Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 – October 27, 1674) was one of Iceland's most famous poets and a priest at Hvalneskirkja and Saurbær in Hvalfjörður. Events 312 - Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( Hvalfjörður (Icelandic Whale - Fjord) is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík and the Hallgrímskirkja in Saurbær are named after him. The Hallgrímskirkja (literally the church of Hallgrímur) is a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. For the Greater Reykjavík Area see the Greater Reykjavík Area. He was one of the most influential pastors during the Age of Orthodoxy (1580-1713). Lutheran Orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the Book of Concord and ended at the Age of Enlightenment Because of his contributions to Lutheran hymnody, he is sometimes called the Icelandic Paul Gerhardt. Paul Gerhardt ( March 12, 1607 – May 27, 1676) was a German Hymn writer
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Biography
He was born at Hólar, where his father was the bell-ringer and his uncle the residing bishop. Hólar is a small community with a population of around 100 located in the Skagafjörður district of northern Iceland, some 379 km from Reykjavík He ran away from home young and left Iceland with merchants. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( He was not heard from again until an Icelandic priest named Brynjólfur Sveinsson was travelling in Glückstadt, Germany and heard Hallgrímur swear at his employer in Icelandic. Brynjólfur Sveinsson (1605&ndash1675 served as the Lutheran Bishop of the village Skálholt in the south of Iceland. Glückstadt, a town of Germany in Schleswig-Holstein, on the right bank of the Elbe river at the confluence of the small river Rhin and 28 miles Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Brynjólfur took pity on the boy and sponsored him to attend priest school at Vor Frue Church in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Church of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirke is the Cathedral of Copenhagen and the National Cathedral of Denmark Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe
While studying there, he was employed to reeducate a group of Icelanders who had been kidnapped by Barbary pirates and released. The Barbary pirates, also sometimes called Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim Pirates and Privateers that operated from North Africa, from In the group was a married woman, Guðríður Símonardóttir, 16 years his senior, whom Hallgrímur impregnated. Guðríður Símonardóttir (1598 – December 18, 1682) was one of 242 people abducted from the Westman Islands, Iceland in 1627 He quit the priest school and returned with the group to Iceland. Guðríður found out her husband had died, and they promptly married. He worked as a labourer for a number of years.
Seven years after his return to Iceland, Brynjólfur Sveinsson, his former sponsor, became bishop at Skálholt and appointed Hallgrímur as a priest at Hvalsnes. Skálholt ( Old Icelandic: Skálaholt) is an historical site situated in the south of Iceland at the river Hvítá. People were quite surprised at the ungraduated worker becoming priest, but Hallgrímur was good at giving sermons. A sermon is an oration by a Prophet or member of the Clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, or religious topic In 1651, he was reassigned to Saurbær in Hvalfjörður, a highly sought after position. Hvalfjörður (Icelandic Whale - Fjord) is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. He served there until his death in 1674 from leprosy. Leprosy (from the Greek lepi (λέπι meaning scales on a fish or Hansen's disease, is a chronic disease caused by the bacterium
Works
Hallgrímur's most notable work are the Passion Hymns (Passíusálmar), a collection of hymns meant to be sung, one per working day, through the 9 weeks of fast before easter, 50 in all. The Passíusálmar or Passion Hymns are a collection of 50 poetic texts written by the Icelandic priest and poet Hallgrímur Pétursson The collection's full name is "Historia pínunnar og dauðans Drottins vors Jesú Kristí, með hennar sérlegustu lærdóms-, áminningar- og huggunargreinum, ásamt bænum og þakkargjörðum, í sálmum og söngvísum með ýmsum tónum samsett og skrifuð anno 1659. " ("The history of the pain and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ, with its special learning, reminding, and consoling articles, with prayers and praises, in psalms and songs with misc. notes, compiled and written in 1659"). Each hymn has a title denoting what part of the Passion of Christ it refers to, and a reference to a song for it to be sung to.
Other famous works of his include Aldarháttur, Rímur af Lykla-Pétri og Magellónu, Króka-Refs rímur and a collection of advisory rhymes for children.
See also
External links
- The Icelandic National Radio's Web on the Passion Hymns (in Icelandic)
- Performances of The Passion-Hymns in English and Norse by choirs and soloists using Dall Wilson's English adaption.