Guðmundur Erlendsson

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 1595
Died 1670

Places

Active in Iceland

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Erlendsson's Works

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Guðmundur Erlendsson of Fell in Sléttuhlíð (c. 1595–1670) was one of the most popular Icelandic poets and hymnists of his generation. His poetry, which gradually fell into obscurity over the centuries following his death, has in recent decades experienced a revival of interest. His best-known works today are

Einvaldsóður

, a translation of

Ane Dialog betwixt Experience and ane Courteor

(1554) by Scottish poet Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount (ca. 1485–1555), and

Ræningjarímur

, a

rímur

or long narrative poem describing the events of the 1627 Barbary pirate raids.

Little is known of Guðmundur’s parents, the Rev. Erlendur Guðmundsson and his wife Margrét Skúladóttir. Of the couple’s eight children, two daughters and two sons lived to adulthood. Guðmundur lost his younger

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2016 words

Citation: Parsons, Katelin. "Guðmundur Erlendsson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 February 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14867, accessed 21 November 2024.]