Arngrímr Brandsson (died 13 October 1361) was an Icelandic cleric and writer. Arngrímr‘s early life and career has long been the subject of debate; the evidence for it is sometimes contradictory. The synthesis of the evidence by Jón Helgason is widely seen as the most convincing.Jón Helgason, 'Introduction', in Jón Helgason ed., ''Biskupa sǫgur: MS Perg. fol. No. 5 in the Royal Library of Stockholm'' (Copenhagen: Einar Munksgaard, 1950), pp. 15-21 (pp. 16-18), cited by Erika Ruth Sigurdson, 'The Church in Fourteenth-Century Iceland: Ecclesiastical Administration, Literacy, and the Formation of an Elite Clerical Identity' (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Leeds, 2011), p. 58, http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/2610

In this account, Arngrímr was consecrated as a secular priest, held the benefice of Oddi, and served Bishop

Jón Halldórsson Jón Halldórsson (c. 1275 – 2 February 1339, or Candlemas; Modern Icelandic: ) was a Roman Catholic clergyman, who became the bishop of Iceland (1322–1339). He served in the diocese of Skálholt. He grew up in Norway as a friar of the Dom ...

of Skálholt. In 1341, he took holy orders, possibly in Þykkvibær. He certainly became abbot of the monastery of

Þingeyraklaustur Þingeyraklaustur was a monastery of the Order of Saint Benedict located in Þingeyrar on Iceland from 1133 until 1551. It was the first convent in Iceland and likely the last to be closed by the Icelandic Reformation. History The convent was fou ...

in 1351, a position which he held until his death. Arngrímr supported the otherwise unpopular Bishop Ormr Ásláksson, during whose episcopate Arngrímr rose to the position of ''officialis'' of Iceland's northern diocese of

Hólar Hólar (; also Hólar í Hjaltadal ) is a small community in the Skagafjörður district of northern Iceland. Location Hólar is in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital of Reykjavík. It has a population of around 100. It is th ...

, which he held from 1347 to 1351 and again from 1354 to 1357. Arngrímr is now most noted for making the latest and longest version of ''

Guðmundar saga biskups ''Guðmundar saga biskups'' or ''Guðmundar saga Arasonar'' is an Icelandic bishops' saga, existing in several different versions, recounting the life of Bishop Guðmundur Arason (1161–1237). Since the saga survives in different versions, it is ...

'', known as version D, probably at Ormr Ásláksson‘s request, and in conjunction with Bishop

Guðmundur Arason Guðmundur Arason (1161 – March 16, 1237; Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ) was an influential 12th and 13th century Icelandic saintly bishop who took part in increasing the powers of the Catholic Church in medieval Iceland. His story is r ...

's exhumation in 1344. Arngrímr also composed a ''drápa'' in honour of the bishop, alongside that composed by Einarr Gilsson. He can be seen as part of the North Icelandic Benedictine School of saga-writing.

Sources

*Sigurdson, Erika Ruth, 'The Church in Fourteenth-Century Iceland: Ecclesiastical Administration, Literacy, and the Formation of an Elite Clerical Identity' (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Leeds, 2011), pp. 57–60, http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/2610

(pre-Reformation bishops). {{DEFAULTSORT:Arngrimr Brandsson Icelandic writers 14th-century writers 14th-century Icelandic people Icelandic male poets Skalds 14th-century Icelandic poets

See also

Sources