The Icelandic philologist, critic, and writer Sigurdur Nordal was born in Eyjólfsstaðir in Vatnsdalur, Húnavatnssýsla, on 14 September 1886. He became a central figure in the cultural life of Iceland and the major authority on Icelandic literature for most of the twentieth century.
Sigurður Nordal received his doctorate in Old Norse philology from the University of Copenhagen in 1914, with a thesis on the saga of Saint Olaf. He studied philosophy in Berlin and at the University of Oxford. Upon his return to Iceland in 1918, he was appointed professor of Icelandic language and literature at the University of Iceland and kept this position until his death, from 1945 without regular teaching duties. During the manuscript dispute between Iceland and Denmark, from 1951 to 1957 he was
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Citation: Jakobsson, Ármann. "Sigurður Nordal". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 July 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14971, accessed 13 October 2024.]