Arngrímur Jónsson the Learned ( is, Arngrímur Jónsson hinn lærði; 1568 – 27 June 1648) 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 scholar and a Christian apologist. His father was Jón Jónsson, who died in 1591. Arngrímur studied in Copenhagen, completing his studies in 1589 and taking up a position back in Iceland as rector of the Latin school at the episcopal seat of

Hólar Hólar (; also Hólar í Hjaltadal ) is a small community in the Skagafjörður district of northern Iceland. Location Hólar is in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital of Reykjavík. It has a population of around 100. It is th ...

in the same year. In 1593 he published '' Brevis commentarius de Islandia'', a "Defense of Iceland" in Latin, in which he criticized the works of numerous authors who had written about the people and the country of Iceland. His main target was a poem by Gories Peerse, a merchant who had written an entertaining and somewhat slanderous poem about Icelandic geography and ethnography. Arngrímur also, however, criticized substantial works such as ''

Cosmographia universalis ''Cosmographia'' (Latin, from Greek κόσμος, "world, universe", and γραφή, "representation") may refer to: Written works *''Cosmographia'', an alternative name for Ptolemy's ''Geographia'' *''Cosmographia'', a late antique or early mediev ...

'' of the German scholar Sebastian Münster. The ''Brevis commentarius de Islandia'' was reprinted in 1598 in

Richard Hakluyt Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America'' (1582) and ''The Pri ...

's '' Principal Navigations of the English Nation''. This defense of Iceland and subsequent works were important for introducing European scholars to the ancient literature of Iceland and the richness of the manuscripts present there. In the context of the mounting conflicts between Denmark and Sweden, which saw both countries trying to establish historical precedents for their empire-building, it also played a formative role in the development of European

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

, participating in the ethnographic insult and counterinsult by which European countries came to distinguish themselves in print. Through this and other writings–particularly his most important work, the '' Crymogæa'' of 1609–Arngrímur became an influential figure, inspiring leading Danish and Icelandic historians of subsequent generations, most prominently

Ole Worm Ole Worm (13 May 1588 – 31 August 1654), who often went by the Latinized form of his name Olaus Wormius, was a Danish physician, natural historian and antiquary. He was a professor at the University of Copenhagen where he taught Greek, Latin ...

. In his historical writings Arngrímur had access to texts no longer extant, most importantly a large fragment of ''

Skjöldunga saga The ''Skjöldunga saga'' (or, in another standardised Old Norse spelling, ''Skjǫldunga saga'') was an Old Norse legendary saga. Dating from c. 1180 – 1200, the saga was lost in its original form. The saga focused on the Danish dynasty of Scyl ...

'' which was later lost completely. His works on legendary Danish and Swedish kings are the most important evidence for the contents of the lost saga. He also had in his possession for 40 or so years the Hauksbók manuscript, within which the only complete extant version of the Völuspa and the Hervararsaga ok Heidreks is featured, among a number of others. He is pictured on the now obsolete

ic 10 krónur

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

. See Icelandic króna.

Works

*'' Brevis commentarius de Islandia'' *'' Crymogæa'', a history of Iceland in three volumes *''Supplementum Historiæ Norvegicæ'' *''Rerum Danicarum fragmenta'' *''Ad Catalogum Regum Sveciæ, a quo danic: historiæ Norvegiæ, compendium incipit, annotanda'' *''Anatome Blefkeniana'' *''Eintal sálarinnar við sjálfa sig'' *''Epistola pro patria defensoria'' *''Apotribe virulentæ et atrocis calumniæ'' *''Athanasia (in memory of

Guðbrandur Þorláksson Guðbrandur Þorláksson or Gudbrand Thorlakssøn ( – 20 July 1627) was bishop of Hólar from 8 April 1571 until his death. He was the longest-serving bishop in Iceland and is known for printing the '' Guðbrandsbiblía'', first complete Ice ...

)'' *''Specimen Islandiæ historicum'' *''Gronlandia'' *''Arngrimi Jonae opera latine conscripta, ed. by Jakob Benediktsson, Bibliotheca Arnamagnaeana, 9-12, 4 vols. (Copenhagen 1950-57)''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arngrimur Jonsson 1568 births 1648 deaths Icelandic translators 16th-century translators 17th-century translators 16th-century Latin-language writers 17th-century Latin-language writers Translators from Icelandic Translators to Latin 16th-century Icelandic writers 17th-century Icelandic writers

Works

See also

Notes