Þorgils Gjallandi

Þorgils Gjallandi (actually Jón Stefánsson , born June 2, 1851 in Skútustaðir ; † June 23, 1915 on the farm Litla Strönd , Skútustaðir municipality) was an Icelandic writer . His work consists of several short stories, most of which were published scattered, as well as a novel.

Life

Lake Mývatn, around which Þorgils Gjallandi lived

Jón Stefánsson grew up as the son of a farmer in the area around Lake Mývatn . He was largely self-taught. After the death of both parents - the mother died in 1860, the father in 1868 - he initially worked on various farms in the area. For some time he lived with an uncle who was interested in old Icelandic literature . Jón also read works by contemporary authors such as Jonas Lie . He married in 1877 and finally settled in 1889 on the Litla Strönd farm, which he managed.

His writing career got off to a late start. It was first published in local newspapers in the 1880s. He chose Þorgils Gjallandi as a pseudonym, the name of a person from the old Icelandic Egils saga . His first book was Ofan úr sveitum , a volume with three short stories and a novella, published in 1892. It was not until ten years later that he published his second book, the novel Upp við fossa . Both Ofan úr sveitum and Upp við fossa accuse the Icelandic Church and its positions, which are perceived as backward. In 1910 he published a collection of animal stories ( Dýrasögur ) that had previously appeared in the magazine Dýravinurinn .

Works

• Ofan úr sveitum (1892)
• Upp við fossa (1902, German Above near the waterfalls , 1908)
• Dýrasögur (1910)
• Ritsafn (1945, collected works in 4 volumes)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ernst Walter: Gjallandi, Þorgils in Horst Bien (ed.): Meyers Taschenlexikon Nordeuropean Literaturen , Leipzig 1978
2. ↑ Jón Stefánsson ( Memento of the original from April 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on familysearch.org 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Þorgils gjallandi in Stefán Einarsson: History of Icelandic prose writers . Cornell University Press, Ithaca 1948

Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .