{"product_id":"hugmyndaheimur-magnusar-stephensens-88341-5728","title":"The Imagination of Magnus Stephensen # 88341","description":"The imaginary world of Magnús Stephensen.\u003cbr\u003e Magnús was born at Leirá in Leirársveit, the son of Ólafur Stephensen, a county magistrate, and his wife Sigríður, a daughter of Magnús Gíslason, a county magistrate. He grew up mostly on Innra-Hólmur. Magnús became a part-time student under Bishop Hannes Finnson in 1779 and then went to the University of Copenhagen, where he graduated with a law degree in 1788.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eDuring his student years, he was sent to Iceland by the Danish government to investigate the Skaftár Fire and its consequences. He went on a ship that sailed from Copenhagen in the autumn of 1783 but was driven back to Norway. There, Magnús stayed over the winter with the councilor Þorkel Fjeldsted in good spirits, but when he returned home, horrific experiences awaited him, as he recounts in an autobiographical fragment: \"... houses filled day after day with dying poor people, fleeing from the north, east and west, and upheavals, women, children and old men to seek relief and food, many of them too late, because they died there and everywhere in droves from hunger and famine, plague-like diseases that resulted from the eruption, from unhealthy air, chronic starvation, or from the pleasure of eating old horse and sheep carcasses that had died of starvation and plague.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eMagnús quickly rose through the ranks after completing his studies. He became a lawyer in the north and east of the country in 1789, then appointed bailiff and in 1800 he became chief judge in the newly established Landsyfirrétt. He was considered lenient in his judgments and humane. He also served as a county magistrate for a time, was an advisor to the Danish court and was later given the title of conference councilor.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn many ways, Magnús was a liberal rationalist who wanted to promote progress. He was international in thought and was very critical of the way his countrymen were treated and wanted to enlighten them and introduce them to foreign culture and business practices. He was one of the most powerful members of the Enlightenment in Iceland and, among other things, was responsible for the establishment of the Icelandic Society of Enlightenment Studies in 1794. Its original purpose was to purchase the Hrappseyjar printing press, which was done and it was moved to Leirárgórðar, next door to Magnús. Five years later, the Hólaprentsmiðja was merged with it and it could be said that Magnús was the sole owner of the only printing press in the country. Some considered him to be quite domineering.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAmong other things, Magnús published two magazines, Minnisverð tíðindi, which was published from 1796 to 1808 and was a news magazine that carried domestic and foreign news, and Klausturpóstinn, which was published from 1818 to 1827 and carried news and articles of various kinds. He also published various educational publications, including on economic, legal and historical topics, as well as books on theology, but the most controversial of his books was the hymnal he published in 1801 and was named Leirgerður. It was much argued about. Some considered the hymns to be poorly written, and Magnús' goal was to eliminate Kölski from the hymnal, and not everyone was happy with that change in emphasis. He also published various kinds of poetry, both translated material and original work. Magnús was a prolific writer but was not considered a good poet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOne of the books that Magnús published was Einfalt matreiðsluvasakver fyrir heldri manna húsfreyjur, which was published under the name of Märta Máríu Stephensen, wife of Stefán amtmann, his brother, and is the first Icelandic cookbook. In his biography, Magnús says that he wrote the book himself, mostly while he was stranded in Norway in the winter of 1783-1784, and then presumably from Mrs. Fjeldsted's recipe book, but this is all unclear and it is uncertain which of them had a greater role in the book.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Magnús' wife (b. 1788) was Guðrún Vigfúsdóttir Scheving, daughter of Vigfús Scheving, sheriff of Víðivellir in Skagafjörður, and his wife Anna Stefánsdóttir. Their children were Ólafur Stephensen, court clerk in Viðey, and Þórunn, wife of Hannes Stephensen, dean of Ytra-Hólmur. Magnús and Guðrún lived in Leirá, later in Innra-Hólmur, and last in Viðey. Magnús died there in 1833.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bokin.is","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52440219648328,"sku":"OSC-5728","price":2900.0,"currency_code":"ISK","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0916\/4029\/9848\/files\/33000.jpg?v=1770470461","url":"https:\/\/www.bokin.is\/en\/products\/hugmyndaheimur-magnusar-stephensens-88341-5728","provider":"bokin.is","version":"1.0","type":"link"}