Gunnar Gunnarsson
Frères jurés, The sworn brothers, Salige er de enfoldigeGunnar Gunnarsson (18 May 1889 – 21 November 1975) was an Icelandic author who wrote mainly in Danish. He grew up, in considerable poverty, on Valþjófsstaður in Fljótsdalur valley and on Ljótsstaðir in Vopnafjörður. Despite great difficulties, he became one of the most popular novelists in Denmark and Germany. Often considered one of the most important Icelandic writers, he wrote the novel Af Borgslægtens Historie (translated into English as Guest the One-Eyed), the first Icelandic writing ever made into a movie. He also wrote the autobiographical novel The Church on the Mountain (1923–28).- Birthplace: Fljótsdalur
- Birthdate: 05-18-1889
- Nationality: Iceland
- Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. Many consider him to be the greatest chess player of all time.Fischer showed great skill in chess from an early age; at 13, he won a brilliancy known as "The Game of the Century". At age 14, he became the US Chess Champion, and at 15, he became both the youngest grandmaster (GM) up to that time and the youngest candidate for the World Championship. At age 20, Fischer won the 1963/64 US Championship with 11 wins in 11 games, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. His book My 60 Memorable Games, published in 1969, is regarded as essential reading. He won the 1970 Interzonal Tournament by a record 3½-point margin, and won 20 consecutive games, including two unprecedented 6–0 sweeps, in the Candidates Matches. In July 1971, he became the first official FIDE number-one-rated player. Fischer won the World Chess Championship in 1972, defeating Boris Spassky of the USSR, in a match held in Reykjavík, Iceland. Publicized as a Cold War confrontation between the USA and USSR, it attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since. In 1975, Fischer refused to defend his title when an agreement could not be reached with FIDE, chess's international governing body, over one of the conditions for the match. Under FIDE rules, this resulted in Soviet GM Anatoly Karpov, who had won the qualifying Candidates' cycle, being named the new world champion by default. After forfeiting his title as World Champion, Fischer became reclusive and sometimes erratic, disappearing from both competitive chess and the public eye. In 1992, he reemerged to win an unofficial rematch against Spassky. It was held in Yugoslavia, which was under a United Nations embargo at the time. His participation led to a conflict with the US government, which warned Fischer that his participation in the match would violate an executive order imposing US sanctions on Yugoslavia. The US government ultimately issued a warrant for his arrest. After that, Fischer lived his life as an émigré. In 2004, he was arrested in Japan and held for several months for using a passport that had been revoked by the US government. Eventually, he was granted an Icelandic passport and citizenship by a special act of the Icelandic Althing, allowing him to live in Iceland until his death in 2008. Fischer made numerous lasting contributions to chess. In the 1990s, he patented a modified chess timing system that added a time increment after each move, now a standard practice in top tournament and match play. He also invented Fischerandom, a new variant of chess known today as Chess960.
- Birthplace: USA, Chicago, Illinois
- Birthdate: 03-09-1943
- Nationality: Iceland, United States of America, Germany
- Halldór Kiljan Laxness (Icelandic: [ˈhaltour ˈcʰɪljan ˈlaxsnɛs] (listen); born Halldór Guðjónsson; 23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) was an Icelandic writer. He won the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature; he is the only Icelandic Nobel laureate. He wrote novels, poetry, newspaper articles, essays, plays, travelogues and short stories. Major influences included August Strindberg, Sigmund Freud, Knut Hamsun, Sinclair Lewis, Upton Sinclair, Bertolt Brecht and Ernest Hemingway.
- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 04-23-1902
- Nationality: Iceland
- Snorri Sturluson (Icelandic: [ˈsnɔrːɪ ˈstʏrtlʏsɔn]; 1179 – 23 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker to the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He was the author of the Prose Edda or Younger Edda, which consists of Gylfaginning ("the fooling of Gylfi"), a narrative of Norse mythology, the Skáldskaparmál, a book of poetic language, and the Háttatal, a list of verse forms. He was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of Egil's saga.
- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 01-01-1179
- Nationality: Iceland
- Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson (born 27 August 1962), known as Sjón ( SYOHN), is an Icelandic poet, novelist, and lyricist. His pen name (meaning "sight") is an abbreviation of his given name (Sigurjón). Sjón frequently collaborates with the singer Björk and has performed with The Sugarcubes as Johnny Triumph. His works have been translated into 30 languages.
- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 08-27-1962
- Nationality: Iceland
- Arnaldur Indriðason (pronounced [ˈartnaltʏr ˈɪntrɪðasɔn]; born 8 January 1961) is an Icelandic writer of crime fiction; most of his books feature the protagonist Detective Erlendur.
- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 01-28-1961
- Nationality: Iceland
- Dieter Roth (April 21, 1930 – June 5, 1998) was a Swiss artist best known for his artist's books, editioned prints, sculptures, and works made of found materials, including rotting food stuffs. He was also known as Dieter Rot and Diter Rot.
- Birthplace: Hanover, Germany
- Birthdate: 04-21-1930
- Nationality: Iceland, Germany
- Olafur Eliasson (Icelandic: Ólafur Elíasson; born 1967) is a Danish-Icelandic artist known for sculptures and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience. In 1995 he established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, a laboratory for spatial research. Olafur represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003 and later that year installed The Weather Project in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, London. Olafur has engaged in a number of projects in public space, including the intervention Green river, carried out in various cities between 1998 and 2001; the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2007, London, a temporary pavilion designed with the Norwegian architect Kjetil Trædal Thorsen; and The New York City Waterfalls, commissioned by Public Art Fund in 2008. He also created the Breakthrough Prize trophy. Like much of his work, the sculpture explores the common ground between art and science. It is molded into the shape of a toroid, recalling natural forms found from black holes and galaxies to seashells and coils of DNA.Olafur was a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts from 2009 to 2014 and is an adjunct professor at the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design in Addis Ababa since 2014.
- Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Birthdate: 02-05-1967
- Nationality: Iceland, Denmark
Einar Már Guðmundsson
Angels of the universeEinar Már Guðmundsson (born 18 September 1954 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic author of novels, short stories, and poetry. His books have been translated into several languages.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 09-18-1954
- Nationality: Iceland
Thor Vilhjálmsson
Justice Undone, Fljótt, fljótt sagði fuglinnThor Vilhjálmsson (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈtʰouːr ˈvɪlçaulmˌsɔn]; 12 August 1925 – 2 March 2011) was an Icelandic writer. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Over the course of his life Vilhjálmsson wrote novels, plays and poetry and also did translations. In 1988 he won the Nordic Council Literature Prize for his novel Justice Undone (Icelandic: Grámosinn glóir). In 1992, he won the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize, known as the 'little Nobel'.- Birthplace: Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Birthdate: 08-12-1925
- Nationality: Iceland
- Jørgen Jørgensen (name of birth: Jürgensen, and changed to Jorgenson from 1817) (29 March 1780 – 20 January 1841) was a Danish adventurer during the Age of Revolution. During the Action of 2 March 1808 his ship was captured by the British. In 1809 he sailed to Iceland, declared the country independent from Denmark and pronounced himself its ruler. He intended to found a new republic following the United States and the French First Republic. He was also a prolific writer of letters, papers, pamphlets and newspaper articles covering a wide variety of subjects, and for a period was an associate of the famous botanists Joseph Banks and William Jackson Hooker. He left over a hundred written autographs and drawings, most of which are collected in the British Library. Marcus Clarke referred to Jørgensen as "a singularly accomplished fortune wooer—one of the most interesting human comets recorded in history".
- Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Birthdate: 03-29-1780
- Nationality: Iceland, Denmark
- Gyrðir Elíasson (born 4 April 1961) is an author and translator in Iceland.
- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 04-04-1961
- Nationality: Iceland
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Last RitualsVilborg Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (born in 1963) is an Icelandic writer of both crime novels and children's fiction. She has been writing since 1998. Her début crime novel was translated into English by Bernard Scudder. The central character in her crime novels so far is Thóra Gudmundsdóttir (Þóra Guðmundsdóttir), a lawyer. Yrsa has also written for children, and won the 2003 Icelandic Children's Book Prize with Biobörn. Yrsa is married with two children, and she has a career as a civil engineer.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 08-24-1963
- Nationality: Iceland
Snorri Hjartarson
Leafs and Stars, Hauströkkrið yfir mérSnorri Hjartarson (22 April 1906 – 27 December 1986) was an Icelandic poet, and a winner of the Nordic Council's Literature Prize.- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 04-22-1906
- Nationality: Iceland
- Kristjan Valdimar "Val" Bjornson (August 29, 1906 – March 10, 1987) was a Minnesota writer, newspaper editor, and politician who served as State Treasurer for more than two decades.Bjornson was born in Minneota, Minnesota of Icelandic descent. In World War II, he served in Navy intelligence, stationed in Iceland. Besides English, he was fluent in Icelandic, Finnish, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian.He was part owner of the Minneota Mascot newspaper and an associate editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press.Running as the Republican candidate in the 1954 United States Senate elections, Bjrnson lost to Hubert Humphrey, with whom he sometimes shared a car to travel around the state.Bjornson died in Minneapolis on March 10th, 1987. The University of Minnesota, his alma mater, and the University of Iceland have a student exchange scholarship named in his honor.
