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Óþekkt kvæði eftir Hallgrím Pétursson

Abstract

In the manuscript section at Uppsala University Library (Carolina Rediviva), a manuscript is preserved (shelfmark Ihre 77) containing transcriptions of Old Norse poems and related material. The manuscript is in the hand of an Icelander, Jón Rúgmann (1636–1679), who was a translator and scribe at Uppsala University from 1662 until his death in 1679. In addition to this material, Rúgmann copied three poems of a different kind, all by contemporary poets. First, there is a funeral poem about Gísli Hákonarson (d. 1631) of Bræðratunga, one of Iceland’s most powerful sheriffs, attributed to the Reverend Magnús Sigfússon (d. 1663) from Höskuldsstaðir in northern Iceland. The second poem is a funeral poem about Gísli Hákonarson’s son, Vigfús Gíslason (d. 1647), a sheriff of Stórólfshvoll in the South; this is attributed to the Reverend Hallgrímur Pétursson. The third is a wellknown poem of wisdom by Hallgrímur. The two funeral poems have never been printed. The first one is also preserved in two other manuscripts in the National Library of Iceland, but the second is not known from other sources.

The discovery of this poem is quite remarkable, since Hallgrímur Pétursson has been considered the great poet of Icelandic literature from the Early Modern period. His renowned Passion Hymns (Passíusálmar) have been printed at regular intervals since 1666 and his collected poems have been printed several times since the year 1755, which is unusual for Icelandic poets of this period. In this article Hallgrímur Pétursson’s funeral poem is compared to his other poems within this genre, demonstrating that it is a rather untraditional funeral poem. It is, however, in a style similar to the much appreciated poem he wrote on the death of his three-year-old daughter, which has been considered to be unique in the repertoire of Icelandic funeral poetry. Furthermore, this article argues that the poet and the deceased were probably acquaintances, and demonstrates the possible relations between them. Finally, the preservation of the poem is considered and the author suggests how it could have found its way into this manuscript. The conclusion is that the poem is undoubtedly by Hallgrímur Pétursson, and that it is an important addition to his literary corpus. This is both because it is untraditional, although it carries many of the poet’s characteristics, and also because it deepens our understanding of his artistic skills within a traditional genre. Indeed, it tells a great deal about the social environment of the poet, or the world in which he tried to place himself. Moreover, this is probably the oldest funeral poem preserved by Hallgrímur Pétursson and is therefore important for the understanding of his contribution to the genre. The poem is a testimony of the period’s literary culture and Zeitgeist and demonstrates that the genre of funeral poetry has been more varied than has hitherto been recognized in Icelandic literary history.