Valdimar Briem (1 February 1848 - 3 May 1930) was an Icelandic poet, prelate, hymnwriter and translator. He served as the first Suffragan Bishop of Skálholt from 1909 till 1930.

Biography

Briem was born at Grund in

Eyjafjörður Eyjafjörður (, ''Island Fjord'') is one of the longest fjords in Iceland. It is located in the central north of the country. Situated by the fjord is the country's fourth most populous municipality, Akureyri. Physical geography The fjord is ...

. His father was Olafur Briem a farmer and carpenter at Grund and his mother was Dómhildur Þorsteinsdóttir. After the death of his parents, he was raised by his uncle in Hruna. He attended the Theological Seminary in Reykjavik and graduated in theology on 21 February 1873. He was ordained priest on 27 April 1873, after which he served as pastor of Hrepphólar in

Hrunamannahreppur Hrunamannahreppur (, ) is a municipality located in Iceland. Its major settlement is Flúðir. The district abuts the Highlands, so that farmers' livestock occasionally strays there. Hrunamannahreppur and other parts of southwest Iceland were ...

. Between 1880 and 1909 he became pastor of the Stóri-Núpur parish. He was a Dean of Árnesprófastsdæmi between 1896 and 1918. After the

Diocese of Skálholt The Diocese of Skálholt ( ) is a suffragan diocese of the Church of Iceland. It was the estate of the first bishop in Iceland, Isleifr Gizurarson, who became bishop in 1056. (Christianity had been formally adopted in 1000). His son, Gizurr, do ...

was re-established in 1909 as a suffragan see, he was appointed as its first bishop on 27 December 1909. He retained the post till his death. He was a notable hymnwriter and translator, and he wrote around 80 hymns in the hymn book of the

Church of Iceland The Church of Iceland (), officially the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (), is the State religion, national church of Iceland. The church is Christian and professes the Lutheranism, Lutheran faith. It is a member of the Lutheran World ...

. Ten of his hymns are also included in the hymn book of the

Church of the Faroe Islands The Church of the Faroe Islands (; ), also known as the Faroese People's Church, is the established church and the largest religious organization in the Faroe Islands. It is an Evangelical Lutheran church, continuing the Lutheran tradition esta ...

. A number of his hymns were also translated into English."Valdimar Briem"
''Store norske leksikon''. Retrieved on 24 July 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briem, Valdimar 1848 births 1930 deaths Valdimar Briem 20th-century Icelandic Lutheran bishops 19th-century Icelandic Lutheran clergy 20th-century Icelandic poets 19th-century Icelandic poets Icelandic male poets Icelandic translators Icelandic Lutheran hymnwriters