Jón Guðmundsson (scholar)
Jón Guðmundsson lærði ( Jón Guðmundsson the scholar or the way ) (* 1574 in Ófeigsfjörður , † 1658 ) was an Icelandic self-taught and poet , who is also a great magician was considered. In his writings, Christian-pagan popular beliefs are combined with enlightening thoughts. He was credited with keeping the Turks off the coast of Iceland.
Life
Jón lived in the Strandir district on the east coast of the Westfjords for most of his life . In 1600 he married Sigríði Þorleifsdóttur.
When a Basque whaling expedition lost their ships in a storm near Strandir in September 1615 , the more than 40 men were murdered after various incidents on the orders of the bailiff Ari Magnússon von Ögur in October; their bodies were mutilated. To restore the honor of the victims, Jón wrote a report entitled Sönn frásaga af spanska manna skipbrotum of slagi (“The true story of the Spaniards who were shipwrecked and slain”). Because of the criticism of the powerful bailiff, Jón had to flee the Westfjords.
In 1617 the Danish King Christian IV issued a decree against witchcraft , which also worked in Iceland, although it is unclear whether it was signed by the general assembly in Þingvellir . In 1631, Jón was also accused of witchcraft and blasphemy because he had misused the name of God in his attempts at healing. Jón was able to avert the death penalty and was banished from the country, but after a hearing in the Copenhagen court and a second trial that upheld the first sentence, he was allowed to spend the remaining days of his life in the east of the country.
plant
Jón's poetry gives an insight into Icelandic folklore . In the asylum in the east of the country he wrote a number of books, most of them for the bishop in Skálholt , Brynjólfur Sveinsson . In some of his writings he deals with the nature of the devil . Paleographers also write him the manuscript Lbs fragm. 14 of the National and University Library of Iceland , a vellum in Latin and Icelandic that contains a spell against colic and gout . The Latin text is taken from the translation of the New Testament by Erasmus of Rotterdam (John 1: 1–4; Matthew 8: 1–13 and 9: 1–8) and supplemented with Icelandic incantations .
Almost all similar parchments with magic formulas and exorcisms were lost in the witch hunts initiated by the Danish nobility in the 17th century, in which 21 people were burned.
literature
- Bengt Ankarloo, Gustav Henningsen, Gustav (eds.): Häxornas Europa 1400–1700: historiska och antropologiska studier (= scrifter, vol. 13). Nerenius & Santérus, Stockholm 1987.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Xavier Irujo, Viola Miglio: Jón Gudmundsson Laerdi's True Account and the Massacre of Basque Whalers in Iceland in 1615. Center for Basque Studies, ISBN 978-1-935709-83-1 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jón Guðmundsson |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jón lærði Guðmundsson |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Icelandic autodidact and poet |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1574 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ófeigsfjörður |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1658 |
