Björn Jónsson á Skarðsá

Björn Jónsson á Skarðsá (1574–1655), characterised by Philip Lavender as 'an important figure on the Icelandic intellectual scene of his day'.[1]: 230 

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Björn.

Life

Björn's father died when Björn was young, and for the twenty years from c. 1582 to 1602 he grew up in northern Iceland, at Reynistaður in Skagafjörður, in the care of one Sigurður Jónsson. There he must have received his education. From around 1602 he lived at Skarðsá, and in 1616 became a local lögréttumaður. Björn seems to have had a poor relationship with his local bishop, Guðbrandur Þorláksson of Hólar (c. 1542–1647), but got on better with his successors Þorlákur Skúlason (1597–1656) and Brynjólfur Sveinsson (1605–75), who served as patrons to Björn and during whose episcopates Björn wrote extensively on poetry (including a commentary on Egill Skallagrímsson's Höfuðlausn), history (including a chronicle of his local area), law, grammar, and mythology.[1]: 231–32  He took an interest in riddles, not only composing a commentary on the medieval Icelandic Riddles of Gestumblindi[1] but also a rímur cycle telling the story of Apollonius of Tyre, which includes a riddle-contest.[2]: 129 

References
  1. Philip Lavender, "Oedipus industrius ænigmatum islandicorum: Björn Jónsson á Skarðsá's Riddle Commentary", Gripla, 26 (2015), 229–73.
  2. Jeffrey Scott Love, The Reception of 'Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks' from the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century, Münchener Nordistische Studien, 14 (Munich: Utz, 2013); ISBN 978-3-8316-4225-0.

Further reading
  • Jón Þorkelsson, “Þáttur af Birni Jónssyni á Skarðsá,” Tímarit hins íslenzka bókmenntafjelags, 8 (1887)
  • Einar G. Pétursson, Eddurit Jóns Guðmundssonar lærða: Þættir úr fræðasögu 17. aldar, 2 vols, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi, Rit, 46 (Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi, 1998), I 30–36.
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