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Brynjolfur Sveinsson
(14 September 1605 – 5 August 1675) served as the
Lutheran
Bishop
of the
see
of
Skalholt
in
Iceland
. His main influence has been on modern knowledge of
Old Norse
literature. Brynjolfur is also known for his support of the career of the Icelandic poet and hymn writer
Hallgrimur Petursson
. Brynjolfur Sveinsson is currently pictured on the 1,000
Icelandic krona
banknote.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Brynjolfur was born in Onundarfjorður in the
Westfjords
of northwestern
Iceland
. He studied at the
University of Copenhagen
from 1624 to 1629 and was
Provost
of
Roskilde University
from 1632 to 1638.
[4]
In 1643, he named the collection of Old Norse
mythological
and
heroic poems
Edda
. Brynjolfur attributed the manuscript to
Sæmundr froði
, but the scholarly consensus is that whoever wrote the Eddic poems, whether in the sense of being the compiler or the poet, it could not have been Sæmundr. It is believed that the manuscript has multiple authorship from over a long span of time.
[5]
In 1650
King Frederick III
appointed Brynjolfur to succeed the late
Stephanius
as Royal Danish Historian. He declined the post but promised the king to do what he could to collect manuscripts in Iceland. One of his first acts was to request all people residing in his diocese to turn over to the King any old manuscripts, either an original or a copy, as a gift or for a price.
[6]
Among the most monumental of the Icelandic manuscripts thus collected is the
Flateyjarbok
, which was secured only after a personal visit to the owner from Brynjolfur. Jon Finnsson of
Flatey, Breiðafjorður
, who owned the manuscript, was initially unwilling to give up his precious heirloom. After a personal visit and persuasion from Brynjolfur, Finnsson gave up the valuable manuscript. The manuscript was given to King Frederick III in 1656, and placed in the
Royal Library of Copenhagen
.
[7]
Brynjolfur Sveinsson in fiction
[
edit
]
The novel
Brynjolfur Sveinsson biskup
by
Torfhildur Þorsteinsdottir Holm
, first published in 1882, is based on the life of the historical Brynjolfsson Sveinsson.
[8]
References
[
edit
]
| Preceded by
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Bishop of
Skalholt
1639–1674
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Succeeded by
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