Jens Christian Djurhuus

Who was Jens Christian Djurhuus?

Jens Christian Djurhuus or Sjóvarbóndin was the first poet who wrote in Faroese. He composed several Faroese ballads in traditional style on historical themes. The best known is Ormurin langi. Djurhuus also composed satirical poems directed against Danish rule in the Faroe Islands.

Djurhuus was the fourth son of Johan Christian Djurhuus and Maria Rønning. They lived in Nes, Eysturoy, where his Danish grandfather Christen Djurhuus was provost. His mother came from Aust-Agder in Norway and is supposed to be a descendant of Earl Haakon Sigurdsson.

In 1797, he married Jóhanna Maria Jensdóttir from Kollafjørður, daughter of farmer Jens Didriksen, Við Sjógv. Because Jóhanna Maria was his only child, she was sole heiress of the farm. The couple moved to this farm during the same year. This farm became the cultural centre of the village.

Two of his great grandsons Janus Djurhuus and Hans Andrias Djurhuus, also known as the Áarstovu Brothers or Áarstovubrøðurnir in Faroese, are among the best known poets of the Faroe Islands.