A Life's Work
Private Life
Jón Sigurðsson was born in 1811 at Hrafnseyri in Arnarfjörður in the West Fjords, where he lived until 1829. During his early years, Jón was acquainted with people at Hrafnseyri who were known for their erudition and enquiring minds; they also possessed old Icelandic manuscripts which had been passed down through the generations. This early experience of an atmosphere of eagerness to learn, and acquaintance with historic manuscripts, no doubt kindled Jón’s interest in Icelandic studies, which he would pursue for the rest of his life.
In the spring of 1829 Jón left home for Reykjavík, where he took his matriculation examinations for entrance to university in Denmark. He then worked in the P. C. Knudtzon store in Reykjavík. A year later he was engaged as secretary to Steingrímur Jónsson, Bishop of Iceland, who owned one of Iceland’s most extensive libraries of books and manuscripts. Jón had free access to these, and also learned much from the bishop, who was one of the most learned Icelanders of his time.
In 1833 Jón Sigurðsson sailed to Copenhagen, where he studied linguistics and history. But before long he was busy with a variety of scholarly tasks, such as making copies of manuscripts, and for that reason he never completed his degree.
In 1845 Jón married Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir. They settled in Copenhagen, where they lived for the rest of their lives. The couple were close, and ready to assist their fellowcountrymen in many ways. Visitors were frequent in their home, and they held dinners and receptions. In 1859 Jón and Ingibjörg took in Jón’s eight-year-old nephew Sigurður, the son of his sister Margrét and her husband Jón Jónsson, a ship’s captain. They raised him as their son.
About eight thousand letters connected to Jón Sigurðsson are extant. These include just over 1,300 letters and drafts written by Jón, and more than 6,700 letters he received from friends, relatives and others. The letters contain a wealth of information about Jón Sigurðsson the man, the scholar and the statesman. People often wrote to Jón to ask for various favours and assistance.
Scholarly Work
In 1835 Jón was appointed a Fellow at Den Arnamagneanske samling (the Árni Magnússon manuscript collection) in Copenhagen. Den Arnamagnæanske Kommission (the Árni Magnússon Commission) deemed him the best-qualified applicant, as he had acquired extensive knowledge of documents and manuscripts when he was secretary to the Bishop of Iceland. The Commission also judged that Jón was very accurate and conscientious, and wrote a fine and clear hand – which was an important factor, as the work involved copying manuscripts and documents in the collection. Jón performed his work in an exemplary fashion, and was paid bonuses for his diligence, keenness and hard work. In 1848 Jón was elected secretary of the Árni Magnússon Commission, a position he retained for the rest of his life. Jón compiled a detailed catalogue of the manuscripts in the collection, produced editions of Icelandic annals and the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson, made copies and comparative studies of historical manuscripts, prepared an annual report on the Commission’s work, supervised the work of Fellows, etc.
In the summer of 1841 Jón Sigurðsson went to Uppsala and Stockholm in Sweden with theology student Ólafur Pálsson, on behalf of the Árni Magnússon manuscript collection and Det kongelige Nordiske Oldskriftselskab (the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries). They were to study and catalogue Icelandic manuscripts in collections in the two cities. They spent three very fruitful months in Sweden: they found a large number of previously-unknown Icelandic manuscripts, made copies of important ones, and Jón catalogued them in detail.
In 1851 Jón was elected chair of Hið íslenzka bókmenntafélag (the Icelandic Literary Society). Founded in 1816, the society has published books and periodicals about Iceland and its history and culture. During his time as chair of the society, Jón was an energetic leader: the society acquired an extensive collection of Icelandic manuscripts, and published a large number of books on diverse subjects. The vigorous activities of the society at that time led to an explosion in membership, from 160 in 1841 to 794 in 1877.
In Jón Sigurðsson’s day it was not unusual for Icelanders to own old manuscripts of various kinds: copies of old poems and verses, whole manuscripts of sagas, genealogical records and diverse interesting information. Jón felt it was vital to preserve these manuscripts, which were at risk of being lost for ever, and thus he started to accumulate his own personal collection. This eventually comprised over 1,300 manuscripts, which are now preserved in the National Library and University of Iceland.
