Jón Árnason (17 August 1819 — 4 September 1888)
[''Mannslát'' (Obituary) in '']Ísafold
''Ísafold'' was an Icelandic newspaper, published weekly. It was founded in 1874 by the politician Björn Jónsson, who was the editor until 1909, when he became prime minister.
''Ísafold'' was published until 1929, when it merged with ''Morgu ...
''
5 September 1888
was an
Icelandic author,
librarian, and museum director who made the first collection of Icelandic
folktales.
Career
Jón Árnason was educated at the
Latin School in
Bessastaðir.
["Jón Arnason", ''Library of the World's Best Literature: Ancient and Modern: A-Z'', ed. Charles Dudley Warner et al., Volume 2, New York: Peale and Hill, 1896, OCLC 1182898]
p. 802
From 1848 to 1887, he was the first librarian at what became the
National Library of Iceland in Reykjavík;
[ in 1881 its name was changed from ''Íslands stiftisbókasafn'' (Foundation library of Iceland) and his title became ''Landsbókavörður Íslands'' (National Librarian of Iceland). Meanwhile he also served as the first librarian of the Iceland branch of the ]Icelandic Literary Society The Icelandic Literary Society (Hið Íslenzka Bókmenntafélag), founded in 1816, is a society dedicated to promoting and strengthening Icelandic language, literature and learning.
The society was founded in 1816, when the Icelandic independence ...
.[
He was also the first curator of the ''Forngripasafns Íslands'' (Icelandic Antiquities Collection), which became the ]National Museum of Iceland
National may refer to:
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, when it was founded in 1863.[ For a long time he ran both the museum and the library.
In addition, he supplemented his small salary][Jacqueline Simpson, ''Icelandic Folktales and Legends'', London: Batsford, 1972, ]
p. 2
by working as secretary to the Bishop and as a teacher and custodian of the library at the Latin School, which had moved to Reykjavík.[ In 1877, when he was put forward as one of two Icelandic representatives to the centennial celebration of ]Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
The university rose to significance during ...
, the government in Copenhagen objected to a "porter" representing Iceland because he was "janitor of the Iceland High School", as Guðbrandur Vigfússon anonymously worded it in an obituary.
Folk tales and other publications
Inspired by the brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...
's ''Kinder- und Hausmärchen'' ('' Grimm's Fairy Tales''), Jón began to collect and record folktales, together with Magnús Grímsson, a friend who was a schoolmaster and later a clergyman.[ Their first collection, ''Íslenzk Æfintýri'' (Icelandic Folktales) appeared in 1852, but attracted little notice. The two only resumed collecting after ]Konrad Maurer
Konrad Maurer, since 1876 Konrad von Maurer (April 29, 1823 – September 16, 1902) was a German legal historian. He was the son of legal historian and statesman Georg Ludwig von Maurer (1790–1872). Maurer is considered one of the most s ...
, the German legal historian and scholar of Icelandic literature, toured the country in 1858 and encouraged them.[ After Magnús Grímsson died in 1860, Jón Árnason finished the collection on his own.][ It was published in 2 volumes in 1862 and 1864 in Leipzig with Maurer's help, as ''Íslenzkar Þjóðsögur og Æfintýri'' (Icelandic Folktales and Legends), comprising over 1300 pages. In 1954–61 it was reissued in Reykjavík in 6 volumes.
Jón and Magnús lacked the time and means to travel much to collect tales, instead relying on present and former pupils and other contacts to send them tales in writing.][ Also either they or Jón may have "touched up" the wording. However, the changes he is known to have made are slight, and the universal admiration for the saga style and relative lack of educational and class differences in Iceland mean that stylistic tastes differed less there than elsewhere in Europe in the 19th century.][Simpson]
pp. 11-12
Jón Árnason also wrote biographies of Martin Luther (1852), Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...
(1853), and Sveinbjörn Egilsson.[Obituary, ''The Academy''.]
Personal life
Jón married late in life but his son died before he did.[ He died after a long illness.][
]
Publications
* Jón Árnason and Magnús Grímsson (Ed.) ''Íslenzk Æfintýri''. Reykjavík, 1852.
* Jón Árnason. ''Íslenzkar Þjóðsögur og Æfintýri''. 2 vols. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1862, 1864.
* Jón Árnason. ''Ágrip af æfisögu Dr. Marteins Lúters''. Reykjavík, 1852. OCLC 52435258
* Jón Árnason. ''Sagan af Karlamagnúsi keisara''. Copenhagen, 1853. OCLC 264953221
References
External links
Selected folktales from Jón Árnason's collection
at Netútgáfan
''Íslenzkar Þjóðsögur og Æfintýri''
(1862 ed.) reproduced online at bækur.is
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnason, Jon
Jon Arnason
Jon Arnason
1819 births
1888 deaths
Jon Arnason
Jon Arnason