus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torfaeus, Thormodus 17th-century Icelandic writers 1636 births 1719 deaths Icelandic historians 18th-century Icelandic writers People from Karmøy