Jón Helgason was an Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic philologist

Philology

Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...

 and poet. He was head of the Danish Árni Magnússon Institute from 1927 to 1971 and professor of Icelandic studies at the University of Copenhagen

University of Copenhagen

The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...

 from 1929 to 1970. He made significant contributions to his field. As a poet he was not prolific but noted for his highly polished and effective traditional poetry. His best known poems are Áfangar and Í Árnasafni.

One of his discoveries at the institute is the pair of glossaries that are the only documentation on Basque-Icelandic pidgin

Basque-Icelandic pidgin

The Basque-Icelandic pidgin was a pidgin spoken in Iceland in the 17th century. It developed due to the contact that Basque traders had with the Icelandic locals, probably in Vestfirðir...

.