Bjarni Thorarensen

Who was Bjarni Thorarensen?

Bjarni Vigfússon Thorarensen was an Icelandic poet and official. He was deputy governor of northern and eastern Iceland. As a poet he was influenced by classicism and romanticism. Politically he was aligned with the Fjölnismenn and favored the reestablishment of the Althing at Þingvellir. He was a friend of Jónas Hallgrímsson whose own poetry was influenced by Bjarni's work.

Bjarni's best known work is Íslands minni, also known as Eldgamla Ísafold.