Gripla - 20.12.2017, Page 204

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began his studies in 1754 and finished in 1759, whereas Ingjaldur began
in 1757 and completed his studies in 1760. Like Ingjaldur að Múla, Jón á
Kvíabekk was well versed in poetry, and according to Sighvatur Grímsson
Borgfirðingur in his Prestaæfir, he composed a number of tíðavísur during
his tenure at Kvíabekkur (1770–85).
the attribution of “Sprundahrós” to Jón Jónsson is the predominant
one in notes on the poem in scholarship,24 and appears to be based on
Gunnlaugur Jónsson á Skuggabjörgum’s assigned authorship of the poem,
which was maybe considered more reliable than Þorsteinn Þorkelsson’s
commentary from 1890. Indeed, Gunnlaugur appears to have been quite fa-
miliar with the works of Jón á Kvíabekk. In the preface to his Aldarfarsbók
(Lbs 1273 8vo and Lbs 1301 4to), which contain annals from 1801–66,
Gunnlaugur names Jón Jónsson á Kvíabekk’s metrical annals (ljóðaan-
nálar) and tíðavísur as among his sources.25 It is also worth noting that
in JS 255 4to and JS 589 4to, Gunnlaugur Jónsson á Skuggabjörgum at-
tributes two of the other poems assigned to Ingjaldur Jónsson in ÍB 815
8vo (“Vinaspegill” and “Hugraun”) to Jón Jónsson á Kvíabekk (JS 255 4to,
pp. 1, 6; JS 589 4to, pp. 158, 214).
Metre, Style, and Genre
as mentioned above, “Sprundahrós” is a vikivakakvæði, a type of lyric poem
found in Icelandic manuscripts dating from the late sixteenth century.26
Vikivakakvæði were sung and were meant to be accompanied by dance,
usually at a gleði [dance gathering].27 the dance itself was a ring dance,
in which both male and female dancers (who were accompanied by sing-
ing) moved in a circle.28 Moreover, the performance of the vikivakakvæði
was a communal effort and involved interplay between the poet and the
24 Jón Samsonarson, Kvæði og dansleikir, 2 vols. (reykjavík, almenna bókafélagið, 1964), 2:
170; Jón Helgason, Íslenzk fornkvæði. Islandske folkeviser, 8: 120; and Shaun Hughes, “Late
Secular Poetry,” 217.
25 Hufnagel, “Gunnlaugur Jónsson from Skuggabjörg,” 242, 249–50.
26 Vésteinn ólason, The Traditional Ballads of Iceland: Historical Studies, rit 22 (reykjavík:
Stofn un Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi, 1982), 43.
27 Shaun Hughes, “Late Secular Poetry,” 215–216.
28 Jón Samsonarson Kvæði og dansleikir, cxxviii; Vésteinn ólason, The Traditional Ballads of
Ice land, 40–41.