Faroese literature, in the traditional sense of the word, has only really developed in the past two hundred years. This is mainly because of the islands' isolation, and also because the Faroese language was not written down in a standardised format until 1890. Until then the Danish language was encouraged at the expense of Faroese. Nevertheless, the Faroese language soon became a vehicle for literature in its own right and has produced writers in several genres.
No sagas were created in the Faroe Islands, but in the 13th century the Færeyinga saga (Saga of the Faroe Islanders) was written in Iceland. It tells the story of the settlement and early history of the Faroe Islands, though it is doubtful if it is entirely historically accurate. Faroese letters survive from the 13th and 14th centuries, and Faroese ballads were collected in the 17th century.
In the Middle Ages many poems and stories were handed down orally. These works were split into the following divisions: sagnir (legends), ævintyr (stories) and kvæði (ballads, traditionally sung along with the Faroese chain dance, in modern times also used in modern Faroese music). These kvæði were eventually written down in the 19th century. They are still used in Faroese dance without any use of instruments.
One of the first Faroese writers was the early 19th century liberal Nólsoyar Páll - Poul Poulson Nólsoy, who tried to end the trading monopoly that was affecting the islands. He wrote many poems, including his most famous work Fuglakvæði. Later poets include the brothers Janus and Hans Andreas Djurhuus, and Rói Patursson.
Other famous authors from the Faroes include Heðin Brú (The Old Man and His Sons), Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen (who wrote in Danish and is known for his sole novel Barbara) and William Heinesen (The Black Cauldron), who also wrote in Danish.
Both Heinesen and Patursson were awarded The Nordic Council's Literature Prize.
Faroese writers and poets Bárður Oskarsson, children's writer and artist Bergtóra Hanusardóttir, novelist Carl Johan Jensen, poet and novelist Christian Matras, poet and translator Ebba Hentze, children's writer, short story writer, poet and translator Guðrið Helmsdal, poet Gunnar Hoydal, novelist, short story writer, poet and non-fiction writer Hanus Kamban, poet, short story writer and translator Hans Andrias Djurhuus, poet Heðin Brú, novelist and short story writer Høgni Mohr, novelist, translator and non-fiction writer Janus Djurhuus, poet Jens Pauli Heinesen, novelist, poet and short story writer Joen Danielsen, traditional poet Jóanes Nielsen, poet and novelist Jógvan Isaksen, crime fiction novelist and a non-fiction writer Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen, novelist (wrote in Danish language) Karsten Hoydal Kim Simonsen Kristian Osvald Viderø, poet Marianna Debes Dahl, novelist, short story writer and children's writer Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs, short story writer Martin Joensen, writer Oddfríður Marni Rasmussen, poet Oddvør Johansen, novelist Poul F. Joensen, poet and writer Rakel Helmsdal, short story writer and children's writer Rasmus Rasmussen, novelist and short story writer Richard B. Thomsen, novelist Rói Patursson, poet Samuel Jacob Sesanus Olsen Sámal Johansen Sigri Mitra Gaïni, poet Sissal Kampmann, poet Sólrún Michelsen, poet, novelist, short story writer, fantasy- and children´s writer Steinbjørn B. Jacobsen, poet, novelist and short story writer Tóroddur Poulsen, poet William Heinesen, poet, novelist and short story writer (he was Faroese but wrote in Danish language)
Timeline of Faroese literary and cultural history
825 In Aix-la-Chapelle the Irish monk Dicuil published Liber de Mensura Orbis Terrae (or loosely translated ”The Book About the Measurement of the Earth”). Dicuil built on older sources, but added information of his own regarding, for example, the location of the Faroe Islands. According to the Faroe Saga, the Faroe Islands belonged to the crown of Norway and were converted to Christianity by Sigmund Brestirsson. C. 990 – The Magnus Cathedral in Kirkjebø in Streymoy was erected but never finished. 1298 Seyðabrævið ("The Sheep Letter"). This is the oldest remaining document regarding the Faroe Islands. After some 400 years in Denmark, the document was repatriated to the Faroe Islands. Since 1990 it has been at Føroya Landsskjalasavni (The Faroese National Archive). 1349–50 The Black Death. 1403–05 The Húsavík Letters (to be found in the Aramagnæanske Samling, printed in Diplomatarium Færoënsk I, s. 36ff).