- Birthplace: Minneota, Minnesota
- Birthdate: 08-29-1906
- Nationality: Iceland, United States of America
Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson
Að laufferjum og Að brunnumÓlafur Jóhann Sigurðsson (26 September 1918 – 30 July 1988) was an Icelandic novelist, short story writer and poet. His published works include five volumes of short stories, six novels, two short novels, four children’s books and four collections of poetry. His writings have been translated into eighteen languages. In 1976 Ólafur Jóhann was awarded the Nordic Council's Literature Prize for his poetry collections Að laufferjum (At the Leaf-Ferry) and Að brunnum (By the Spring). Two books of his work are available in English; the novella Pastor Bodvar's Letter (Bréf séra Böðvars) from Penumbra Press, and the short story collection The Stars of Constantinople from Louisiana State University Press. Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson was the father of Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, also a novelist and a short story writer.- Birthdate: 09-26-1918
- Nationality: Iceland
Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson
Walking Into the Night, Absolution, The Journey HomeÓlafur Jóhann Ólafsson (born 26 September 1962), usually known as Olaf Olafsson, is an Icelandic businessman, writer, and scientist. He is best known for his tenure at Sony and his leadership in the creation of the PlayStation video game console.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 09-26-1962
- Nationality: Iceland
Guðbergur Bergsson
Hermann og Dídí, Sagan af Ara Fróðasyni og Hugborgu konu hans, Faðir og móðir og dulmagnGuðbergur Bergsson is an Icelandic writer born in Grindavík on 16 October 1932. He attended the University of Iceland for his Teaching degree and then studied literature at the University of Barcelona. He is one of the leading translators of Spanish works in Iceland. In Barcelona, he met and engaged with the publisher and writer Jaime Salinas Bonmatí. His first book came out in 1961. He has had twenty books in all including poetry and children's literature. He has won the Icelandic Literary Prize twice. In 2004, he won the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize, known as the 'little Nobel'.- Birthplace: Grindavík, Iceland
- Birthdate: 10-16-1932
- Nationality: Iceland
Jón Kalman Stefánsson
Sumarið bakvið Brekkuna, Ýmislegt um risafurur og tímann, SumarljósJón Kalman Stefánsson (born 17 December 1963) is an Icelandic author.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 12-17-1963
- Nationality: Iceland
Andri Snær Magnason
Dreamland: A Self-Help Manual for a Frightened NationAndri Snær Magnason (born 14 July 1973) is an Icelandic writer. He has written novels, poetry, plays, short stories, and essays. His work has been published or performed in more than 30 countries. He was awarded the Icelandic Literary Prize in 1999 for the children's book and play Blue Planet, and again in 2006 for the non-fiction book Dreamland, a critique of Icelandic industrial and energy policy. He was a candidate in the 2016 Icelandic presidential election.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 07-14-1973
- Nationality: Iceland
Thorvaldur Gylfason
The Macroeconomics of European Agriculture, Understanding Economic Growth, Principles of Economic GrowthThorvaldur Gylfason (Icelandic orthography Þorvaldur Gylfason; born 18 July 1951) is an Icelandic economist who has been active in Icelandic public life. On 27 November 2010, he was elected to be a delegate at the Icelandic Constitutional Assembly in 2011. He is the chairman of the Iceland Democratic Party.- Birthdate: 07-18-1951
- Nationality: Iceland
Vigdís Grímsdóttir
Stúlkan í skóginum, Grandavegur 7, ZVigdís Grímsdóttir (born 15 August 1953) is an Icelandic writer.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 08-15-1953
- Nationality: Iceland
Bragi Ólafsson
Sendiherrann, The petsBragi Ólafsson (born 11 August 1962 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is a musician and a writer. Internationally he is best known for his work as a bassist in The Sugarcubes, the avant-garde pop band from Iceland that brought fame to Björk, who went on to solo success with her unique brand of diverse musical genres. The Sugarcubes, who favored strange, offbeat melodies, came together in 1986, but the Sugarcubes' members had played together in different combinations in various Icelandic groups before. Bragi and Einar Örn Benediktsson (trumpet / vocals) had released records on Einar's own label, Gramm. In 1986 Bragi also launched his writing career, publishing his first book, a poetry volume called Dragsúgur (Draught). In 1992 The Sugarcubes disbanded as Björk began her solo career. Bragi, meanwhile, has continued to work on Bad Taste Ltd., the company formed by the Sugarcubes to publish poetry and sign other bands but is no longer a practising musician. He enjoys considerable success as a novelist, playwright and poet in Iceland, having twice been nominated to the Icelandic Literature Prize.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 08-11-1962
- Nationality: Iceland
- Einar Kárason (born November 24, 1955 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic writer. He has been a full-time writer since 1978. He started his career with poetry in literary magazines from 1978 to 1980. In 1981 he published his first novel. He is best known for his novel Þar sem djöflaeyjan rís. which was translated into English as Devil's Island. The book was also made into the film Devil's Island. He has been on the board or acted as chairman for several Icelandic writing associations. He wrote a book about the Sturlungar family clan, Óvinafagnaður, in which all the most famous Vikings from Iceland come together and finally battle for power over Iceland.
- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 11-24-1955
- Nationality: Iceland
Guðmundur Kamban
Hadda Padda, We murderersGuðmundur Kamban (8 June 1888 – 5 May 1945) was an Icelandic playwright and novelist. He was born near Reykjavík, son of a merchant of an old and well-known Icelandic family. He graduated from the College of Reykjavík, where he received honoris causa in literature and language. While still at college, he was made assistant editor of the best known newspaper in Iceland, edited by Björn Jónsson. In 1906 his psychic abilities were also investigated by the Experimental Society founded by Einar Hjörleifsson Kvaran: as a clairvoyant, he succeeded in divining the contents of closed books, and as an automatic writer he penned works supposedly by Hans Christian Andersen, Jónas Hallgrímsson, and Snorri Sturluson. But he lost his mediumistic abilities after a serious illness.In 1908 he adopted the family name Kamban in place of his birth name (Guðmundur Jónsson) and advocated a change in Icelandic naming conventions. In 1910, he proceeded to the University of Copenhagen, where he specialized in literature and received his master's degree. In 1914 he published his first play, Hadda Padda which was endorsed by Georg Brandes and shown in the Danish Royal Theatre with Kamban as assistant director. He later married an actress from the play, Agnete Egeberg, and they had a daughter in 1921. In 1915 Kamban moved to New York, intending to establish himself as an English language writer. He was not successful and moved back to Copenhagen with his wife in 1917. In 1920 he achieved success at Dagmarteatret with We Murderers and was employed as a director at the theatre. He is also the author of spirited and erudite historical novels based on the Icelandic sagas, including Skalholt (4 vols., 1930–32; tr. of Vol. I and II, The Virgin of Skalholt, 1935) and I See a Wondrous Land (1936, tr. 1938). Kamban directed plays, wrote novels and produced motion pictures in Copenhagen until 1934, when he moved to London. Not finding success there, he relocated to Berlin in 1935 and lived there until 1938, when he moved back to Copenhagen. During the German occupation of Denmark, Kamban received German research funding and came to be seen as a collaborator. On 5 May 1945, as the German forces surrendered, Kamban was murdered at a Copenhagen restaurant while his wife and daughter watched in horror, by Danish partisans. His body was returned to Iceland and he was buried with honors in Reykjavik. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, his play Marmari, or Marble, was produced by the National Theatre in Iceland.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 06-08-1888
- Nationality: Iceland
- Ingibjörg Haraldsdóttir (21 October 1942 – 7 November 2016) was an Icelandic poet and translator. She lived in Cuba from 1970 to 1975 and also lived in the U.S.S.R. for a time. She has had six books of poetry published. In translations she is most known for her work translating Russian and Spanish works. She was born in Reykjavík. Her best known poem is Kona ('woman'), from 1983:
- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 10-21-1942
- Nationality: Iceland
Álfrún Gunnlaugsdóttir
Hringsól, Hvatt að rúnum, Yfir EbrófljótiðÁlfrún Gunnlaugsdóttir is an Icelandic writer who was born in Reykjavík on 18 March 1938. After high school, she went to Spain and later worked on her doctoral thesis at Lausanne, Switzerland. She has written five acclaimed novels in Iceland.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 03-18-1938
- Nationality: Iceland
Þórarinn Eldjárn
The Blue TowerÞórarinn Eldjárn (born 22 August 1949) is an Icelandic writer, particularly well known in Iceland for his humorous poetry books for children.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 08-22-1949
- Nationality: Iceland
- Hallgrímur Helgason (born February 18, 1959 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic painter, novelist, translator, and columnist.
- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 02-18-1959
- Nationality: Iceland
- Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson (born February 19, 1953 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is a professor of political science at the University of Iceland and a frequent commentator on current affairs in the Icelandic media. He is best known as a controversial spokesman for free market policies, and for neoliberalism or classical liberalism.
- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 02-19-1953
- Nationality: Iceland
- Jónas Hallgrímsson (16 November 1807 – 26 May 1845) was an Icelandic poet, author and naturalist. He was one of the founders of the Icelandic journal Fjölnir, which was first published in Copenhagen in 1835. The magazine was used by Jónas and his fellow Fjölnismenn to promote Icelandic nationalism, in the hope of giving impetus to the Icelandic Independence Movement. Jónas remains one of Iceland's most beloved poets, penning some of the best-known Icelandic poems about Iceland and its people. Since 1996, Jónas's birthday has been officially recognised in Iceland as the Day of the Icelandic Language. On 16 November each year, the Jónas Hallgrímsson Award is awarded to an individual for his or her outstanding contribution to the Icelandic Language.
- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 11-16-1807
- Nationality: Iceland
- Jón Arason (1484 – November 7, 1550) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic bishop and poet, who was executed in his struggle against the imposition of the Protestant Reformation in Iceland.
- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 01-01-1484
- Nationality: Iceland
Guðbrandur Vigfússon
Sigfred-Arminivs, FlateyjarbókGuðbrandur Vigfússon, known in English as Gudbrand Vigfusson, (13 March 1827 – 31 January 1889) was one of the foremost Scandinavian scholars of the 19th century.- Birthplace: Breiðafjörður
- Birthdate: 03-13-1827
- Nationality: Iceland
- Bjarni Jónsson (February 15, 1920 – September 30, 2016) was an Icelandic mathematician and logician working in universal algebra, lattice theory, model theory and set theory. He was emeritus distinguished professor of mathematics at Vanderbilt University and the honorary editor in chief of Algebra Universalis. He received his PhD in 1946 at UC Berkeley under supervision of Alfred Tarski.Jónsson's Lemma as well as several mathematical objects are named after him, among them Jónsson algebras, ω-Jónsson functions, Jónsson cardinals, Jónsson terms, Jónsson–Tarski algebras and Jónsson–Tarski duality. In 2012, he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.
- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 02-15-1920
- Nationality: Iceland
- Matthías Jochumsson (11 November 1835 – 18 November 1920) was an Icelandic clergyman, poet, playwright, and translator. He is best known for his lyrical poetry and for writing the national anthem of Iceland, "Lofsöngur", in 1874.
