Jóannes Patursson

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Jóannes Patursson

Jóannes Patursson (* 6. May 1866 on the Kirkjubøargarður in Kirkjubøur , Faroe Islands ; † 2. August 1946 ) was a Faroese farmer , poet , writer and nationalist adjusted politicians . He was the first chairman and member of the two Faroese parties he co-founded, Sjálvstýrisflokkurin and Fólkaflokkurin .

Jóannes Patursson is a great-grandson of the Faroese national hero Nólsoyar Páll . His brother Sverre Patursson was an eminent writer and his sister Súsanna Helena Patursson was the Faroe Islands' first women's rights activist.

Historical environment

Jóannes Patursson on a 1984 postage stamp

Jóannes was born in 1866 as the eldest son of the large farmer from Kirkjubøur. The royal farm of Kirkjubøur has existed since the 11th century, was the bishopric of the Faroe Islands until the Reformation in 1536 and was after the confiscation of the entire church land by Christian III. the largest royal Danish fiefdom in the Faroe Islands - to this day. Jóannes Patursson was to become one of the most influential Faroese of his time.

Jóannes Patursson, the wood carver: this Viking age door was destroyed in 1833. It was part of the interior of the Patursson farm in Kirkjubøur . In 1907 Jóannes Patursson made this faithful replica, which has adorned the outer facade of the courtyard ever since.

Jóannes grew up on the traditional farm in an environment in which Faroese customs were cultivated in a special way. For centuries people have met here for the Kvøldseta , the evening get-together, telling old stories, singing Faroese ballads and practicing the Faroese chain dance . All of this at a time when the Faroese written language was only just being rediscovered due to these oral traditions, but there was still a long way to go.

National revival

Jóannes was sent to Norway for agricultural training . There he came into contact with the Norwegian national movement, which also led a struggle for their language , which was more and more influenced by Danish , to the point of assimilation.

At home in Tórshavn , the Faroese capital near the Patursson farm, Danish was the dominant language at the time. Nevertheless, it was a time of national awakening. The Danish monopoly trade over the Faroe Islands had already been lifted in 1856, and the islanders experienced rapid economic and cultural development from a medieval agricultural society to a modern fishing nation.

In 1888 the “official” hour of birth of the Faroese national movement, the legendary Christmas meeting . Jóannes Patursson was one of the main actors there. He wrote the battle hymn Nú er tann stundin komin til handa especially for this purpose (now the hour for action has come). Allegedly, the 22-year-old Patursson was too shy to perform his hymn himself at the Christmas meeting, so that his older compatriot Rasmus Effersøe (1857-1916) had this honor.

Nú er tann stundin komin til handa does not come close to his later work in poetic quality, but it became a symbol of the struggle for the Faroese language and culture, which later, for example, was given to his 15 years younger compatriot Janus Djurhuus for his “linguistic baptism “Should help.

Political career

In 1901 the 35-year-old was elected to the Danish Folketing for the first time . In 1903 his book Færøsk politik ( Faroese Politics ) was published, in which he formulated five guidelines for the future:

  1. The Løgting is elected by the entire people and is run by a chairman and his deputy.
  2. The imperial ombudsman takes part in the meetings of the Løgting but has no voting rights .
  3. No law comes into force in the Faroe Islands until the Løgting has given its approval.
  4. The Løgting can propose laws that the chairman can approve directly.
  5. Løgting takes control of Faroese financial affairs under the supervision of the chairman.

At the time these demands were revolutionary , today they are a matter of course in Faroese politics.

In 1906 Jóannes Patursson founded the independence party Sjálvstýrisflokkurin .

In 1939 Jóannes Patursson was again a party co-founder, this time of the People's Party Fólkaflokkurin , of which he became the first chairman.

family

Guðný and Jóannes Patursson in the garden in Kirkjubøur

Jóannes Patursson was married to Guðný Eiríksdóttir (1872–1950) from Karlsskáli in Reyðarfjörður in eastern Iceland. They had numerous children together, including the eldest son and court heir Páll Patursson (1894–1967) and the economist, politician and writer Erlendur Patursson, who was born in 1913 . A grandson of Páll Patursson is the artist Tróndur Patursson .

Of Jóanne's siblings, his older sister, the writer Helena Patursson , born in 1864 , and his younger brother, the writer Sverre Patursson , born in 1871, stand out in particular.

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personal data
SURNAME Patursson, Jóannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Faroese farmer, poet and nationalist politician
DATE OF BIRTH May 6, 1866
PLACE OF BIRTH Kirkjubøur , Faroe Islands
DATE OF DEATH August 2, 1946
Place of death Kirkjubøur , Faroe Islands