Reformation era
1538 The Reformation. 1547–1794 Den Lærde Skole i Thorshavn (Thorshavns Latinskole). The Latin School of Thorshavn. 1588–1664 Ole Worm, a famous Danish medical doctor and natural scientist. He had a great interest in antiquarianism and he was the first to collect Faroese ballads. These were collected by for him by Faroese and sent to him in 1639. These are only known now in secondary sources, because of the fire in Copenhagen in 1728. 1593 the Icelandic Arngrímur Jónsson published a Latin text called Brevis Commentarius de Islandia, where the Faroe Islands are mentioned as “Insulæ, quæ ab ovium multitudine Færeyar, seu rectius Faareyjar, dictæ sunt...” – "here we see, that it is the number of sheep, that have given the Islands their name" (although they are spelled as “Ferøier”, “Faarø”, “Fierø“). Jónsson published another text called Crymogaea (printed in Hamburg), where he writes about the many sheep on the Faroe Islands. 15th century Historia Norwegiæ. It was published by P. A. Munch in 1850 under the name Symbolæ ad Historiam Antiquiorem Rerum Norwegicarum. The text was written in the 15th century, but it relies on older sources, some dating back to the 12th century. ”Historia Norwegiæ” deals with Norway and the western islands, the Orkney Islands, the Faroe Islands and Iceland. 1665-67 Peder Jacobsen Spjellerup was a priest in the Northern Parish of Strømoy. He wrote the first study of the Faroe Islands, though later his work was lost. ”Ferøers Beskrifvelser” by Thomas Tharnovius. He was born in 1644 in Rostock and his father became the priest on Suðuroy. Tharnovius studied Latin with the priest Lucas Debes. Later he studied theology at the University of Copenhagen, where he graduated in 1669. His work on the Faroe Islands is not as thorough as that of Debes (1673). 1592 Norriges oc omliggende Øers sandfærdige Bescriffuelser by Peder Claussøn Friis (published in 1632). In this book is an account on the Faroe Islands written by the Faroese Jacob Oudensøn.
1600s onwards 1651 Jens Lauritzsøn Wolff published Norrigia Illustrata, where there are some notes on the Faroe Islands. 1623–76 The Danish priest Lucas Debes wrote his work on the Faroe Islands. In 1673 Lucas Debes published Færoæ & Færoa Reserata. It was later published in English (1675) and in German (1757) and a part of it was translated into Icelandic as well. 1695 The Icelandic-Norwegian historian and professor Th. Torfæus (also known as Þormóður Torfason 1636–1719), published his work Commentatio historica de rebus gestis Færeyensium in Copenhagen and later it was published in 1770 as Historisk Beretning om Indbyggernes Bedrifter paa Færøerne. He also wrote on the Orkney Islands in Orknøerne (1697), Grønland (1706) and Grønlands ‘vedhæng’ Vinland (1705). In 1695 Thorfæus published Leivskvæði ("The Ballad of Leif"), the first Faroese ballad to be put into print. 1728 Johan Hendrik Weyhe wrote a Faroese grammar which was ready for publication when it was lost the same year in the fire in Copenhagen. He also wrote a number of religious texts, Nogle vigtige Troens Articler, forestillende udi sytten Prædikkener (sic), from 1733. 1742–1790 Nicolai Mohr, Faroese scientist. Educated at the University of Copenhagen in economy and natural science. He did important work on Iceland: Forsøg til en islandsk Naturhistorie (1786). 1746–1824 J.C. Svabo, son of a priest, studied at the University of Copenhagen. He collected ballads, did topographical work and worked as a writer and as a scientist. The work Indberetninger fra en Reise i Færøe 1781 og 1782, his magnum opus, was not published as a whole before 1959. 