Hallgrímur Pétursson

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Hallgrímur Pétursson - window portrait at Akureyri lutheran cathedral

Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 – October 27 1674) was one of Iceland's most famous poets and a priest at Hvalneskirkja and Saurbær in Hvalfjörður. The Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík 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 Icelandic Paul Gerhardt.

Biography

The Hallgrímskirkja in Saurbær.

He was born at Hólar, where his father was the bell-ringer and the residing bishop his uncle. He ran away from home young and left Iceland with merchants. He was not heard from until an Icelandic priest named Brynjólfur Sveinsson was travelling in Glückstadt, Germany and heard Hallgrímur swear at his employer in Icelandic. Brynjólfur took pity on the boy and sponsored him to attend priest school at Vor Frue Church in Copenhagen, Denmark. While studying there, he was employed to reeducate a group of Icelanders who had been kidnapped by Barbary pirates and released. In the group was a married woman, Guðríður Símonardóttir, 16 years his senior, whom Hallgrímur impregnated. He quit the priest school and returned with the group to Iceland. Guðríður found out her husband had died, and they promptly married. He worked as a labourer for a number of years.

Seven years after his return to Iceland, Brynjólfur Sveinsson, his former sponsor, became bishop at Skálholt and appointed Hallgrímur as a priest at Hvalsnes. People were quite surprised at the ungraduated worker becoming priest, but Hallgrímur was good at giving sermons. In 1651 he got reassigned to Saurbær in Hvalfjörður, a highly sought after position. He served there until his death in 1674 from leprosy.

Works

Hallgrímur Pétursson

The Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík.

Hallgrímur's most notable work are the Passion Hymns (Passíusálmar), a collection of hymns meant to be sung, one per working day, through the 9 weeks of fast before easter, 50 in all. The collection's full name is "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 1659"). Each hymn has a title denoting what part of the Passion of Christ it refers to, and a reference to a song for it to be sung to.

Other famous works of his include Aldarháttur, Rímur af Lykla-Pétri og Magellónu, Króka-Refs rímur and a collection of advisory rhymes for children.

See also

• Hallgrímskirkja

External links

• The Icelandic National Radio's Web on the Passion Hymns (in Icelandic)

• http://stores.lulu.com/dallwilson Dall Wilson's English adaption of The Passion-Hymns set to the original Moravian hymn-tunes used by Hallgrimur.