- Birthplace: Skógar, Iceland
- Birthdate: 11-11-1835
- Nationality: Iceland
Þorsteinn Erlingsson
Ruins of the saga time in IcelandÞorsteinn Erlingsson (1858–1914) was an Icelandic poet. He graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1883 and went to Copenhagen to study law. He never finished law school but during his time in Copenhagen his poems became known in Iceland. He returned to his home country in 1895 and died of pneumonia in Reykjavík in 1914.Þorsteinn was an atheist and a socialist. While much of his poetry attacked the ruling classes and the church he also composed popular ditties and poems on nature reminiscent of romanticism. Sometimes, as in his poem Sólskríkjan, the two themes are intertwined. Other well-known poems include: Arfurinn - an attack on Iceland's Danish "oppressors". Í Hlíðarendakoti - fond memories of a childhood home Rask - in memory of Rasmus Christian Rask Snati og Óli - a ditty on a boy and his dog Þið munið hann Jörund - An extremely sarcastic take on the coup in 1809. Við fossinn - Another sarcastic poem, directed against industrialization. Örlög guðanna - a lament for the pagan godsÞorsteinn's volume of poetry, Þyrnar ("Thorns"), was first published in 1897 although many of the poems had been published before individually.- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 01-01-1858
- Nationality: Iceland
Grímur Thomsen
Grímur Thomsen (May 15, 1820 – November 27, 1896), Icelandic poet and editor, was born in Bessastaðir in 1820. He was the son of Þorgrímur Tómasson, a goldsmith. In 1837, he went to the University of Copenhagen, where he studied law and philology, but he also became interested in philosophy and aesthetics. He became an enthusiastic follower of the Pan-Scandinavian movement, although this was not generally favored by his countrymen. At the University of Copenhagen, Thomsen wrote a dissertation on Byron and received a master's degree. Because of the quality of his written dissertation, he received a scholarship to travel around Europe for two years. Eventually he would be awarded a doctoral degree for his written dissertation on Byron. In 1848, Thomsen entered the Danish diplomatic service. In 1851, he returned to Copenhagen, where he was appointed chief of the ministry of foreign affairs. He retired in 1866 and returned to Iceland. In Iceland, he became a member of parliament (Alþing) and a farmer in Bessastaðir. Thomsen died in 1896. Thomsen is considered one of Iceland's most important romantic era writers. In addition to being a poet (two separate collections, Reykjavik, 1880, and Copenhagen, 1895) he is also the author of numerous critical and historical essays in Icelandic and Danish. Thomsen was an admirer of Greek literature and translated a great number of poems from Greek into Icelandic.- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 05-15-1820
- Nationality: Iceland
Stephan G. Stephansson
Selected prose & poetryStephan G. Stephansson (October 3, 1853 – August 10, 1927) was a Western Icelander, poet, and farmer. His given name was Stefán Guðmundur Guðmundsson. He was born in Skagafjörður, Iceland but emigrated to Wisconsin, United States in 1873, at age 19. In 1889 he moved to Markerville, Red Deer County, Alberta, Canada. He did not see Iceland again until 1917, when he was 64 years old. Stephan was self-educated and worked hard all his life. He wrote after work, and, being an insomniac, he often wrote till dawn. He was under the influence of the American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson and they shared the same beliefs in many matters, including equal rights for men and women. Stephan wrote only in Icelandic and had great influence in his home country. His poems were published in a six volume book called "Andvökur" (Wakeful Nights). His letters and essays were published in four volumes, and even if nothing of his poetry had survived, those would have been enough to single him out as one of Iceland's foremost men of letters.- Birthplace: Skagafjörður, Iceland
- Birthdate: 10-03-1853
- Nationality: Canada, Iceland
- Þorsteinn Gylfason (12 August 1942 – 16 August 2005) was an Icelandic philosopher, translator, musician and poet. Þorsteinn distinguished himself in Icelandic public life with his writings in newspapers, journals and publications.
- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 08-12-1942
- Nationality: Iceland
Sigurður Nordal
Hrafnkels saga Freysgođa, Icelandic cultureSigurður Nordal (14 September 1886 – 21 September 1974) was an Icelandic scholar, writer and ambassador. He was influential in forming the theory of the Icelandic sagas as works of literature composed by individual authors.Nordal studied Scandinavian Philology in Copenhagen where he received his MA in 1912. In 1914 he completed his doctoral thesis. He then went on to study philosophy in Berlin and Oxford. In 1918 he became Professor of Icelandic Language and Literature at the University of Iceland. He retained this position until his death but was exempted from teaching duties in 1945. From 1931 to 1932 Nordal held the Charles Eliot Norton professorship at Harvard University. From 1951 til 1957 he was the Icelandic ambassador in Copenhagen. He was the editor-in-chief of the Íslenzk fornrit series from 1933 to 1951. In 1965, he coined the word "tölva" (a portmanteau made from tölu-völva / "numerical oracle") as the Icelandic word for "computer". His neologism would become the standard word. Some of Sigurður Nordal's most influential works are: Völuspá: A treatise on the Eddic poem Völuspá, regarding the poem as a coherent work by one poet. Íslenzk menning ("Icelandic Culture"): Often considered Nordal's greatest work, this book was used as a standard text in Icelandic colleges. Hrafnkatla: A treatise on Hrafnkels saga, aiming to establish that the saga was a fictional work of art. Samhengið í íslenzkum bókmenntum ("The Continuity of Icelandic Literature"). Fyrirlestrar um íslenzka bókmenntasögu 1350-1750 ("Lectures on the History of Icelandic Literature 1350-1750"): This and the essay above aimed to establish that there was no gap in Icelandic literature, between the medieval literature and the 19th century romantic works."In the 1920s, there was a rumour that Kvaran was considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature, but in response Sigurður Nordal disparaged him as overly focused on forgiveness and thus tolerant of things that should rather be opposed; in the spirit of Icelandic nationalism and contemporary interpretations of Nietzsche, he considered the blood feud a better ethical mode."Sigurður Nordal also published two very influential anthologies: Íslenzk lestrarbók 1750-1930 (1st ed. 1924) and Sýnisbók íslenzkra bókmennta til miðrar átjándu aldar (1953), the latter one in collaboration with Guðrún P. Helgadóttir and Jón Jóhannesson. They deserve mention since they were required reading in Icelandic gymnasia for the better part of a century.- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 09-14-1886
- Nationality: Iceland
Ari Thorgilsson
ÍslendingabókAri Þorgilsson (Ari Thorgilsson) (1067–1148 AD) was Iceland's most prominent medieval chronicler. He is the author of Íslendingabók, which details the histories of the various families who settled Iceland. He is typically referred to as Ari the Wise (Ari hinn fróði), and according to Snorri Sturluson was the first to write history in Old Norse.Ari was a part of the Haukdælir family clan and studied in the school in Haukadalur as a student of Teitur Ísleifsson (the son of Ísleifur Gissurarson, first bishop of Iceland). There he became acquainted with Classical education. His writings clearly indicate that he was familiar with Latin chronicler traditions, but at the same time he is widely regarded as excelling in the Icelandic oral storytelling tradition. It is believed that Ari later became a Christian priest in Staður by Ölduhryggur, now known as Staðastaður, but otherwise little is known about his life, despite the fact that he is one of the very few medieval writers who wrote down his family history.Íslendingabók is the only work that is absolutely proven to have been written by him, but he is accredited with numerous articles of knowledge and is believed to have had a major part in the writing of Landnámabók, which chronicles the settlement of Iceland. Ari was early on regarded as an important author. In Iceland's First Grammatical Treatise, written around 1160 AD, he is referred to with respect as an exceptional man, since the tradition of writing was not firmly established at the time.- Birthdate: 01-01-1067
- Nationality: Iceland
- Egill Skallagrímsson (modern Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈɛiːjɪtl̥ ˈskatl̥akrimsɔn]; c. 904 – c. 995) was a Viking-Age poet, warrior and farmer. He is known mainly as the protagonist of Egil's Saga. Egil's Saga historically narrates a period from approximately 850 to 1000 CE and is believed to have been written between 1220 and 1240 CE.
- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 01-01-0910
- Nationality: Iceland
- Hannes Þórður Pétursson Hafstein (4 December 1861 – 13 December 1922) was an Icelandic politician and poet. In 1904 he became the first Icelander to be appointed to the Danish Cabinet as the Minister for Iceland in the Cabinet of Deuntzer and was – unlike the previous Minister for Iceland Peter Adler Alberti – responsible to the Icelandic Althing.
- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 12-04-1861
- Nationality: Iceland
Þórbergur Þórðarson
Þórbergur Þórðarson (Thorbergur Thordarson) (Hali í Suðursveit, 12 March 1888/1889 – Reykjavík, 12 November 1974) was an Icelandic author and Esperantist. An ironist, satirist, volatile critic, and ground-breaking achiever in experimental auto-fiction, Þórbergur arguably remains among Iceland's most beloved 20th century authors. Þórbergur was an autodidact. As recounted in his largely autobiographical works, Íslenzkur aðall (1938) and Ofvitinn (1940), Þórbergur lived in poverty for much of his youth and early adulthood and could not afford secondary or higher education.- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 03-12-1888
- Nationality: Iceland
Steingrímur Thorsteinsson
Steingrímur Thorsteinsson (1831–1913) was an Icelandic poet and writer. He translated many works of literature into Icelandic, including Arabian Nights and the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen.- Birthdate: 01-01-1831
- Nationality: Iceland
Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson
A history of the old Icelandic commonwealth, Lumpfish caviarJón Ásgeir Jóhannesson is an Icelandic businessman and former CEO of Baugur Group.- Birthdate: 01-27-1968
- Nationality: Iceland
Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason
Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason (born 1977) is a founding member of Icelandic experimental band múm, and has been a part-time member of other Icelandic bands such as Benni Hemm Hemm, Singapore Sling, Slowblow, Andhéri, Skakkamanage, FM Belfast and Represensitive Man. In Iceland, Örvar is also known as a poet and author. Gamall þrjótur, nýjir tímar ("Old villain, new times") a book of poetry was published in 2005 as a part of Nýhil's Nordic literature series. It was preceded by the critically acclaimed novella Úfin, strokin ("Ruffled, stroked"), released in 2005 and described as "a detective boy novel updated for modern girls". He studied screenwriting at FAMU in Prague.- Birthdate: 01-01-1977
- Nationality: Iceland
- The petrology and chemistry of the Setberg volcanic region and of the intermediate and acid rocks of IcelandHaraldur Sigurðsson (born May 31, 1939) is an Icelandic volcanologist and geochemist.
- Birthdate: 05-31-1939
- Nationality: Iceland, United States of America
- Páll Skúlason (4 June 1945 – 22 April 2015) was a professor of philosophy and former Rector of the University of Iceland. Born and raised in Akureyri, in northern Iceland, Páll Skúlason graduated from highschool in 1965. He studied philosophy at the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium, earning a BA in 1967 and a doctorate in 1973. His doctoral dissertation, Du cercle et du Sujet: problème de compréhension et de méthode dans la Philosophie de Paul Ricœur, considered the philosophy of French philosopher Paul Ricœur. Páll became a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Iceland in 1971 and was appointed Professor in 1975. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts (1977-1979, 1985-1987 and 1995-1997) and Rector of the University from 1997 to 2005.
- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 01-01-1945
- Nationality: Iceland
Sturla Þórðarson
The saga of HaconSturla Þórðarson (29 July 1214–30 July 1284) was an Icelandic chieftain and writer of sagas and contemporary history during the 13th century.- Birthdate: 01-01-1214
- Nationality: Iceland
Steinn Steinarr
Steinn Steinarr (born Aðalsteinn Kristmundsson, 13 October 1908 – 25 May 1958) was an Icelandic poet. Many Icelanders regard Steinn Steinarr as their greatest poet, although he remains almost unknown outside of Iceland, due perhaps to a lack of effective translations of his poetry. In 2008, 100 years after his birth and 50 years after his death, he is beginning to gain popularity outside of Iceland. Not only is he wildly popular among Iceland’s youth, but international interest in his poetry is growing.- Birthdate: 10-13-1908
- Nationality: Iceland
Sveinbjörn Egilsson
Sveinbjörn Egilsson (24 February 1791 – 17 August 1852) was an Icelandic theologian, classicist, teacher, translator and poet. He is best known for the work he did during his time as the rector of The Learned School of Reykjavík (Lærði skólinn í Reykjavík), particularly his translations of Homer's Odyssey and Iliad into Icelandic.- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 02-24-1791
- Nationality: Iceland
Jón Ólafsson
Jón Ólafsson (20 March 1850 – 11 July 1916) was an Icelandic editor, journalist, and poet. He was the half-brother of Páll Ólafsson. He became a journalist in Iceland in 1868, but due to disobedience to the authorities, he had to emigrate to North America in 1872. There, a lawyer convinced him that it would be a good idea for people from Iceland to immigrate into Alaska, especially to the Island of Kodiak. Jón made a petition to President Ulysses S. Grant and met with him, but neither that nor the bill to Congress lead to success, as the government of Canada had in the meanwhile offered land around Winnipeg to immigrants from Iceland. Jón wrote a book on his ideas for a glorious Icelandic Alaska detailing his high hopes.- Birthdate: 03-20-1850
- Nationality: Iceland
Sigurður Breiðfjörð
Sigurður Breiðfjörð (4 March 1798 – 1846) was an Icelandic poet. He learned cooperage for four years in Copenhagen and worked as a cooper in Iceland and Greenland. He was a prolific and popular traditional poet, known for his rímur cycles. Núma rímur is his best-known work.- Birthdate: 03-04-1798
- Nationality: Iceland
Hallgrímur Pétursson
Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 – 27 October 1674) was an Icelandic poet and a minister at Hvalsneskirkja and Saurbær in Hvalfjörður. Being one of the most prominent Icelandic poets, the Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík and the Hallgrímskirkja in Saurbær are named in his honor. He was one of the most influential pastors during the Age of Orthodoxy (1580–1713). Because of his contributions to Lutheran hymnody, he is sometimes called the Icelandic Paul Gerhardt.- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 01-01-1614
- Nationality: Iceland
Davíð Stefánsson
Sálin hans Jóns mínsDavíð Stefánsson (21 January 1895 – 1 March 1964) from Fagriskógur was a famous Icelandic poet and novelist, best known as a poet of humanity. He was born on 21 January 1895, in Fagriskógur, Eyjafjördur, Iceland and he died on 1 March 1964, Akureyri Iceland. Davíð Stefánsson came of a cultured yeoman family and was brought up with a love for his homeland, its literature, and its folklore. He frequently journeyed abroad but lived most of his life in the town of Akureyri, where he was a librarian (1925–52).- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 01-21-1895
- Nationality: Iceland
Helgi Tómasson
Prediction and estimation in ARMA modelsHelgi Tómasson (25 September 1896 – 2 August 1958) was an Icelandic physician.- Birthdate: 09-25-1896
- Nationality: Iceland
Jóhannes Geir Jónsson
Clausal architecture and case in IcelandicJóhannes Geir Jónsson (born 24. June 1927, d. 29. June 2003) was an Icelandic painter. He was born and raised in Skagafjörður in northern Iceland. His father was a local schoolmaster; his much younger mother died from child labour when he was 9 years old. As a child Jóhannes demonstrated a talent for drawing and painting. When the time came, he eventually persuaded his father to allow him to pursue his artistic interests rather than the academic career pre-planned for him. He studied art in Reykjavík and subsequently in Copenhagen in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Although he earned high remarks from his respected tutors, he initially had trouble making a living from his art after his homecoming, working mainly as an illustrator for advertisement agencies. He had trouble "finding his own style", and became depressive, which proved to be a blessing in disguise: Rather than painting the "classic" landscapes derivative of contemporary Icelandic artists, he began painting dark images from his youth in northern Iceland, seemingly haunted by the early loss of his mother and the strict (though caring) upbringing by his widowed father. Around 1965 the local art community started taking more notice of this little known young artist and his "dark, depressive" paintings. Art critics heaped praise on his works; this was quintessentially Icelandic art, but under obvious influence from the works of Edvard Munch or even Goya. Over the next few years he became one of the best known, best selling, and most respected painters in Iceland. Success also spelled the end of his "depressive era". Instead he turned his attention to painting Icelandic landscapes, but now with his unique unmistakable style - characterized with bright shining colours depicting (or amplifying) the beauty of a sometimes dull landscape. In the late 1970s, being an established successful artist, Jóhannes could divide some attention to one of his lifelong interests - The Viking Sagas - and incorporate them into his art. For the rest of his life, he made hundreds of illustrations based on the Sagas, ranging all the way from grand oil paintings to small pencil sketches. Despite his failing health, Jóhannes kept on working until his dying day. He was one of the most prolific Icelandic artists of his generation, and his works decorate the walls of many public buildings as well as private homes in Iceland.- Birthplace: Skagafjörður
- Birthdate: 01-01-1927
- Nationality: Iceland
Jón Hnefill Aðalsteinsson
A piece of horse liverJón Hnefill Aðalsteinsson (29 March 1927 – 2 March 2010) was an Icelandic scholar and folklorist. He was a prolific author and is well known for his works on Old Norse religion. In his 2000 book on Hrafnkels saga, he emphasised its heathen religious elements. While acknowledging that a large part of the story line probably represents 13th-century fiction, Jón Hnefill found evidence of an oral tradition in such aspects of the story as Hrafnkel's sacrifices and the behaviour of Freyfaxi.- Birthdate: 03-29-1927
- Nationality: Iceland
Óláfr Þórðarson
Óláfr Þórðarson was an Icelandic skald and scholar who was born about 1210 and died in 1259. He is usually called Óláfr hvítaskáld ("Olaf the white skald") in contrast to a contemporary skald called Óláfr svartaskáld ("Olaf the black skald"). Óláfr was the paternal nephew of Snorri Sturluson and spent his youth in Snorri's home where he had an important part of his scholarly education. Particular important is his Grammatical Treatise. After his father's death in 1237, he travelled to Norway, where he stayed with king Haakon IV of Norway and Jarl Skule, before he went to Denmark and its king Valdemar II of Denmark. He probably also visited king Eric XI of Sweden. In 1240, he served as king Haakon's housecarl in the Battle of Oslo. Back in Iceland, he was the island's lawspeaker from 1252 to 1256. He became a famous skald and composed poems about the three Scandinavian kings, which are partially included in the Knýtlinga saga, which he probably made from material he collected in Denmark. This article contains content from the Owl Edition of Nordisk familjebok, a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1904 and 1926, now in the public domain.- Birthdate: 01-01-1210
- Nationality: Iceland
Ragna Sigurðardóttir
Ragna (Ragnheiður) Sigurðardóttir (born in Reykjavík on 10 August 1962) is an Icelandic writer, translator and artist. She studied at the Jan Van Eyck Academie in the Netherlands and also spent time in Denmark. In addition she studied French at Aix-en-Provence. In 1987 she debuted with a collection of her short stories and poems titled Stefnumót ("Date"), followed in by Fallegri en flugeldar ("More beautiful than fireworks", 1989), 27 herbergi ("27 rooms", 1991) and the novels Borg ("City", 1993), Skot ("Shot"), Strengir ("Strings"), Hið fullkomna landslag ("The Perfect Landscape", 2009) and Bónusstelpan ("The Cashier", 2011) In her career she has been long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.She is married to the musician and allsherjargoði Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson. The couple have two daughters together.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 08-10-1962
- Nationality: Iceland
Tómas Guðmundsson
Tómas Guðmundsson (6 January 1901 – 14 November 1983) was an Icelandic author. He was known as Reykjavík's poet (Reykjavíkurskáldið, skáld Reykjavíkur). Tómas's parents were Steinunn Þorsteinsdóttir and Guðmundur Ögmundsson, living at Efri-Brú in Grímsnes. He soon got in touch with literature and poetry. He read Icelandic sagas, Jónas Hallgrímsson's poems and more. He also started to write his own poetry at a young age. He moved to Reykjavík and studied at Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík, there he got in touch with many authors, including Halldór Laxness (they formed a close friendship during the M.R. years), Guðmundur G. Hagalín and Davíð Stefánsson. Tómas graduated from M.R. in 1921. He then studied law at Háskóli Íslands and graduated in 1926. During that time he got in touch with even more authors, including Jón Thoroddsen junior. After his graduation he opened an office to practice law and in 1928 he started working at Hagstofa Íslands. He closed his office in 1929 and quit at the bureau in 1943. From 1943 he was mostly working at poetry and authorship. He was one the editors of Helgafell and Nýja Helgafell, he also translated stories, plays and poems. Tomas died 1983 in Reykjavík, aged 82.- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 01-06-1901
- Nationality: Iceland
Einar Benediktsson
Einar Benediktsson, often referred to as Einar Ben, (31 October 1864 – 12 January 1940) was an Icelandic poet and lawyer. Einar Benediktsson's poetry was a significant contribution to the nationalistic revival which led to Iceland's independence. To this end, he was active both in founding the Landvarnarflokkurinn in 1902, and as the editor of Iceland's first daily newspaper, Dagskrá, from 1896 to 1898. As a poet, he may be classified as a Neo-Romantic. He advocated for Greenland to become part of an independent Iceland.He pioneered as a strong advocate of inward foreign investment to utilize Iceland's natural resources. In 1906 he joined the management of two companies, Skjálfanda and Gigant, formed to build and operate hydroelectric power plants, particularly the northern waterfalls of the Skjálfandafljót and Jökulsá á Fjöllum rivers. Fund raising began, but there was opposition from people who objected to foreign involvement. In 1914 Einar Benediktsson was one of the founders of Fossafélagið Títan and three sister companies Sirius, Orion and Taurus, established to harness the power of the Þjórsá waterfalls.His translations include English, and American poetry, and a masterpiece in rendering Henrik Ibsen's epic, Peer Gynt, into Icelandic. Einar Benediktsson was buried at Iceland's national shrine, Þingvellir. He has descendants living today in Iceland, other European countries, and the United States, most notably including former ambassador and namesake Einar Benediktsson (b. 1931). He resided at Höfði house in northern Reykjavík for many years. Einar's statue, by Ásmundur Sveinsson, now stands near the house.- Birthplace: Elliðavatn, Iceland
- Birthdate: 10-31-1864
- Nationality: Iceland
- Hermann Pálsson (26 May 1921 – 11 August 2002) was an Icelandic language scholar and translator, "one of the most distinguished scholars of Icelandic studies of his generation". Often working in collaboration with others such as Magnus Magnusson or Paul Edwards, he translated around 40 works of medieval Icelandic literature.
- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 05-26-1921
- Nationality: Iceland
Hulda
Unnur Benediktsdóttir Bjarklind (1881–1946) who wrote as Hulda (the fairy or hidden one) was an Icelandic poet and prose writer. A proponent of symbolism, she was the most prominent figure in a group of writers who revived and revitalized the þulur genre of oral litany.Having a librarian as a father Hulda received an extensive home education. She studied English, German and French as well as the Scandinavian languages, granting her access to the works of European writers. Among Icelandic poets she admired the rural poetry of Eggert Ólafsson and the lyrical quality of Benedikt Gröndal's works. She began contributing poems to periodicals at the age of twenty and was quickly discovered by Einar Benediktsson and Þorsteinn Erlingsson, who hailed her as a star of neo-romanticism. Her first volume of poetry, Kvæði (Poems; 1909) consists of lyrical nature poetry, contrasting the neo-romantic dream of freedom with the virtues of hard work while some metaphors suggest the oppressed condition of women. Despite delicate health and the duties of a housewife, Hulda was a prolific writer, publishing seven volumes of poetry, the last appearing posthumously in 1951. One of her best known works is a patriotic poem written to celebrate the establishment of the Icelandic Republic in 1944.Hulda wrote more than ten volumes of prose; fairy tales, short stories and sketches as well as the two-volume novel, Dalafólk (People of the Valleys). She wrote the novel as a reaction to Independent People by Halldór Laxness. In contrast to Laxness' bleak view of rural life in Iceland, Hulda presents a somewhat idealized picture of the old manorlike farmsteads.- Birthdate: 01-01-1881
- Nationality: Iceland
Baldur Ragnarsson
Baldur Ragnarsson (25 August 1930 – 25 December 2018) was an Icelandic poet and author of Esperanto works. He was a teacher and a superintendent of schools in Iceland.- Birthplace: Iceland
- Birthdate: 08-25-1930
- Nationality: Iceland
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
AfleggjarinnAuður Ava Ólafsdóttir is an Icelandic writer. She works as an assistant professor of Art history and she is the director of the art museum of the University of Iceland.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 01-01-1958
- Nationality: Iceland
Gunnlaugr Ormstunga
Gunnlaugr ormstunga (i.e. "serpent-tongue") was an Icelandic poet. His life is described in Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu, where several of his poems are preserved.Gunnlaugr was born ca. 983. From an early age he proved himself impetuous, audacious, brave, and tough. He was also a skilled author of mostly derogatory poems, which earned him the cognomen ormstunga, "serpent's tongue". After a quarrel with his father, Illugi, Gunnlaugr left his home at the age of twelve to stay for some time at Borg with Þorsteinn Egilsson, the son of Egill Skallagrímsson. There, he became acquainted with Þorsteinn's daughter, Helga the fair, reputedly the most beautiful woman in Iceland. Her hair was so ample that she could hide herself in it.When Gunnlaugr was eighteen, he went abroad. At that time, Helga became his fiancée, on the condition that she would wait no more than three years for Gunnlaugr. He visited the courts of Norway, Ireland, Orkney and Sweden and England. In Sweden, he visited the court of King Óláfr Skötkonung where he met his rival, the Icelandic champion and skald, Hrafn Önundarson.Gunnlaugr's stay in the service of King Æthelred of England delayed his return to Iceland and Helga. He did not return until four years had passed (ca. 1005). Since Gunnlaugr had been gone longer than his allotted three years, Helga was forced into an unhappy marriage to Gunnlaugr's rival, Hrafn Önundarson. Gunnlaugr and Hrafn met at the Althing and Gunnlaugr challenged Hrafn to a duel of honour, a holmgang (hólmganga). The duel ended in a draw and was the last one allowed in Iceland. From that time hólmganga were forbidden by Icelandic law.In order to settle their dispute in blood, the two champions met in Norway in the spring of 1008. There, Gunnlaugr defeated Hrafn, but was fatally wounded. After a short time he died. He was 25. Helga later remarried, but never recovered from Gunnlaugr's death. Her greatest pleasure was to rest her eyes on a sumptuous coat that Gunnlaugr had given her. One evening, she rested her head on her husband's shoulder, spread the coat in front of her, and watched it for a while. Thereafter, she fell back into her husband's embrace and was dead.- Birthdate: 01-01-0983
- Nationality: Iceland
Kolbeinn Tumason
Kolbeinn Tumason (1173–1208) was a member of the Ásbirningar family clan, and was one of the most powerful chieftains in Iceland around the turn of the 13th century. His power was probably at its height around 1200 AD. Kolbeinn used his influence to ensure that men in his favour received positions of power within the clergy, amongst them bishop Guðmundur Arason. Guðmundur, unbeknownst to Kolbeinn, proved to be an advocate of clerical independence and resented interference from the secular chieftains. The two were soon at odds. In 1208, Kolbeinn and his followers attacked Guðmundur and his supporters in Hjaltadalur by Víðines. The ensuing battle is known as the Battle of Víðines. Kolbeinn died in the conflict, his head bashed in with a rock.- Birthdate: 01-01-1173
- Nationality: Iceland
Bjarni Thorarensen
Bjarni Vigfússon Thorarensen (December 30, 1786 – August 24, 1841) was an Icelandic poet and official. He was deputy governor of northern and eastern Iceland. As a poet he was influenced by classicism and romanticism. Politically he was aligned with the Fjölnismenn and favored the reestablishment of the Althing at Þingvellir. He was a friend of Jónas Hallgrímsson whose own poetry was influenced by Bjarni's work. Bjarni's best known work is Íslands minni, also known as Eldgamla Ísafold.- Birthdate: 12-30-1786
- Nationality: Iceland
Magnús Jónsson
Magnús Jónsson or Magnús prúði (c. 1530 – 1591) was an Icelandic official and poet. He was born to a well-off family and received his education in Iceland and Germany, probably Hamburg. Given his career, the curriculum must have included jurisprudence. After a period as a farmer and landbroker, he held office as sýslumaður, or chief administrator in two counties in Iceland, first Þingeyjaþingssýsla and later Ísafjarðarsýsla, both now defunct as administrative units. He was a famous man in his time, but what has preserved his name for posterity are his writings or, to be specific, the first part of Pontus rímur, a rímur cycle about a Spanish prince. Pontus rímur are among the better ones of the genre and are based, as many of the rímur were, on a French romance transmitted to Iceland through a German translation. Rímur are not widely read today, but Pontus rímur have secured themselves a special place in Icelandic literature by being a recurring theme in Íslandsklukkan by Halldór Laxness, where the protagonist of the story invariably alleviates boredom by chanting Pontus rímur the Elder. There are no such rímur, but since Pontus rímur have three authors, it is difficult to resist seeing it as a reference to the first part, composed by Magnús. His nickname, prúði, can be variously interpreted as elegant or wise. Of his eleven surviving children, Ari Magnússon is of particular note, being the man responsible for the last massacre in Icelandic history, the so-called Spánverjavígin of 1615.- Birthdate: 01-01-1530
- Nationality: Iceland
Bólu-Hjálmar
Hjálmar Jónsson (29 September 1796 – 25 July 1875), better known as Bólu-Hjálmar (after his homestead in Bóla), was a 19th-century Icelandic farmer and poet, known for his sharp style and biting wit and for his mastery of the short Icelandic poetic narrative style known as Rímur. Hjálmar was born in Hallandi in Eyjafjörður. His parents, Marsibil Semingsdóttir and Jón Benediktsson, were poor and unmarried, and he spent the first eight years of his life at the farm of Dálksstaðir, where he was raised by the widow Sigríður Jónsdóttir. He had little formal education, but he soon became an avid reader of the sagas and eddas. Hjálmar married Guðný Ólafsdóttir, and the pair began farming at Bakki in Öxnadalur. In 1829, they moved to Bóla (Bólstaðargerði) in Skagafjörður, from whence his nickname Bólu-Hjálmar was derived. The family had difficulty making ends meet, and Hjálmar was constantly engaged in disputes with his neighbours, who accused him of stealing sheep. He was found innocent but in 1839 left Bóla with his family. Their farmstead at Bóla is now deserted but a memorial to Bólu-Hjálmar has been erected there in a small grove. After his wife's death in 1845, Hjálmar gave up farming altogether. In his own way, Hjálmar was an artistic and creative soul. His style of poetry is marked by economy and clever use of metaphors. Many of his poems are pointedly and unsentimentally critical and tinged with bitterness, which may partly be attributed to his constant rows and disputes, and partly to what seems to have been a general dislike of humanity. An example of his bitterness, is this stanza, composed after he had received an anonymous donation. The stanza is the beginning of a longer poem, To an anonymous benefactor: Víða til þess vott ég fann, þótt venjist oftar hinu, að guð á margan gimstein þann, sem glóir í mannsorpinu.The benefactor eventually turned out to be bishop is:Pétur Pétursson. He could also be tender in his poems, although examples are rare. But this is one, called Mannslát (News of a death): Mínir vinir fara fjöld, feigðin þessa heimtar köld. Eg kem eftir, kannske í kvöld með klofinn hjálm og rofinn skjöld, brynju slitna, sundrað sverð og syndagjöld.Here are sorrow and remorse woven together. Bólu-Hjálmar was also a master of rímur and the associated rímnahættir, as in this example from Göngu-Hrólfs rímur: Fárleg vóru fjörbrot hans. Fold og sjórinn léku dans. Gæfusljór með glæpafans Grímur fór til andskotans.Hjálmar's talent extended to the on-the-spot verses. This is one example, where he met a rather tragic household on the move: Aumt er að sjá í einni lest áhaldsgögnin slitin flest, dapra konu og drukkinn prest, drembinn þræl og meiddan hest.- Birthdate: 09-29-1796
- Nationality: Iceland
Eysteinn Ásgrímsson
Eysteinn Ásgrímsson (c. 1310 – 1360) was an Icelandic poet who wrote Lilja, the most famous and in most readers' opinion the best among religious poetry in Iceland in the Middle Ages.- Birthdate: 01-01-1310
- Nationality: Iceland
Arnórr jarlaskáld
Arnórr Þórðarson jarlaskáld (Poet of Earls) (c. 1012 – 1070s) was an Icelandic skald, son of Þórðr Kolbeinsson. Arnórr travelled as a merchant and often visited the Orkney Islands where he composed poems for the Earls, receiving his byname. For king Magnus the Good he composed Hrynhenda. He also composed memorial poems for Magnus the Good and Haraldr harðráði. He is considered one of the major skalds of the 11th century.- Birthdate: 01-01-1012