1751–61 Two Faroese students wrote on Faroese matters. Gregers Møller (1727–1804), made a speech on Regensen in 1751 about Strømø: Declamatio in insulam Føroensem Strømøe. The other, Christopher Müller (1732–1804), wrote a ”dissertation” (a paper that was made the basis for a ”disputation”) in 1761. The topic was the possibility of the Faroes gaining a greater income from agriculture. 1756 Friedrich Christian Pelt published Der Färöische Robinson (The Faroese Robinson). The book was very poorly written and its 840 pages were published in Copenhagen and in Leipzig. 1766–1808 Nólsoyar Páll. Sailor and poet. In 1806 he wrote the allegorical and anti-Danish “Fuglakvæði”, the Bird Ballad. 1771–1851 J.H. Schrøter, Danish-Faroese priest in Suðuroy, translator and publisher. He translated the Faroe Saga to Faroese. 1782–1837 Hans Christian Lyngbye Danish priest, publisher and collector of Faroese ballads. 1794–1869 Johannes Klemmensen (known as Jóhannes í Króki), who wrote down Faroese ballads in the great collection called Sandoyarbók. 1787 The Stanley Expedition, a scientific enterprise. Later some of the books from this expedition were published: Wright, James: The Journals of the Stanley Expedition to the Faroe Islands and Iceland in 1789. Thorshavn, 1970. 1796 Lars Hess Bing published a chapter on the Faroe Islands in his great work Beskrivelse over Kongeriget Norge, Øerne Island og Færøerne samt Grønland efter ældre og nyere, trykte og haandskrevne geografiske, chorographiske, topographiske, statistiske Skrivter, Afhandlinger og Efterretninger, saavelsom ved Brevvexling og ellers erholdte Oplysninger, forfattet i alphabetisk Orden, published in Copenhagen in 1796 1800 the Danish priest Jørgen Landts published a work on the Faroe Islands: Forsøg til en Beskrivelse over Færøerne. Most of it is stolen from Svabo and Debes. Abouts Svabo he said, ”A student, Jens Svabo, has given some written notes on Faroe,” when he actually had taken most of his work from the unpublished works of Svabo to which he had access at the Royal Library in Copenhagen. 1800–06 Nólsoyar Páll wrote “Fuglakvæði”, the anti-Danish and anticolonial “Bird Ballad”. He was the first owner of a tradeship. Later he became a national hero, aided by his unexplained death at sea in 1808. He also wrote ballads like “Krákuteiti” (The Ballad of the Crowe) and "Eindadrongstáttur" (both before 1800, but the date is not known), "Jákup á Møn" (1800), "Greivin av Orient" and "Frúntatáttur" (1802–03), and "Gorpalandskvæï og Krákufrøði" (1808). 1807 Rasmus Rask writes a “Færøsk Sproglære”, a thesis on Faroese. He prints this in Vejledning til det Islandske eller gamle Nordiske Sprog, published in 1811. Jákup Nolsøe, the brother of Nólsoyar Páll, was central to creating a living social environment around the publication of Faroese antiquarian texts in the 1820s. He is mentioned and admired by Svend Grundtvig “…at da en indfødt Færing, der er ansat ved Handelen deroppe, for nogle Aar siden, kun med Forandring i Udtalen, oplæste islandske Sagaer (…) da strømmede Indbyggerne til i stor Mængde, ja kom endogsaa over fra andre Øer for at høre, og glædede sig inderlig ved at lytte til de livlige Fortællinger paa deres Modersmaal om deres Oldtidsfrænder, hvis Minde for en Deel endnu levede iblandt dem. (Grundtvig, 1845, s. 73). He wrote Færøsk Sproglære that never was published but was well known to Rasmus Rask, who later helped V.U. Hammersheimb to put together the first official Faroese orthography.