- Hallgrímur Pétursson
Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 –
October 27 1674 ) was one ofIceland 's most famous poets and a minister atHvalneskirkja andSaurbær inHvalfjörður . TheHallgrímskirkja inReykjavík and the Hallgrímskirkja in Saurbær are named after him. He was one of the most influential pastors during the Age of Orthodoxy (1580-1713). Because of his contributions to Lutheran hymnody, he is sometimes called the IcelandicPaul Gerhardt .Biography
Hallgrímur Pétursson was born at
Hólar , where his father was the bell-ringer and his uncle, the resident bishop. He ran away from home young and leftIceland with merchants. He was not heard from again untilBrynjólfur Sveinsson , an Icelandic priest travelling throughGlückstadt ,Germany , heard Hallgrímur curse his employer in Icelandic. Brynjólfur took pity on the boy and sponsored him to attend seminary in Denmark atChurch of Our Lady (Copenhagen) .While studying there, Pétursson was employed to reëducate a group of Icelanders who had been kidnapped by
Barbary pirates and ransomed. Among them was a married woman,Guðríður Símonardóttir , sixteen years Pétursson's senior, whom he impregnated. He then left seminary and returned with the group to Iceland. After Guðríður discovered that her husband had died, she and Pétursson promptly married. He worked as a labourer for a number of years.Seven years after Pétursson's return to Iceland, Brynjólfur Sveinsson, his former sponsor, became bishop at
Skálholt and appointed Hallgrímur as minister atHvalsnes . People were surprised that the ungraduated worker should be ordained, but Hallgrímur showed himself a skillful preacher. In 1651, he was reassigned toSaurbær inHvalfjörður , a much sought-after position. He served there until his death in 1674 fromleprosy .Works
[
Hallgrímskirkja inReykjavík .] Hallgrímur Pétursson's most notable work is "Passion Hymns " ("Passíusálmar" or, in full, "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 the year 1659"), a collection of fifty hymns to be sung, one each working day, during the nine weeks ofLent . Each hymn has a title denoting which part of the Passion of Christ it refers to, and a reference to a melody for it to be sung to.Other famous works include
Aldarháttur ,Rímur af Lykla-Pétri og Magellónu ,Króka-Refs rímur , and a collection of cautionary children's rhymes.See also
*
Hallgrímskirkja External links
* [http://servefir.ruv.is/passiusalmar/ The Icelandic National Radio's Web on the Passion Hymns (in Icelandic)]
* [http://youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F4221F3DA32E4A59 Performances of The Passion-Hymns in English and Norse by choirs and soloists using Dall Wilson's English adaption.]
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