Steinunn Finnsdóttir

Steinunn Finnsdóttir (ca. 1640 — ca. 1710) was an Icelandic poet. She is the first known Icelandic female writer to leave a substantial body of poetry. Her major works are two "rímur" cycles: "Hyndlu rímur" and "Snækóngs rímur". She also composed "vikivaki" carols, occasional verses and a poem on mediaeval Icelandic heroes. The material in both of Steinunn's "rímur" cycles is drawn from earlier fairy tale ballads and in each case the main character is a woman who has been placed under a spell, one turned into a dog and the other into a man.

Early commentators considered Steinunn an unoriginal minor figure in the history of Icelandic literature but recent critics have praised her for the originality of her "mansöngvar" and her "vision of a more just social system" (Bergljót Kristjánsdóttir 1996:340).

References

* Bergljót Kristjánsdóttir (1996). „Gunnlöð ekki gaf mér neitt / af geimsludrykknum forðum ...“ in "Guðamjöður og Arnarleir", edited by Sverrir Tómasson, pp. 165-219 and 339-40 (English summary). Reykjavík: Háskólaútgáfan. ISBN 9979541474
* Hughes, Shaun F.D. (2000). "The Re-emergence of Women's Voices in Icelandic Literature, 1500-1800." in "Cold Counsel", edited by Sarah M. Anderson and Karen Swenson, pp. 93-128. Routledge. ISBN 0815319665
* Steinunn Finnsdóttir (edited by Bjarni Vilhjálmsson) (1950). "Rit Rímnafélagsins III: Hyndlu rímur og Snækóngs rímur". Reykjavík: Rímnafélagið.