In the closing years of the 16th century, Iceland’s reputation abroad was grimly distorted. Circulating through Europe were tales that painted the island as remote, backward, and even dangerous, a place both literally and figuratively on the edge of the known world. These ideas were fostered by Iceland’s isolation, its status within the Danish realm, and a tendency among European writers to view the country through a lens of exoticism and suspicion.
To counter this wave of misinformation, Arngrímur Jónsson, an Icelandic scholar, composed a Latin work published in Copenhagen in 1593: “Brevis commentarius de Islandia” (which translates as ‘Brief Commentary on Iceland’). Arngrímur’s aim was not merely to protest the slander circulating in books and pamphlets, but also to provide what he saw as a more accurate account of his homeland’s people and geography.
Standing up to stereotypes
The impetus for the book came from Guðbrandur Þorláksson, Bishop of Hólar, who was deeply concerned about how foreigners perceived Iceland. Arngrímur’s response was methodical. Rather than a simple defence, his treatise took the form of a carefully argued rebuttal that addressed the claims of several contemporary writers. Among those criticised in his pages were Göries Peerse, a Hamburg merchant whose vivid poem about Iceland repeated wild inventions, and other prominent scholars such as Olaus Magnus, Albert Krantz, and Sebastian Münster.
Many misconceptions about Iceland at the time focused on its landscape and beliefs. One persistent idea was that Hekla, the storied volcano, served as a literal gateway to the underworld. Arngrímur tackled these tales head-on, comparing Hekla to other famous volcanoes and questioning the logic of zones of damnation erupting through the earth’s surface.
Faith, history, and the view from abroad
Another accusation levelled at Icelanders was that they clung to pagan or heretical beliefs. Arngrímur responded by highlighting the early adoption of Christianity in Iceland around the year 1000 CE, arguing that the island’s distance from Rome had allowed it to maintain what he saw as a purer form of the faith, separated from Catholic hierarchy.
Though “Brevis commentarius de Islandia” made an impression among learned circles and added to Arngrímur’s stature as a scholar, its direct success in changing European prejudices was limited. Some of the misconceptions it fought lingered for centuries, and even the book’s popularity revived old slanders in fresh print. Yet its broader influence was noticeable: it encouraged interest among Danish and Nordic historians in Icelandic manuscripts and sagas, and it planted seeds of a more distinct Icelandic identity.
Soon after, other Icelandic writers followed Arngrímur’s lead, most notably Oddur Einarsson, whose own work further documented Iceland from a first-hand perspective. The momentum gathered by these early defences of Iceland helped later scholars and writers better represent the country’s past and people.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- Wikipedia (Icelandic) in Icelandic
