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of his contemporaries and positive outlook on history, including his own
time, might be influenced by the enlightenment insofar as the movement’s
general intellectual ideas had eventually spread from the leaders of the
country to the lower strata of society. this does not make Gunnlaugur an
active or deliberate proponent of the enlightenment but shows the ways
in which its concepts reached the general public.58 Gunnlaugur’s preface can
furthermore be classified as scholarly, or perhaps pseudo-scholarly, as the
statement on his sources and aims bears witness.
Gunnlaugur lists in his preface as some of his sources Mannfækkun af
hallærum by Bishop Hannes finnsson, jón espólín’s Árbækur, protocols
of the Alþingi, genealogies, newsletters (fréttabréf) and metrical annals
(ljóðaannálar) by the provost Þorlákur Þórarinsson (1711–73), the Rev.
jón jónsson from kvíabekkur (1739–85) and the Rev. jón Hjaltalín (1749–
1835). Bishop Hannes finnsson (1739–96) published Historia eccleseastica
islandiae, a history of Christianity in Iceland compiled by his father, finnur
jónsson. Hannes wrote, among other works and studies, Mannfækkun af
hallærum, a work on the hard times that Iceland had to endure between the
twelfth century and 1789.59 And although annalistic writing diminished
during the enlightenment, Íslands árbækur í söguformi or Árbækur Espólíns,
annals by jón espólín (1769–1836) covering the years 1262 onwards and
published in 12 volumes between 1821 and 1855, enjoyed great popularity.60
Poems of both the Rev. jón from kvíabekkur and the Rev. jón Hjaltalín
are contained in Gunnlaugur’s poetry collections.61 A considerable number
of manuscripts containing tíðavísur ‘verses of times’ and similar poetry
by the Rev. Þorlákur are extant, as well as a small number of tíðavísur by
the Rev. jón from kvíabekkur,62 which Gunnlaugur might have utilised,
58 It is possible that Gunnlaugur’s words of optimism are a paraphrase of Hannes finnsson’s
introduction to his Mannfækkun af hallærum or a general expression used in introductions,
but they nevertheless express a view on history that has its roots in the enlightenment.
59 the Historia ecclesiastica was published in Latin in Copenhagen in four volumes 1772–78,
with a reprint from 1970. Mannfækkun was published by jón eyþórsson and jóhannes
nordal in Reykjavík, also in 1970, but Gunnlaugur mentions its publication as the 14th
volume within the series Rit Lærdómslistafélagsins from 1796, see js 334 4to 2, p. 3:16–17.
Gunnlaugur used sources from both media, handwritten as well as printed, and he seems
to have used the different media indiscriminately.
60 see Ingi sigurðsson, “sagnfræði,” 265.
61 see Páll eggert ólason, Skrá um handritasöfn Landsbókasafns, 2:538 and 603.
62 see Páll eggert ólason, Skrá um handritasöfn Landsbókasafns, Handritasafn Landsbókasafns:
GunnLAuGuR jónsson fRoM skuGGABjÖRG