Jón Árnason

Rósa Þorsteinsdóttir (Árna Magnússon Foundation for Icelandic Studies)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

Born 17 Aug 1819
Died 4 Sep 1888

Places

Born in Iceland
Active in Iceland

Activities

Primary

Librarian
Writer / Author

Resources

Árnason's Works

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The Icelandic folktale collector Jón Árnason was born on 17 August 1819 at Hof on Skagaströnd, where his father, Árni Illugason (1754–1825), was priest. Jón was six years old when his father died and then moved from Hof with his mother, Steinunn Ólafsdóttur (1789–1864), staying at different farms. From the age of ten Jón lived with several priests and received preparation for entry to the Latin school at Bessastaðir, from which he graduated in May 1843. That spring he was hired to teach the children of Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1791–1852), who was first teacher, and later rector, of the Latin school. Jón stayed with the family for years and moved with them to Reykjavík in 1846.

Jón Árnason is best known for being the first to collect and publish Icelandic folktales, but he

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1298 words

Citation: Þorsteinsdóttir, Rósa. "Jón Árnason". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 May 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14951, accessed 24 November 2024.]