Einar Ólafur Sveinsson was a leading scholar of Icelandic literature and folklore in twentieth century Iceland and an active editor of medieval Icelandic literature. He was born in the south of Iceland in 1899. In 1918 he graduated from college in Reykjavík (Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík) and went to Denmark to study at the University of Copenhagen. Einar’s studies in Copenhagen were delayed due to his bad health (he suffered from tuberculosis) and in 1925 he took a break from the school and headed back to Iceland. Nevertheless he was able to finish a master’s degree in Nordic studies in 1928, with his master thesis a study of giants in Norse mythology. Five years later in 1933 he defended his doctoral thesis at The University of Iceland, published as
Um Njálu[Concerning Njáls…
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Citation: Pálsson, Oddur. "Einar Ólafur Sveinsson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 July 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15210, accessed 07 September 2024.]