Ari Þorgilsson (1067–1148 AD;

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: ;

Modern Icelandic Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Due to being a West Scandinavian language, it is most closely re ...

: ; also anglicized Ari Thorgilsson) was

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

's most prominent medieval chronicler. He was the author of ''

Íslendingabók ''Íslendingabók'' (, Old Norse pronunciation: , ''Book of Icelanders''; ) is a historical work dealing with early Icelandic history. The author was an Icelandic priest, Ari Þorgilsson, working in the early 12th century. The work originally ex ...

'', which details the histories of the various families who settled Iceland. He is typically referred to as Ari the Wise (''Ari hinn fróði''), and according to

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

was the first to write history in

. Ari was a part of the Haukdælir family clan and studied in the school in

Haukadalur Haukadalur ( Icelandic: , from non, Haukadalr , "hawk dale" or "valley of hawks") is a valley in Iceland. It lies to the north of Laugarvatn lake in the south of Iceland. Geysers Haukadalur is home to some of the best known sights in Iceland: th ...

as a student of Teitur Ísleifsson (the son of

Ísleifur Gissurarson Ísleifur Gissurarson (c. 1006 – 5 July 1080), an Icelandic clergyman, became the first bishop of Iceland, following the adoption of Christianity in 1000 AD. His parents were Gissur Teitsson and Þórdís Þóroddsdóttir. After studying in H ...

, first bishop of Iceland). There he became acquainted with

Classical education Classical education may refer to: *''Modern'', educational practices and educational movements: **An education in the Classics, especially in Ancient Greek and Latin **Classical education movement, based on the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) an ...

. His writings clearly indicate that he was familiar with

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

chronicler traditions, but at the same time he is widely regarded as excelling in the Icelandic oral storytelling tradition. It is believed that Ari later became a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

priest in Staður by Ölduhryggur, now known as Staðastaður, but otherwise little is known about his life, despite the fact that he is one of the very few medieval writers who wrote down his family history.Mark F. Williams -The Making of Christian Communities: In Late Antiquity and Middle Ages - 2005 Page 95 "Several sources contain information about the process of Christianity in Iceland, the oldest being the Book of the Icelanders (Íslendingabók) by Ari þorgilsson, from 1125-30." ''Íslendingabók'' is the only work that is absolutely proven to have been written by him, but he is accredited with numerous articles of knowledge and is believed to have had a major part in the writing of ''

Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is divided into five parts and over ...

'', which chronicles the settlement of Iceland. Ari was early on regarded as an important author. In Iceland's

First Grammatical Treatise The First Grammatical Treatise ( is, Fyrsta málfræðiritgerðin ) is a 12th-century work on the phonology of the Old Norse or Old Icelandic language. It was given this name because it is the first of four grammatical works bound in the Icelandic ...

, written around 1160 AD, he is referred to with respect as an exceptional man, since the tradition of writing was not firmly established at the time.

References

* 1067 births 1148 deaths Icelandic historians 12th-century historians 11th-century Icelandic people 12th-century Icelandic people {{Iceland-writer-stub

See also

References