- Nationality: Iceland
Jón Helgason
Jón Helgason may refer to: Jón Helgason (poet) (1899–1986), Icelandic philologist and poet Jón Helgason (minister) (1931–2019), Icelandic politician and former minister- Birthdate: 06-30-1899
- Nationality: Iceland
Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld
Hallfreðr Óttarsson or Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld (Troublesome Poet) (c. 965 – c. 1007) was an Icelandic skald. He is the protagonist of Hallfreðar saga according to which he was the court poet first of Hákon Sigurðarson, then of Óláfr Tryggvason and finally of Eiríkr Hákonarson. A significant amount of poetry by Hallfreðr has been preserved, primarily in Hallfreðar saga and the kings' sagas but a few fragments are also quoted in Skáldskaparmál. In his lausavísur Hallfreðr was an unusually personal skald, offering insight into his emotional life and, especially, his troubled and reluctant conversion from paganism to Christianity under the tutelage of king Óláfr. The following is an example. The Bergsbók manuscript attributes an Óláfsdrápa Tryggvasonar to Hallfreðr but this attribution is rejected by modern scholars.- Birthdate: 01-01-0965
- Nationality: Iceland
Vilborg Dagbjartsdóttir
Vilborg Dagbjartsdóttir (born 18 July 1930) is an Icelandic poet. She published her first book of poetry in 1960 and became one of the few women in Iceland to write modernist poetry. Her third book of poems, Kyndilmessa (1971; Candlemass), has been described as a "breakthrough". Innovative features in her works include the use of colloquial language and images of daily life. Like Jón úr Vör she combined lyrical realism with romantic imagery. Vilborg has been active in the feminist movement, and her works are concerned with the status of women in society as well as social inequality in general. She has published a number of books for children, including non-fiction works and translations.Vilborg was married to Þorgeir Þorgeirson (1933 – 2003), a writer and filmmaker.- Birthdate: 07-18-1930
- Nationality: Iceland
Vilborg Davíðsdóttir
Vilborg Davíðsdóttir (born 3 September 1965 in Þingeyri) is an Icelandic writer and journalist. Her novels The Well of Fates (1993) and The Witches' Judgement (1994) concern a slave in the Viking era and are influenced by the Icelandic sagas to an extent.- Birthdate: 09-03-1965
- Nationality: Iceland
Ísak Harðarson
Rennur upp um nóttÍsak Harðarson is an Icelandic poet and translator born in 1956. He has also written short stories, novels, and a memoirs. He graduated from the University of Iceland in 1977.- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Birthdate: 08-11-1956
- Nationality: Iceland
Hrafn Thorri Thórisson
Hrafn Þorri Þórisson studies Computer Science at Reykjavik University under the APERIO program. He has been studying intelligent systems for several years; exploring the origins, evolution and nature of creativity and how machines can be given creative abilities. The research has earned some recognition, including Iceland’s National Young Scientists’ Award and a nomination for the Icelandic Presidential Innovation Award. He carries out research at the Center for Analysis and Design of Intelligent Agents (CADIA). He is the founder of Iceland’s first and only A.I. association, the Icelandic Society for Intelligence Research (ISIR).- Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Nationality: Iceland
- Árni Bergmann-is an author of novels and memoirs born on 22 August 1935. He received his M.A. in Moscow, Russia, in 1962. He has worked as an editor, journalist, and TV writer as well as his general writing. He is also a student of Soviet literature. Thorvald the Widely-Travelled is his best regarded recent work.
- Birthplace: Keflavík, Iceland
- Birthdate: 08-22-1935
- Nationality: Iceland
Skapti Þóroddsson
Skapti Þóroddsson (died 1030) was an Icelandic lawspeaker and skald. He became lawspeaker in 1004, succeeding his uncle Grímr when the latter's voice failed him. He held office till his death in 1030, longer than anyone else. According to Íslendingabók he instituted judicial reform by establishing the "fifth court", a national court of appeals. According to Skáldatal, Skapti was a court poet of Hákon Sigurðarson but no details on that career are known. According to Heimskringla, he composed a poem on king Óláfr Haraldsson and sent his son Steinn to perform it for the king. The only piece of poetry by Skapti which has come down to us is decidedly Christian and can not have been composed at Hákon's court. Snorri Sturluson cites the following half-stanza by Skapti in a discussion of Christian kennings in Skáldskaparmál. Skapti is mentioned in some of the Icelanders' sagas, for example Njáls saga where he is insulted by Skarphéðinn Njálsson.- Nationality: Iceland
Gunnlaugr Leifsson
Gunnlaugr Leifsson (d. 1218 or 1219) was an Icelandic scholar, author and poet. He was a Benedictine monk at the Þingeyraklaustur monastery (Icelandic Þingeyrarklaustur) in the north of Iceland. Many sources (including Þorvalds þáttur víðförla) refer to him simply as Gunnlaugr munkr or Gunnlaugr the Monk.- Nationality: Iceland
Sigvatr Þórðarson
AustrfararvísurSigvatr Þórðarson (Sighvatr Þórðarson, Sigvat Tordarson) or Sigvat the Skald (995-1045) was an Icelandic skald. He was a court poet to King Olaf II of Norway, as well as Canute the Great, Magnus the Good and Anund Jacob, by whose reigns his floruit can be dated to the earlier eleventh century. Sigvatr was the best known of the court skalds of King Olaf and also served as his marshal (stallare).Approximately 160 verses of Sigvatr's poetry have been preserved, more than any for other poet from this period. The style of Sigvat's poems is simpler and clearer than that which generally characterises older compositions. Although his verse is still dense, he uses fewer complex poetic circumlocutions than many of his predecessors, and as a Christian poet, he by and large avoids allusions to pagan mythology.Most of his surviving poems were texts that praised King Olaf. Many of the poems from St. Olaf's saga in Heimskringla are by Sigvatr. Víkingarvísur, composed c. 1014-15, is the oldest of the surviving long poems attributed to him. The poem tallies King Olaf’s battles on his Viking expeditions until 1015, when he returned to Norway to carve out a kingdom for himself.In Nesjavísur, the next oldest poem by Sigvatr, the skald describes the naval battle between Olaf and Sveinn Hákonarson at the Battle of Nesjar outside Brunlanes in 1016, the key moment in Olaf's ascent to power in Norway.- Nationality: Iceland
- Gunnar Hámundarson was a 10th century Icelandic chieftain. He lived in Hlíðarendi in Fljótshlíð and is probably better known as Gunnar of Hlíðarendi (Old Norse: Gunnarr á Hlíðarenda). He features prominently in the first half of Njáls saga, which tells of the chain of events ultimately leading to his death in battle.
- Nationality: Iceland
Bersi Skáldtorfuson
Bersi Skáldtorfuson was an Icelandic skald, active around the year 1000 CE. He was a court poet to Earl Sveinn Hákonarson. During the Battle of Nesjar he was captured by King Óláfr Haraldsson's forces. In captivity he composed three of his four stanzas which have survived. One lausavísa is attributed to Bersi in the surviving fragments of Óláfs saga helga by Styrmir Kárason. But the same stanza is attributed to Sigvatr Þórðarson in Heimskringla and to Óttarr svarti in other sagas on St. Óláfr. Styrmir's saga gives some information on Bersi's career in St. Óláfr's service and indicates that he died in 1030. Bersi was at some point at the court of King Canute the Great where Sigvatr Þórðarson addressed him in verse after they had both received gifts from the king. Apart from being mentioned in the kings' sagas Bersi also has a minor role in Grettis saga, chapters 15, 23 and 24, where he asks Earl Sveinn to spare Grettir Ásmundarson's life.Bersi's mother, Skáld-Torfa, was apparently also a poet but none of her works have come down to us.- Nationality: Iceland
Þorleifr jarlsskáld
Þorleifr Rauðfeldarson or Þorleifr jarlsskáld (Poet of the Earl) was an Icelandic skald. The third son of Ásgeir Rauðfeldarson of Brekka in Svarfadardalur, he was one of the court poets of Hákon Sigurðarson, though only a couple of his verses on the ruler have come down to us. The following is quoted in Heimskringla. Þorleifr is the protagonist of Þorleifs þáttr, a largely fictional work. He also has a role in Svarfdœla saga where some lausavísur are attributed to him.- Nationality: Iceland
Þórðr Sjáreksson
Þórðr Sjáreksson was an 11th-century Icelandic skald. He composed a drápa on Þórólfr Skólmsson, four strophes of which have been preserved in the kings' sagas. He also composed a memorial drápa on the canonised Olaf II of Norway, called Róðadrápa (Drápa of the Rood), one strophe of which is preserved. A few disjoint strophes by Þórðr on different subjects are also preserved in Skáldskaparmál. Skáldatal reckons Þórðr among the court poets of both Óláfr Haraldsson and Eiríkr Hákonarson. In Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta a short story is told of Þórðr. In the reign of Olaf II, he had travelled to the Holy Land intending to visit Jerusalem. On the way he meets a mysterious tall man who converses with him in the Norse tongue and tells him to go back since the road ahead isn't safe. The stranger asks Þórðr if he knows Hjalti Skeggiason and Þórðr tells him that they are related by marriage. The stranger asks Þórðr to bring Hjalti his greeting and tells him a story to bring Hjalti so that he will recognize who he his. Þórðr does as he is bid and when he brings the stranger's greeting to Hjalti, he is told that the man must have been Olaf Tryggvason, still walking the earth long after his defeat at the Battle of Svolder.- Nationality: Iceland
Skúli Þórsteinsson
Skúli Þórsteinsson was an 11th-century Icelandic poet and warrior. He was the grandson of Egill Skallagrímsson and a courtier of Jarl Eiríkr Hákonarson. A short account of his life is given at the end of Egils saga: Of Thorstein's sons, Thorgeir was the strongest but Skuli was the greatest. He lived at Borg after his father's day and spent a long time on Viking raids. He was at the stern of Earl Eirik's ship Iron-prow in the battle where King Olaf Tryggvason was killed. Skuli fought seven battles on his Viking raids and was considered to be outstandingly resolute and brave. He went to Iceland afterwards and farmed at Borg, where he lived until his old age, and many people are descended from him.In Oddr Snorrason's Saga of Olaf Tryggvason Skúli is mentioned as one of the last people to see Olaf Tryggvason, during the Battle of Svolder. Skúli Þorsteinsson said that when he boarded the king's ship, "the dead men lay so thick underfoot," he said, "that it was hardly possible to go forward." Then he saw the king on the poopdeck, but he looked away and cleared the bodies from under the jarl's feet and his own. When he looked again, he did not see the king.Skúli also has a small role to play in Gunnlaugs saga where he introduces Gunnlaugr ormstunga to Jarl Eiríkr. Skáldatal lists both of them as court poets of the jarl.A few fragments of Skúli's poetry have come down to us. The kings' sagas quote a strophe by him where he recalls participating in the Battle of Svolder. Four other fragments which seem to be from the same poem are quoted in the Skáldskaparmál section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. The poem was composed as Skúli was getting on in years and recalls his warlike youth. The final fragment quoted in Skáldskaparmál is a lyrical description of a sunset, unique in the skaldic corpus.- Nationality: Iceland
