Byltingarsinnað skáld í þjóðfræðaham

Abstract

The focus of this article is Gísli Brynjólfsson (1827-1888), the poet and university teacher. It offers texts of his Danish translation of the Icelandic folktale Hellismannasaga, and of his introductory article to this translation, published in Berlingske Tidende in 1852. The article examines Gísli's view of popular oral tradition and its relationship to the íslendingasögur; his ideas on the origin and nature of Icelandic sagas are also treated. After discussion of the folkloristic material specifícally related to Gfsli in MS NKS 3312 4to, as well as of the manuscript's other folkloristic material, the article concludes by examining the origins and transmission of the folktale about the Hellismen.