''Fjölnir'' () was an

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 ...

ic-language journal published annually in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

from 1835 to 1847. The journal was founded by the ''Fjölnismenn'' (literally, "men of Fjölnir"), four young Icelandic intellectuals who sought to revive national consciousness in Iceland in the hopes of raising support for Icelandic independence. They were

Jónas Hallgrímsson Jónas Hallgrímsson (16 November 1807 – 26 May 1845) was an Icelandic poet, author and naturalist. He was one of the founders of the Icelandic journal ''Fjölnir'', which was first published in Copenhagen in 1835. The magazine was used by ...

, Konráð Gíslason, Brynjólfur Pétursson and

Tómas Sæmundsson Tómas Sæmundsson (7 June 1807 – 17 May 1841) was an Icelandic priest, and one of the '' Fjölnismenn'', a group of Icelandic intellectuals who spearheaded the revival of Icelandic national consciousness and gave rise to the Icelandic Indepen ...

. All four were

Icelanders Icelanders ( is, Íslendingar) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland and speak Icelandic. Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 AD when the Althing (Parliament) met fo ...

who had studied at Bessastaðir and 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 ...

. They all contributed to the publication of the journal until 1838. The fifth annual copy was published and paid for by

, who had moved back to Iceland, and had it printed in Viðey. Publication then ceased for a few years, as

was occupied with his scientific research. A new issue was published in 1843, but at this point two societies, ''Fjölnisfélagið'' and ''Nokkrir Íslendingar'', had taken over publication, led first by Gísli Magnússon and later by Halldór Kr. Friðriksson. The last issue of the journal was published in 1847. It was dedicated to the memory of

, who had died in the spring of 1845. There is no evidence of the distribution numbers of the first few volumes but in the years 1843-1845, 300-400 copies of volumes 6-8 were sold in Iceland and Denmark. The volumes were most likely read aloud in large gatherings and loaned from farm to farm. ''Fjölnir'' introduced

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

in Icelandic literature and poetry, and many of

's romantic poems were first published in the journal. It also spearheaded the revival of national and linguistic consciousness in Iceland. ''Fjölnir'' received a mixed reception among the Icelandic reading public, partly due to eccentric spelling conventions, and the perceived arrogance of the young ''Fjölnismenn''. Nevertheless, it made important contributions to the revival of Icelandic as a written language, and greatly influenced the cultural and political milieu in Iceland. Historian Gunnar Karlsson finds that it is difficult to determine the political influence of the volumes but that there can be little doubt that the volumes made a clear contribution to Icelandic poetry.

References

External links

''Fjölnir'' magazine viewable online
at timarit.is {{DEFAULTSORT:Fjolnir (journal) Annual magazines Defunct literary magazines published in Europe Defunct magazines published in Denmark Defunct magazines published in Iceland Icelandic nationalism Linguistic purism in Icelandic Magazines established in 1835 Magazines disestablished in 1847 Poetry literary magazines Magazines published in Copenhagen