Einarr Helgason
VelleklaEinarr Helgason or Einarr skálaglamm was a 10th-century Icelandic skald. He was a court poet of Lord Hákon to whom he dedicated his magnum opus, the Vellekla (Gold Dearth). Einarr's added name skálaglamm means "Bowl tinkle" and refers to a set of balances and weights with divinatory powers, given to him by Hákon. The part of Einarr's poetry that has come down to us is preserved in the Kings' sagas, the Prose Edda, Egils saga and Jómsvíkinga saga. According to Egils saga, Einarr was a friend of Egill Skalla-Grímsson and once gave him a decorated shield which he had received in Norway. Egill was greatly displeased since tradition compelled him to compose a drápa on the shield. According to Landnámabók and other sources, Einarr drowned in Breiðafjörður.- Nationality: Iceland
Steinunn Finnsdóttir
Steinunn Finnsdóttir (c. 1640 – c. 1710) was the first known Icelandic female writer to leave a substantial body of poetry, that was noted for her major works which includes two rímur cycles: Hyndlu rímur and Snækóngs rímur. She also composed vikivaki carols, occasional verses and a poem on mediaeval Icelandic heroes. The material in both of Steinunn's rímur cycles is drawn from earlier fairy tale ballads and in each case the main character is a woman who has been placed under a spell, one turned into a dog and the other into a man. Early commentators considered Steinunn an unoriginal minor figure in the history of Icelandic literature but recent critics have praised her for the originality of her mansöngvar and her "vision of a more just social system" (Bergljót Kristjánsdóttir 1996:340).- Nationality: Iceland
Eysteinn Valdason
Eysteinn Valdason was a 10th-century Icelandic skald. Three half-stanzas from a poem about Thor are all that survive of his work. Preserved in Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál (4) only, they deal with Thor's fishing expedition with the giant Hymir, where the god attempts to kill Jörmungandr.- Nationality: Iceland
Þórarinn loftunga
Þórarinn loftunga was an Icelandic skald active during the first half of the 11th century. He composed Tögdrápa, a poem in praise of King Canute. Like Sigvatr Þórðarson's poem in praise of the same king, Knútsdrápa, the Tøgdrápa is composed in the metrical form töglag, a variant of dróttkvætt which may have been invented at King Canute's court. According to Skáldatal, Þórarinn was also a court poet to Sveinn Knútsson, son of Knút, and his mother Ælfgifu of Northampton. In Sveinn's honour he wrote Glælognskviða, which is also the oldest extant testimony to the sainthood of King Olaf II of Norway.- Nationality: Iceland
Úlfr Uggason
HúsdrápaÚlfr Uggason was an Icelandic skald who lived in the last part of the tenth century. The Laxdæla saga tells how he composed his Húsdrápa for a wedding. Geirmundr married Þuríðr, whose father, Óláfr pái ("peacock") Höskuldsson, had a magnificent hall built in his farm in Hjarðarholt (Iceland), with paintings representing legends on the walls and ceiling: The wedding feast was a very crowded one, for the new hall was finished. Ulf Uggason was of the bidden guests, and he had made a poem on Olaf Hoskuldson and of the legends that were painted round the hall, and he gave it forth at the feast. This poem is called the "House Song," and is well made. Olaf rewarded him well for the poem. —The Laxdæla saga (29), Muriel Press's translationThree myths are described in the twelve stanzas and half-stanzas of Úlfr's Húsdrápa: Baldr's funeral, Thor fishing for Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent, and Heimdall's fight with Loki for the Brísingamen. Apart from this episode, little is known about Úlfr. Landnámabók gives the name and the lineage of his wife, Járngerðr. He also appears twice in the Brennu-Njáls saga. In chapter 60, on the occasion of a suit (which he loses), he is challenged to a duel by Gunnar of Hlíðarendi. In chapter 102, the skald Þorvaldr veili, who has gathered a troop to slay Þangbrandr (a missionary sent to Iceland by Óláfr Tryggvason) and his companion Guðleifr Arason, asks him to kill the priest, but Úlfr refuses to be involved. He then composes the lausavísa that is, along with Húsdrápa, all that survives of his work.- Nationality: Iceland
Vetrliði Sumarliðason
Vetrliði Sumarliðason was a 10th-century Icelandic skald. He was the great-grandson of Ketill hængr ("salmon"), one of the settlers of Iceland. He lived in Fljótshlíð, in the south of the island. Vetrliði was pagan and opposed the conversion to Christianity. He composed defamatory verses (níð) about Þangbrandr, a missionary sent to Iceland by Óláfr Tryggvason. He was killed by the priest (or by the priest and his companion Guðleifr Arason). In some versions, another skald, Þorvaldr veili, was murdered for the same reason. A stanza was composed by an unknown author about Vetrliði's death: This episode is related in many sources: Kristni saga, Landnámabók, Brennu-Njáls saga, Snorri Sturluson's Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar and Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta. Only one stanza of his work survived, a lausavísa praising Thor for having killed giants and giantesses: Thou didst break the leg of Leikn, Didst cause to stoop Starkadr, Didst bruise Thrívaldi, Didst stand on lifeless Gjálp. —Skáldskaparmál (11), Brodeur's translation- Nationality: Iceland
Þorvaldr veili
Þorvaldr (inn) veili ("the Ailing") was an Icelandic skald who lived in the last part of the 10th century. The Brennu-Njáls saga relates the circumstances of his death. Þorvaldr was pagan and opposed the conversion to Christianity. According especially to Snorri Sturluson's Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar, he had composed defamatory verses (níð) about Þangbrandr, a missionary sent to Iceland by Óláfr Tryggvason. When Þangbrandr arrived in his area, in Grímsnes, Þorvaldr gathered a troop to slay him and his companion Guðleifr Arason. But the priest was forewarned and Þorvaldr was eventually killed: Thangbrand shot a spear through Thorwald, but Gudleif smote him on the shoulder and hewed his arm off, and that was his death. —The Story of Burnt Njal (98), Dasent's translationAs he was setting his trap, Þorvaldr had asked the skald Úlfr Uggason to lend him assistance against the "effeminate/sodomitic wolf to the [pagan] gods" (argr goðvargr), but Úlfr refused to be involved. This request, which takes the form of a lausavísa, is all that survives of his work. But according to Snorri's Háttatal, he was also the author of a drápa about the story of Sigurðr. This drápa was remarkable for being refrainless (steflaus) and composed in a variant of skjálfhent.- Nationality: Iceland
Tindr Hallkelsson
Tindr Hallkelsson was an Icelandic skald active around the year 1000. He was the court poet of earl Hákon Sigurðarson and fragments of his drápa on the earl are preserved in Jómsvíkinga saga, the kings' sagas (especially Snorri Sturluson's Saga of Óláfr Tryggvason in Heimskringla) and the Prose Edda. One strophe from the poem, relating to the battle of Hjörungavágr, is quoted in all those sources. The following is its occurrence and context in Heimskringla taken from the 1844 translation by Samuel Laing. In Laing's time skaldic poetry was poorly understood and he translated it very freely: Then the fleets came together, and one of the sharpest of conflicts began. Many fell on both sides, but the most by far on Hakon's side; for the Jomsborg vikings fought desperately, sharply, and murderously, and shot right through the shields. So many spears were thrown against Earl Hakon that his armour was altogether split asunder, and he threw it off. So says Tind Halkelson: --"The ring-linked coat of strongest mail Could not withstand the iron hail, Though sewed with care and elbow bent, By Norn, on its strength intent. The fire of battle raged around, -- Odin's steel shirt flew all unbound! The earl his ring-mail from him flung, Its steel rings on the wet deck rung; Part of it fell into the sea, -- A part was kept, a proof to be How sharp and thick the arrow-flight Among the sea-steeds in this fight." Tindr has a role in Heiðarvíga saga where two lausavísur attributed to him are preserved. He also has a minor role in Harðar saga.- Nationality: Iceland
Þórir Jökull Steinfinnsson
Þórir jökull Steinfinnsson was an Icelandic 13th century warrior and possibly a skald.- Nationality: Iceland
Þórðr Kolbeinsson
Þórðr Kolbeinsson (Thordr Kolbeinsson) was an 11th-century Icelandic skald, or poet. He was the court poet of Eiríkr Hákonarson and some 17 stanzas of his poetry on the earl are preserved in the kings' sagas. The following example is from Eiríkr's campaign in England with Canute the Great. Þórðr is one of the two main characters of Bjarnar saga, where many lausavísur are attributed to him. Þórðr's son, Arnórr Þórðarson jarlaskáld, also became a prestigious poet.- Nationality: Iceland
Glúmr Geirason
Glúmr Geirason was a 10th-century Icelandic skald. He composed poems about King Erik Bloodaxe and his son King Harald Greyhide. According to Landnáma and Reykdœla saga Glúmr's father, Geiri, was a Norwegian who settled near Mývatn in the north of Iceland. After a feud with a local farmer, Geiri and Glúmr were forced to leave the area and resettled in Breiðafjörður. Glúmr's wife was Ingunn Þórólfsdóttir, their son Þórðr was the second husband of Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir.According to Skáldatal and Fagrskinna Glúmr composed a poem on Erik Bloodaxe where he laid out the king's exploits in many countries. No surviving verse can definitely be assigned to this poem but Finnur Jónsson attributed a two-line refrain found in the Third Grammatical Treatise to it. He also believed that a verse cited in Heimskringla and said to refer to Harald Greyhide was actually a part of the lay on Erik. This has been disputed.Glúmr's major surviving work is the fragmentarily preserved Gráfeldardrápa, a memorial poem on Harald Greyhide composed shortly after his death (ca. 970). As arranged by Finnur Jónsson the preserved parts start with a half-stanza asking Haraldr's surviving brothers to listen to the poem. Then there are two and a half verse on Haraldr's battles around Scotland and in the east before and after he became king of Norway. This is followed by two verses on his expedition to Bjarmaland and his battles in general, as well as four verses on his last battle and death. One verse expresses the poet's regret for his deceased patron. Finally there is one half-verse which praises the physical prowess of the king and one which expresses the idea that the god Odin lived in the king. A refrain is also preserved.Aside from the above poems one lausavísa by Glúmr is preserved, composed just after the Battle of Stord. Finnur Jónsson described Glúmr's verses as very accomplished in form and somewhat old fashioned, surprisingly light and easy-flowing, having few but well-chosen and tasteful kennings. He considered Glúmr a competent poet with a certain originality.- Nationality: Iceland
