Brevis commentarius de Islandia

In Europe, Iceland had long since been perceived as a distant and primitive place. This idea was likely exacerbated by the nations geographic isolation and a general perception of Northern Europe as a violent region. The Landnámabók, a 12th-century manuscript, was perhaps the earliest work to attempt to correct the stereotypes that circulated about Iceland. The 14th-century version of the work, written by Melabók, specifically addresses the importance of counteracting these misconceptions and spreading the truth to foreigners. From the 16th century, works about Iceland were published with greater frequency throughout Europe. These descriptions of Iceland often described it as the most primitive and exotic region in Europe. == Contents ==

Brevis commentarius de Islandia is arranged in a series of refutations against arguments made by other scholars about Iceland. In particular, he criticises the works of Göries Peerse, Olaus Magnus, Albert Krantz, Jacob Ziegler, Gemma Frisius, Caspar Peucer, and Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia. Arngrímur refutes the belief that Iceland was connected to the underworld through its volcanoes, particularly Hekla. This idea was popular at the time and persisted in some form well into the 19th century, as it features in Jules Verne's novel Journey to the Center of the Earth. Arngrímur compares Hekla to Mount Etna and emphasises the contradictory for Christian scholars to believe that hell is physically accessible from the realm of the living. To refute the idea that Iceland is a barbaric place which believes in heretical gods, Arngrímur argues that Icelanders are more strongly Christian many other European people. He concludes that Iceland was converted to Christianity around 1000 C.E. and that the distance between the country and Rome meant that it retained a purer form of faith, removed from the power of the Catholic Church. He takes a historically deterministic view on the Icelandic Reformation by implying that the practice of early Christianity in Iceland was already closely aligned with protestantism. == Publication and reception ==

. Arngrímur wrote Brevis commentarius de Islandia at the request of Bishop Guðbrandur Þorláksson and it was first published in Copenhagen in the spring of 1593. The works of both authors sought to redress the reputation of their country and the popularity of their works demonstrate that information about Iceland was in demand at the time. Despite the popularity of his works on Iceland, however, Arngrímur's did not succeed in combating stereotypes that proliferated about his country. His works were, however, influential in spreading the Sagas within Nordic region and fostering the identity of Icelanders as a people with their own history. However, contemporary historians take issue with the work's historiography, as it often takes Old Norse texts at face value as historical sources. == External links ==