Iceland: “Neglect and Misunderstanding”: The Reception of Kierkegaard in Iceland

This article is divided into two main parts. In the first part, the reception of Kierkegaard by Icelanders living in Copenhagen is described. The critique of Kierkegaard by an Icelandic theologian, Magnús Eiríksson, and Kierkegaard’s response, is briefly described. In the second part, the reception of Kierkegaard in Iceland is discussed mainly in the light of publications of Kierkegaard’s works and writings about them, academic teaching about Kierkegaard and his influences upon theology, philosophy, and literature in Iceland in the nineteenth and twentieth century.