Hallar-Steinn
Hallar-Steinn was an Icelandic poet active around the year 1200. He is best known for the poem Rekstefja, preserved in Bergsbók and Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta. A few other disjoint verses by him are also known, quoted in Skáldskaparmál, Laufás-Edda and the Third Grammatical Treatise. Rekstefja traces the career of King Óláfr Tryggvason from his upbringing in Russia to his fall at Svöldr. It consists of 35 dróttkvætt verses. The poem's name derives from its refrain (Old Norse stef) which consists of three lines divided between three contiguous verses. The poem proclaims itself to be the third drápa on Óláfr Tryggvason, referring to two earlier ones by Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld and the unknown Bjarni. The poem is technically accomplished and makes use of complex combinations of kennings. It is influenced by the works of Arnórr jarlaskáld and Einarr Skúlason and has many similarities with Óláfsdrápa Tryggvasonar, preserved in the same manuscript.No biographical information on Hallar-Steinn has come down to us. His name may be derived from the farm-name Höll in Þverárhlíð in Borgarfjörður. He was identified by some early commentators with the 11th century court poet Steinn Herdísarson but this is rejected by modern scholars.- Nationality: Iceland
Kormákr Ögmundarson
Kormákr Ögmundarson was a 10th-century Icelandic skald. He is the protagonist of Kormáks saga which preserves a significant amount of poetry attributed to him. According to Skáldatal he was also the court poet of Sigurðr Hlaðajarl and fragments of a drápa to the jarl are preserved in Skáldskaparmál. The following stanzas represent some of Kormákr's love poetry. He tells of the first time he met Steingerðr, the love of his life. Read aloud with modern Icelandic pronunciation.- Nationality: Iceland
Þórarinn Skeggjason
Þórarinn Skeggjason was an 11th-century Icelandic skald. According to Skáldatal, he was a court poet of the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada. He composed a drápa on the king. Only one half-stanza of it has been preserved in the kings' sagas. It tells that Harald blinded the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomachos. This episode is also mentioned by Þjóðólfr Arnórsson in his Sexstefja.- Nationality: Iceland
Vigfúss Víga-Glúmsson
Vigfúss Víga-Glúmsson was an Icelandic skald, active around the year 1000. He was the son of Víga-Glúmr, the protagonist of Víga-Glúms saga. According to various sources, Vígfúss was the court poet of Hákon Sigurðarson, but only two verses of his poetry, preserved in Fagrskinna, have come down to us. Vígfúss has a role in several Icelanders' sagas, including Víga-Glúms saga, Ögmundar þáttr and Ljósvetninga saga. According to the kings' sagas he fought with Earl Hákon against the Jomsvikings in the Battle of Hjörungavágr.- Nationality: Iceland
Steinunn Refsdóttir
Steinunn Refsdóttir was an Icelandic skaldic poetic active at the end of the 10th century. The daughter of Refr hinn mikill ("the Great") and Finna, "Steinunn was both descended from and married into a powerful family of priest-chieftains (goðar)". She is Hofgarða-Refr Gestsson's mother. Brennu-Njáls saga (102) relates that she preached heathenism to Þangbrandr, a missionary sent to Iceland by king of Norway Óláfr Tryggvason, trying to demonstrate Thor's superiority over Christ ("Have you heard," she said, "that Thor challenged Christ to a duel and that Christ didn't dare to fight with him?"). On this occasion she composed two skaldic stanzas (lausavísur) in which she attributes Þangbrandr's shipwreck to Thor. These verses are one of the few testimonies of pre-Christian skaldic poetry composed by a woman that has come down to us. They are also preserved in Kristni saga (9) and Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta (216).- Nationality: Iceland
Eilífr kúlnasveinn
Eilífr kúlnasveinn is an Icelandic skald who lived in the 12th or 13th century.Nothing is known of his life, but he may have been a clergyman.Five fragments of his work have come down to us. One stanza is preserved in the Fourth Grammatical Treatise. Three half-stanzas and a couplet are quoted in Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál (52) and are generally considered to belong to a poem addressed to Christ (Kristsdrápa), for they appear among the kennings for Christ.- Nationality: Iceland
Þórvaldr Hjaltason
Þórvaldr Hjaltason was an Icelandic skald in the service of the Swedish king Eric the Victorious. He took part in the Battle of the Fýrisvellir against Styrbjörn the Strong and composed the following two lausavísur: Other poems found in Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa may also be his productions.- Nationality: Iceland
Óttarr svarti
Óttarr svarti (Óttarr the Black) was an 11th-century Icelandic skald. He was the court poet first of Óláfr skautkonungr of Sweden, then of Óláfr Haraldsson of Norway, the Swedish king Anund Jacob and finally of Cnut the Great of Denmark and England. His poems are significant contemporary evidence for the careers of Óláfr Haraldsson and Cnut the Great. Óttarr was the nephew of Sigvatr Þórðarson, and Óttarr clearly based the poem Hǫfuðlausn, his encomium for Óláfr Haraldsson, on Sigvatr’s Víkingarvísur, which tallies the king's early Viking expeditions. A small þáttr (short story) on Óttarr, Óttars þáttr svarta, is preserved in Flateyjarbók, Bergsbók, Bæjarbók and Tómasskinna.- Nationality: Iceland
Eilífr Goðrúnarson
Eilífr Goðrúnarson was a late 10th-century skald, considered to be the author of the poem Þórsdrápa. He is also credited with Hákonar drápa jarls and a fragment remains of a poem with Christian allusions which is also believed to be his work. He was a court poet of Hákon the Powerful.- Nationality: Iceland
Þorbjörn dísarskáld
Þorbjörn dísarskáld is a 10th or 11th century Icelandic skald. His nickname means "poet of the lady" or "poet of the dís". It could be an allusion to a now lost poem about Freyja (whom Snorri Sturluson in the Skáldskaparmál calls Vanadís, "lady of the Vanir" or "dís of the Vanir") or one of the dísir.But only one or two fragments of his poetry have been preserved, in Skáldskaparmál. The first one (two verses and one stanza) comes from a poem about Thor. The stanza consists of a list of giants and giantesses killed by the god: Thou didst smite the head of Keila, Smash Kjallandi altogether, Ere thou slewest Lútr and Leidi, Didst spill the blood of Búseyra; Didst hold back Hengjankjapta, Hyrrokkin died before; Yet sooner in like fashion Svívör from life was taken. —Skáldskaparmál (4), Brodeur's translationThe other fragment deals with the christening of an unknown person: The Freighter of Wave-Crests' Sea-Wain Was in the font of christening, Hoard-Scatterer, who was given The White Christ's highest favor. —Skáldskaparmál (52), Brodeur's translationÞorbjörn's authorship of this passage is not certain. If both texts have the same author, then it means, as Anthony Faulkes states, that Þorbjörn became Christian.- Nationality: Iceland
Halldórr skvaldri
Halldórr skvaldri (Halldórr Prattler, or Halldór the Talkative) was an Icelandic skald who lived in the first half of the twelfth century. He composed the poem Útfarardrápa about the feats of Sigurðr Jórsalafari during his voyage to the Holy Land. After Sigurðr's death, he probably served Magnus Barefoot. He is also known to have composed for nine powerful men, including the Swedish jarls Sone Ivarsson (c. 1107), Karl Sonesson (c. 1137) and for the Swedish kings Sverker I of Sweden (c. 1150) and Jon Jarl. In the assessment of Jan de Vries, Halldórr was an able craftsman ('ein gewandter Verseschmied') but lacked poetic genius.- Nationality: Iceland
Aðalsteinn Ásberg Sigurðsson
Aðalsteinn Ásberg Sigurðsson (Iceland) is an author of children's books, poetry, and music.- Nationality: Iceland
Gamli gnævaðarskáld
Gamli gnævaðarskáld was an Icelandic skald. One half-stanza from a poem about Thor dealing with the god's fight against Jörmungandr and one fragment from a poem about an unidentifiable king are all that survive of his work. They were preserved in Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál (4, 64). It is often stated that Gamli lived in the 10th century but Rudolf Simek and Hermann Pálsson consider this "pure speculation".The meaning of Gamli's nickname is unclear. He may have composed a poem about a person whose nickname was Gnævaðr ("raised high", "towering"). Rudolf Simek and Hermann Pálsson suggest that "Gnævaðar" may apply to Gamli himself. The nickname should thus be understood as "the outstanding skald".- Nationality: Iceland
Einarr Skúlason
Einarr Skúlason's GeisliEinarr Skúlason (ca. 1100 – after 1159) was an Icelandic priest and skald. He was the most prominent Norse poet of the 12th century. Einarr's poetry is primarily preserved in Heimskringla, Flateyjarbók, Morkinskinna, Fagrskinna and Skáldskaparmál.He was descended from the family of Egill Skallagrímsson, the so-called Mýramenn. For most of his life he lived in Norway, during the reign of kings Sigurd Magnusson, Harald Gille and the sons of the latter, especially Eysteinn Haraldsson, whose marshall he became. After Eysteinn's death in 1157, he composed the poem Elfarvísur for the nobleman Gregorius Dagsson (died 1161), referring to his victory over King Hákon Herdebrei at Göta älv in Götaland.The best known of Einarr's drápur is Geisli ("Ray of Light"), about St. Olaf Haraldsson. This drápa was recited in the Church of Christ in Nidaros in the presence of the three Norwegian kings of the time, Eysteinn, Sigurd and Inge, along with Jon Birgersson, Archbishop of Nidaros. The poem is composed in the dróttkvætt metre and it is the earliest completely preserved drápa with Christian content.- Nationality: Iceland
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