Jón Árnason

Rósa Þorsteinsdóttir (Árna Magnússon Foundation for Icelandic Studies)
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The Icelandic folktale collector Jón Árnason was born on 17 August 1819 at Hof on Skagaströnd, where his father, Árni Illugason (1754–1825), was priest. Jón was six years old when his father died and then moved from Hof with his mother, Steinunn Ólafsdóttur (1789–1864), staying at different farms. From the age of ten Jón lived with several priests and received preparation for entry to the Latin school at Bessastaðir, from which he graduated in May 1843. That spring he was hired to teach the children of Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1791–1852), who was first teacher, and later rector, of the Latin school. Jón stayed with the family for years and moved with them to Reykjavík in 1846.

Jón Árnason is best known for being the first to collect and publish Icelandic folktales, but he

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Citation: Þorsteinsdóttir, Rósa. "Jón Árnason". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 May 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14951, accessed 12 October 2024.]

14951 Jón Árnason 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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