Studia Islandica - 01.06.1957, Blaðsíða 18

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nected with the new printing press at Hrappsey. This
brought him into close contact with its principal founder,
Ólafur Olavius, a man of vision and literary inclination.
He interested Þorláksson in the poetry of Christian B.
Tullin (1728—1765), who, although a Norwegian, was
the most noted lyric poet of the day in Denmark as well
as in this native country.1)
At the suggestion of Olavius, as far as can be ascer-
tained, Þorláksson now undertook the translation of se-
veral of Tullin’s poems into Icelandic, the most important
being the celebrated “Maidagen” (The May Day). These,
together with minor translations from the Danish and few
original poems of the translator’s, were published by the
Hrappsey press in 1774. Apparently, the book was well
received, as an enlarged edition, including Tullin’s famed
poem on the development of sea-faring (“Sjofartens Op-
rindelse og Virkninger”), appeared in 1783. The transla-
tions constitute by far the more important part of Þor-
láksson’s writings during this fifteen-year period (1773
—1788). His original compositions consist of a few occa-
sional poems, hymns, and epigrams, most of which are
of small merit.
The great literary period of Þorláksson’s career begins,
as already indicated, with his arrivel at Bægisá in the
late fall of 1788. Here, during the next two decades, he
translated The Essay on Man and Paradise Lost, both of
which will be dealt with in detail below. Upon completing
Paradise Lost in 1805, he turned his attention for some
time to the translation of the first book of the epic Det
befriede Israel (Israel Emancipated) by J. M. Hertz, a
Danish poet and theologian (1766—1825). Whether Þor-
láksson undertook this translation of his own choice or
at the suggestion of some friend, as he did his other major
1) See Halldór Hermannsson, The Periodical Literature of Ice-
land, (Islandica XI), 1918, p. 6. For the history of the press, see Jón
Helgason, HrappseyjarprentsmiÖja 1773-1794, 1928.