Jón Magnússon

Katelin Parsons (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 c. 1610
Died c. 1696

Places

Active in Iceland

Activities

Primary

Writer / Author

Resources

Magnússon's Works

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Jón Magnússon (c. 1610–1696), nicknamed

þumlungur

[Thumbling], was a minister in the Westfjords of Iceland who believed himself to be the victim of sorcery in 1655. He succeeded in having two of his neighbours burned at the stake in 1656. After his efforts to have a third neighbour tried for sorcery failed to lead to her conviction, he authored a detailed first-hand account of his experiences in 1658–1659 to argue his case and defend his actions. Known today as

Píslarsaga séra Jóns Magnússonar

[

An Account of the Torments of the Rev. Jón Magnússon

], it has become one of the best-known works of autobiographical literature from post-Reformation Iceland.

Jón’s parents were the Rev. Magnús Eiríksson (c. 1568–1652), the parson for Auðkúla in Svínadalur from 1696 to 1650,

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1607 words

Citation: Parsons, Katelin. "Jón Magnússon". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 August 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15010, accessed 21 November 2024.]