Thormodus Torfæus (Thormodr Torfason, Thormod Torfæus, or Þormóður Torfason) (1636–1719) was an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

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 species; as well as the ...

, born on 27 May 1636 at Engey,

, and educated 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. ...

. 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 Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the dec ...

appointed him Royal Historian of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway. He translated several Icelandic works into 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 languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

) 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 th ...

Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...

. 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 Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

manuscripts, and he was a pioneer in using these as source material. He reworked this

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

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 language, Danish and ) was a Koine language, koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Denmark–Norway, Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1 ...

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 Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Denmark–Norway, Dano–Norwegian dual monarchy. He was infl ...

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, to 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