Sigfús Blöndal (2 November 1874 – 19 March 1950) was an Icelandic linguist, language author, and a librarian at the Royal Library in Copenhagen, best known for ''Íslensk-dönsk orðabók'' (Icelandic-Danish dictionary), which he wrote with his wife, Björg Þorláksdóttir Blöndal, and a small team of scholars, whose names appear on the title page.
Works
It took nearly 20 years for the couple along with other scholars to compile the dictionary, which was first published in 1920–1924. Two new editions have since been published. A supplement was published in 1963 by the editors Halldór Halldórsson and Jakob Benediktsson. ''Blöndalsbókin'' (Blöndals' book) or ''Orðabók Blöndals'' (Blöndals' Dictionary), as it is usually called by Icelanders, is an essential source of the Icelandic language.
Blöndal taught Modern Icelandic at the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University.
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from 1931 to 1946. He translated many ancient Greek poems into Icelandic, as well as some of the work of the modern Greek poet
Aristotelis Valaoritis
Aristotelis Valaoritis (; 1824–1879) was a Greek poet, representative of the Heptanese School, and politician. He was also the great-grandfather of Nanos Valaoritis, one of the most distinguished writers of Greece.
Biography
He was born ...
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He did research on the
Varangians
The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian ," Online Etymology Dictionary were
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
for 25 years and completed shortly before his death an Icelandic text on the Varangians. His English-language book on the Varangians became the standard work among historians on the subject.