Greinar (Vísindafélag Íslendinga) - 01.01.1943, Side 163

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meant to be didactic poems, an inspired interpretation of
the history of the Passion.
This is most clearly indicated by the treatment of thé
subject matter as well as by their title: The history of the
Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, with parti-
cular stress on instruction, admonition and consolation.
We will now proceed to a more detailed discussion of
this principal work, the magnum opus of Hallgrímur Pét-
ursson.
IX.
According to an old tradition, as before mentioned,
Hallgrímur Pétursson is said to have made -a vow, when he
was appointed to the living of Saurbær, to commemorate
our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as he could, for having
been liberated from his former enemies. Then one Lent
he is said to have commenced writing the Passion-Hymns.
Whatever may be said about the authenticity of this
story, it is true in a twofold sense. It shows that the
Passion-Hymns are the work on which Hallgrímur Pét-
ursson spent most labour, and also that they became in
men’s minds the one of his works, which surpassed all
others. For centuries and up to the present time, the
Passion-Hymns have made his name so famous, that they
have almost overshadowed all his other works. During
nearly three centuries, which have elapsed since they
were written, they have appeared more than 50 times in
Icelandic, or about every fifth year, thus by far outdi-
stancing all other books. But nothing can be said with
certainty about the direct cause of Pétursson’s starting
the composition of the Passion-Hymns. There has been
much controversy as to the length of time it took him to
write them. Some are of opinion that it took him ten
years, but others suggest a shorter period.
I cannot possibly enter upon a detailed discussion on
this point, but I suppose that their genesis is somewhat
as follows: Soon after he came to Saurbær, or about that
time, Hallgrímur Pétursson set himself the task of put-