''Fjölnir'' () 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-language journal published annually in

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from 1835 to 1847. The journal was founded by the ''Fjölnismenn'' (literally, "men of Fjölnir"), four young Icelandic intellectuals who sought to revive national consciousness in Iceland in the hopes of raising support for Icelandic independence. They were Jónas Hallgrímsson, Konráð Gíslason, Brynjólfur Pétursson and Tómas Sæmundsson. All four were Icelanders who had studied at

Bessastaðir Bessastaðir () is the official residence of the president of Iceland. It is situated in Álftanes, about from the capital city, Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, ...

and the

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. They all contributed to the publication of the journal until 1838. The fifth annual copy was published and paid for by Tómas Sæmundsson, who had moved back to Iceland, and had it printed in

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. Publication then ceased for a few years, as Jónas Hallgrímsson was occupied with his scientific research. A new issue was published in 1843, but at this point two societies, ''Fjölnisfélagið'' and ''Nokkrir Íslendingar'', had taken over publication, led first by Gísli Magnússon and later by Halldór Kr. Friðriksson. The last issue of the journal was published in 1847. It was dedicated to the memory of Jónas Hallgrímsson, who had died in the spring of 1845. There is no evidence of the distribution numbers of the first few volumes but in the years 1843-1845, 300-400 copies of volumes 6-8 were sold in Iceland and Denmark. The volumes were most likely read aloud in large gatherings and loaned from farm to farm. ''Fjölnir'' introduced

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

in Icelandic literature and poetry, and many of Jónas Hallgrímsson's romantic poems were first published in the journal. It also spearheaded the revival of national and linguistic consciousness in Iceland. ''Fjölnir'' received a mixed reception among the Icelandic reading public, partly due to eccentric spelling conventions, and the perceived arrogance of the young ''Fjölnismenn''. Nevertheless, it made important contributions to the revival of Icelandic as a written language, and greatly influenced the cultural and political milieu in Iceland. Historian Gunnar Karlsson finds that it is difficult to determine the political influence of the volumes but that there can be little doubt that the volumes made a clear contribution to Icelandic poetry.

References

External links

''Fjölnir'' magazine viewable online
at timarit.is {{DEFAULTSORT:Fjolnir (journal) Annual magazines Defunct literary magazines published in Europe Defunct magazines published in Denmark Defunct magazines published in Iceland Icelandic nationalism Linguistic purism in Icelandic Magazines established in 1835 Magazines disestablished in 1847 Poetry literary magazines Magazines published in Copenhagen