Bjarni Pálsson

Monument in honor of Bjarni Pálsson

Bjarni Pálsson (born May 17, 1719 on the Tröllaskagi peninsula in Iceland , † September 8, 1779 ) was an Icelandic doctor and educator .

Life

Bjarni grew up on the farm Upsum á Upsaströnd near Dalvík .

From 1752 to 1757 he traveled around the country with his friend Eggert Ólafsson , which was considered an unheard-of act at the time. The two were supported by the Danish state. The book they then wrote about the trip first appeared in Danish, tellingly . The title of the book in the first edition from 1772 is: Reise igiennem Iceland ( Journey through Iceland ). It is a comprehensive representation of the country and its people at the time. The book was translated into German , French and English in the 19th century , but was not published in Icelandic until 1943 (under the title Ferðabók Eggerts og Bjarna ).

The two friends also saw themselves as representatives of the Enlightenment who wanted to take action against superstition . So they were first to climb a . A. der Hekla (1750) and Snæfellsjökull (1753), although or precisely because they were always tried to deter them with adventurous stories of monsters, ghosts and the like.

Bjarni Pálsson was appointed Iceland's first country doctor on March 18, 1760. He lived as such first in Bessastaðir and later in Nes on Seltjarnarnes , where he died in 1779 at the age of 60.

See also

• History of Iceland
• List of Icelandic writers

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 .