Jens Christian Djurhuus or Sjóvarbóndin (21 August 1773 – 21 November 1853) was the first

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

who wrote in Faroese. He composed several Faroese ballads in traditional style on historical themes. The best known is '' Ormurin langi''. Djurhuus also composed satirical poems directed against Danish rule in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

Biography

Djurhuus was the fourth son of Johan Christian Djurhuus (1741–1815) and Maria Rønning (1741–1807). They lived in

Nes, Eysturoy Nes () is a village in Nes Municipality on the southwest coast of the Faroese island of Eysturoy. History The 2005 population of the village of Nes was 230. Besides Nes, the two other towns of Toftir and Saltnes are part of Nes Municipality, ...

, where his Danish grandfather Christen Djurhuus (1708–1775) was provost. His mother came from

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, ) was a county (''fylke'') in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . ...

in Norway. She was reportedly a descendant of Earl

Haakon Sigurdsson Haakon Sigurdsson ( , ; 937–995), known as Haakon Jarl (Old Norse: ''Hákon jarl''), was the '' de facto'' ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995. Sometimes he is styled as Haakon the Powerful (), though the '' Ágrip'' and '' Historia Norw ...

. In 1797, he married Jóhanna Maria Jensdóttir from

Kollafjørður Kollafjørður () is a village in the Faroe Islands, located on the island of Streymoy. As of 29. April 2025, the village had a population of 815. Its postal code is FO 410. Until 2001 it was a municipality in its own right but is now part of the ...

, daughter of farmer Jens Didriksen (1710-1771) of Við Sjógv on

Streymoy Streymoy (, ) is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn, is located on its southeast coast. The name means "island of currents". It also refers to the largest region of the country that also includes the ...

. Because Jóhanna Maria was his only child, she was sole heiress of the farm. The couple moved to this farm the same year, and it became the cultural centre of the village. Two of his great-grandsons,

Janus Djurhuus Jens Hendrik Oliver Djurhuus, called Janus Djurhuus, (26 February 1881, Tórshavn – 1 September 1948, Tórshavn) was the first modern Faroe Islands, Faroese poet. He and his younger brother Hans Andreas Djurhuus, also a poet, are called the ...

(1881-1948) and Hans Andrias Djurhuus (1883-1953) were among the best known poets of the Faroe Islands. They were also commonly known as the Áarstova brothers (''Áarstovubrøðurnir'') after Áarstova, the house in Tórshavn where they grew up.

References

Other sources

* Rossel, Sven H. (1992). ''A History of Danish Literature''. University of Nebraska Press. * Hanus Kamban: ''J.H.O. Djurhuus: En litterær biografi''. Odense Universitetsforlag, 2001 - 1773 births 1853 deaths 19th-century Faroese poets Faroese-language poets Faroese songwriters Faroese male poets 18th-century Faroese people 19th-century male writers {{faroes-poet-stub