Editing Lofsöngur (section)

==History==
{{Listen
| type         = music
| filename     = Lofsöngur (first recording).ogg
| title        = 1929 orchestral and male vocal recording (first verse)
| description  = Vocal recording of the anthem}}
{{multiple image
| footer = [[Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson]] ''(left)'' composed the music to "Lofsöngur", while [[Matthías Jochumsson]] ''(right)'' wrote the lyrics.
| image1 = Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson.jpg
| alt1 = 
| width1 = 201
| image2 = Matthías Jochumsson2.jpg
| alt2 = 
| width2 = 164}}
{{multiple image
| footer            = A memorial plaque at 15 London Street in [[Edinburgh]] recognizing the house in which the Icelandic national anthem, "Lofsöngur", was composed
| image1            = Plaque outside 15 London Street, Edinburgh, Scotland 2005-02-18.jpg
| width1            = 
| image2            = 15 London Street, Edinburgh, Scotland 2005-02-18.jpg
| width2            = }}

The late 19th century saw music in Iceland develop and flourish. Though many of their initial composers had to study and apply their trade abroad due to insufficient opportunities on offer at home, they were able to bring what they had learned back to Iceland.<ref name=Rule>{{cite journal|last=Rule|first=James Casey|year=2011|title=Writing Lilja: A Glance at Icelandic Music and Spirit|journal=Perspectives on Business and Economics|volume=29|pages=126|publisher=Lehigh University|doi=10.18275/pbe-v029-013|url=http://preserve.lehigh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=perspectives-v29|archive-date=2020-07-09|access-date=2017-05-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709031008/https://preserve.lehigh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=perspectives-v29|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Scotsman>{{cite news|title=Iceland's national anthem was written in an Edinburgh house|url=http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/iceland-s-national-anthem-was-written-in-an-edinburgh-house-1-4163693|date=June 27, 2016|access-date=April 25, 2017|first=Chris|last=McCall|newspaper=The Scotsman|location=Edinburgh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818141305/http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/iceland-s-national-anthem-was-written-in-an-edinburgh-house-1-4163693|archive-date=August 18, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> One of these musicians was [[Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson]], who was the first person from his homeland to pursue "an international career as a composer".<ref name=Rule/> He sojourned in [[Edinburgh]] during the early 1870s,<ref name=Scotsman/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03kp74c|title=Composer of the Week – Iceland, A Symphony of Fire and Ice|work=BBC Radio 3|publisher=BBC|date=December 2012|access-date=April 25, 2017|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128070454/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03kp74c|url-status=live}}</ref> and wrote the music for Lofsöngur inside a [[Townhouse (Great Britain)|town house]] located in the [[New Town, Edinburgh|city's New Town]] in 1874.<ref name=Scotsman/> By 1922, the song became so well known and loved throughout Iceland that, in recognition of this, the [[Althing]] endowed Sveinbjörnsson with a [[Pension|state pension]].<ref name=Scotsman/> He was the first composer in the country to be conferred such an honour.<ref name=Rule/>

The lyrical portion of it was penned by [[Matthías Jochumsson]], one of the "best loved poets" in the country<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Iceland has a very special kind of beauty and you don't always have to look up to see it|url=http://icelandmag.visir.is/article/iceland-has-a-very-special-kind-beauty-and-you-dont-always-have-look-see-it|date=May 27, 2016|access-date=April 26, 2017|first=Victoria|last=Mather|magazine=Iceland Magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426051601/http://icelandmag.visir.is/article/iceland-has-a-very-special-kind-beauty-and-you-dont-always-have-look-see-it|archive-date=April 26, 2017}}</ref> who was also a priest.<ref name=Silk>{{cite news|title=Go Iceland!|url=http://gazette.com/go-iceland/article/1579461|date=July 1, 2016|access-date=April 26, 2017|first=Mark|last=Silk|newspaper=The Gazette|location=Colorado Springs|agency=Religion News Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425194349/http://gazette.com/go-iceland/article/1579461|archive-date=April 25, 2017}}</ref> Although the commemorative plaque in Edinburgh purports that both the music and lyrics were written there, it is nowadays believed that Jochumsson had in fact produced the latter back in his homeland.<ref name=Scotsman/> Much like Sveinbjörnsson, Jochumsson became the first Icelandic poet to be given a state pension. The Althing also bestowed on him the title of "[[National poet|National Poet]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Matthías Jochumsson, poet and writer of Iceland's national anthem|url=http://icelandictimes.com/matthias-jochumsson-poet-and-writer-of-icelands-national-anthem/|date=November 16, 2014|access-date=April 27, 2017|first=Andrew|last=Scott Fortune|magazine=Icelandic Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426195836/http://icelandictimes.com/matthias-jochumsson-poet-and-writer-of-icelands-national-anthem/|archive-date=April 26, 2017}}</ref>

It was written to coincide with the 1874 festivities in honor of one millennium since the [[Norsemen|Norse]] [[Settlement of Iceland|first arrived]] on the island.<ref name=Silk/><ref name=Neijmann>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_3jxYe5nTMC&pg=PA27|title=A History of Icelandic Literature|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|year=2006|editor-last=Neijmann|editor-first=Daisy L.|page=278|isbn=0803233469}}</ref> It is for this reason that the full translation of the anthem's title is "The Millennial Hymn of Iceland".<ref name=Neijmann/><ref name=Images>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldTUo0MiGmsC|title=Canada: Images of a Post/National Society|publisher=Peter Lang|year=2009|editor1-last=Florby|editor1-first=Gunilla|editor2-last=Shackleton|editor2-first=Mark|editor3-last=Suhonen|editor3-first=Katri|page=242|isbn=9789052014852}}</ref> The song was first played on August 2 of that year,<ref name=Images/> at a service celebrated at [[Reykjavík Cathedral]] to commemorate the milestone, with the [[Monarchy of Iceland|King of Iceland]], [[Christian IX of Denmark|Christian IX]], in attendance.<ref name=Silk/><ref name=Hauptmann>{{cite magazine|title=The Un-Singable National Anthem of Iceland|url=http://icelandreview.com/stuff/views/2011/01/12/un-singable-national-anthem-iceland-kh|date=January 12, 2011|access-date=April 26, 2017|first=Katharina|last=Hauptmann|magazine=Iceland Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425195935/http://icelandreview.com/stuff/views/2011/01/12/un-singable-national-anthem-iceland-kh|archive-date=April 25, 2017}}</ref> However, the song was not officially adopted as the country's national anthem until 70 years later in 1944,<ref>{{cite web|title=Iceland|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iceland/|date=January 12, 2017|access-date=April 26, 2017|work=The World Factbook|publisher=CIA|archive-date=May 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523194636/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iceland/|url-status=live}}</ref> when Icelanders [[Icelandic constitutional referendum, 1944|voted in a referendum]] to end their state's [[Kingdom of Iceland|personal union with Denmark]] and become a republic.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations|title=Iceland – History|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/places/germany-scandinavia-and-central-europe/scandinavian-political-geography/iceland#HISTORY|access-date=April 26, 2017|edition=12th|year=2007|publisher=Thomson Gale}}</ref>