Ólafur Egilsson

Ólafur Egilsson (1564 – 1 March 1639) was an Icelandic Lutheran minister. In 1627, he was abducted, along with his wife and two sons, by Barbary Pirates under the Ottoman Empire during their raid on Vestmannaeyjar. The raid is known in Icelandic history as Tyrkjaránið (The Turkish abductions). He returned to Vestmannaeyjar in 1628 but his wife Ásta Þorsteinsdóttir did not return until 1637 and his sons never returned. He later wrote a memoir of his abduction and return, which was published both in Iceland and in Denmark.

External links

• The Travels of Reverend Ólafur Egilsson
• A short Biography (In Icelandic)

References

• Piastra, Stefano, "L’Italia nel racconto di viaggio di Ólafur Egilsson, reverendo islandese del XVII secolo." In: Bollettino della Società Geografica Italiana, s. XIII, V, 4 (2012), 861-878 (in Italian language; paper focused on Egilsson's descriptions of Italy).