Brynjólfur Sveinsson (14 September 1605 – 5 August 1675) served as the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the see of

Skálholt Skálholt (Modern Icelandic: ; non, Skálaholt ) is a historical site in the south of Iceland, at the river Hvítá. History Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. A bishopric was established in Sk� ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

. His main influence has been on modern knowledge of

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

literature. Brynjólfur is also known for his support of the career of the Icelandic poet and hymn writer

Hallgrímur Pétursson Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 – 27 October 1674) was an Icelandic poet and a minister at Hvalsneskirkja and Saurbær in Hvalfjörður. Being one of the most prominent Icelandic poets, the Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík and the Hallgrímskirk ...

. Brynjólfur Sveinsson is currently pictured on the banknote. Brynjólfur was born in Önundarfjörður in the

Westfjords The Westfjords or West Fjords ( is, Vestfirðir , ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coa ...

of northwestern

. He studied at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

from 1624 to 1629 and was Provost of

Roskilde University Roskilde University ( da, Roskilde Universitet, abbreviated RUC or RU) is a Danish public university founded in 1972 and located in Trekroner in the Eastern part of Roskilde. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD ...

from 1632 to 1638. In 1643, he named the collection of Old Norse

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

and heroic poems '' Edda''. Brynjólfur attributed the manuscript to

Sæmundr fróði Sæmundr Sigfússon, better known as Sæmundr fróði (''Sæmundr the Learned''; 1056–1133), was an Icelandic priest and scholar. Biography Sæmundr is known to have studied abroad. Previously it has generally been held that he studied in Fra ...

, but the scholarly consensus is that whoever wrote the Eddic poems, whether in the sense of being the compiler or the poet, it could not have been Sæmundr. It is believed that the manuscript has multiple authorship from over a long span of time. In 1650 King Frederick III appointed Brynjólfur to succeed the late Stephanius as Royal Danish Historian. He declined the post but promised the king to do what he could to collect manuscripts in Iceland. One of his first acts was to request all people residing in his diocese to turn over to the King any old manuscripts, either an original or a copy, as a gift or for a price. Among the most monumental of the Icelandic manuscripts thus collected is the ''

Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey") is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and produced by the priests and scribes ...

'', which was secured only after a personal visit to the owner from Brynjólfur. Jon Finnsson (''Jóni Finnssyni'') of

Flatey, Breiðafjörður Flatey () is an island of the western islands, a cluster of about forty large and small islands and islets located in Breiðafjörður on the northwestern part of Iceland. Flatey and its surrounding islands are, as a creation, believed to hav ...

, who owned the manuscript, was initially unwilling to give up his precious heirloom. After a personal visit and persuasion from Brynjólfur, Finnsson gave up the valuable manuscript. The manuscript was given to King Frederick III in 1656, and placed in the Royal Library of Copenhagen.

Brynjólfur Sveinsson in fiction

The novel ''Brynjólfur Sveinsson biskup'' by Torfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir Hólm, first published in 1882, is based on the life of the historical Brynjólfsson Sveinsson.Dagný Hokm: ''Holm Torfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir'' (The History Of Nordic Women's Literature, 2012. Published By: Kvinfo, Copenhagen & Kvinnsam, Gothenburg)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sveinsson, Brynjolfur 1605 births 1675 deaths Brynjolfur Sveinsson Brynjolfur Sveinsson 17th-century Lutheran bishops