Bjarni Vigfússon Thórarensen, (born December 30, 1786, Brautarholt, near Reykjavík, Iceland—died August 24, 1841, Modhruvellir) first Romantic nationalist poet of Iceland.
The precocious son of a prominent family, Thórarensen completed law studies in Copenhagen at age 20. While there he also attended the lectures of the German philosopher Henrik Steffens, who introduced Romanticism to Denmark. Thórarensen’s stay abroad increased his nostalgic devotion to Iceland, which he regarded as the birthplace of heroism, in contrast to cosmopolitan Denmark. There he wrote his poem “
Thú nafnkunna landid” (“You Renowned Land”), in which he eulogizes Iceland’s poverty and isolation for preserving its people from softness, they made him one of the most revered Icelandic poets of his era.