On Jón’s initiative, publication began of legal documents relating to Iceland, under the titleLovsamling for Island (Legal Code for Iceland). Twenty-one volumes were published between 1851 and 1889. Never before had legislation, directives and other legal instruments of different periods been collected together to throw light on Icelandic judicial and political history in the period 1096 to 1874. The project thus met an urgent demand and need for access to such information.
Political Activities
When Jón Sigurðsson had been living in Copenhagen for some years, he developed increasingly strong views on the political relationship between the Icelanders and the Danes, who had ruled Iceland since the fourteenth century. These opinions were clearly expressed in letters to friends in 1839-40, and before long Jón began to make his voice heard in the political arena. In 1840 he wrote his first article in the press, on the subject of the Iceland trade (controlled by Danish merchants and authorities). He propounded a historical argument that the form of the Iceland trade was unfair, and that the Icelanders’ hostility to Danish merchants was essentially an expression of their desire for free trade instead of the existing restrictive system. From this point onwards, Jón Sigurðsson emerged as a leading advocate for the rights of the Icelanders, in long and closely-argued articles in the press.
In 1841 Ný félagsrit (The New Social Journal) was launched by Jón Sigurðsson. Here he published his principal political polemics for over three decades, until 1873 when publication ceased and a new political journal, Andvari, took its place. The New Social Journal played a vital role as a vehicle for Jón to present his political arguments to his fellow-countrymen. On the pages of the New Social Journal Jón put forward ideas and arguments that would form the ideological basis of the Icelandic campaign for self-determination for many decades.
The ancient Icelandic Alþingi (parliament), founded around 930 AD after the settlement of the country, had gradually declined over centuries of foreign rule, before being abolished in 1800. In 1845 a new Alþingi was established, initially only with advisory powers to the King of Denmark, who was an absolute monarch. Jón Sigurðsson was elected to Alþingi, and retained his seat for the rest of his life. Initially the parliament assembled only for one month on alternate summers. Jón continued to live in Copenhagen, and travelled home to Iceland to attend parliament. Jón was active in parliament, and never shrank from criticising the Danish authorities. He was an outstanding orator, who presented issues and ideas to his fellow-parliamentarians in a logical and cogent manner. For most of his time in parliament he was president (speaker) of the house.
Jón put forward his principal ideas on the relationship between Iceland and Denmark in his essay„Hugvekja til Íslendinga“ (A Call to Icelanders), published in the New Social Journal in 1848. He argued that the Icelanders were entitled to greater autonomy, including an Icelandic parliament. The Danish king had resigned his absolute powers; the Icelanders, Jón claimed, had been subject only to the king, and not to the Danish state. Hence the Icelanders, like the Danes, were now entitled to parliamentary government, and Iceland should not be treated simply as one administrative region of the Danish realm. Jón also came up with a revolutionary idea that the Danes actually owed Iceland large sums, due to profits accrued over centuries of colonial rule. Prior to this time it had been taken for granted that Iceland was a financial burden on the Danish state, but now Jón demonstrated that the boot was on the other foot, and that the Icelanders could unashamedly demand what was theirs.
In 1851 a constitutional assembly or National Convention was held, for consultation on the legal status of Iceland. The Danish authorities submitted a proposal on the status of Iceland within the Danish realm which was completely unacceptable to the Icelanders, who were influenced by Jón Sigurðsson’s ideas that government should be transferred to Iceland – legislative, judicial and executive powers – and that Iceland should be fiscally separate from Denmark. The Danish bill was referred to a committee, which reached the conclusion that it should be rejected, and that a new bill should be proposed for a constitution for Iceland, with the emphasis on self-determination in accord with Jón Sigurðsson’s arguments. The royal representative then unceremoniously dismissed the Convention, to vociferous protests led by Jón Sigurðsson.
In 1874 King Christian IX of Denmark and Iceland signed a separate constitution for Iceland. It was controversial in Iceland, as it entailed only a small step towards self-determination. But it marked the first stage of the nation’s progress towards autonomy: Home Rule in 1904, sovereign status in1918, and finally the foundation of the Republic of Iceland in 1944. The legacy of Jón Sigurðsson was honoured by founding the Republic on his birthday, 17 June, which is now Iceland’s National Day. Thus the name and memory of Jón Sigurðsson are enshrined in Iceland’s status as an independent nation.