The bishops' saga (Old Norse and modern Icelandic ''biskupasaga'', modern Icelandic plural ''biskupasögur'', Old Norse plural ''biskupasǫgur'') is a genre of medieval Icelandic sagas, mostly thirteenth- and earlier fourteenth-century prose histories dealing with bishops of Iceland's two medieval dioceses of

Skálholt Skálholt (Modern Icelandic: ; non, Skálaholt ) is a historical site in the south of Iceland, at the river Hvítá. History Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. A bishopric was established in Sk� ...

and

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 ...

Sagas about Skálholt bishops

* '' Hungrvaka'' (short biographies of the first five bishops of Skálholt, 1056–1176) * '' Þorláks saga helga'' (three redactions, including the earliest of the ''biskupa sögur'') * ''

Páls saga biskups ''Páls saga biskups'' (The Saga of bishop Páll) is an Old Norse account of the life of Páll Jónsson, bishop of the Icelandic episcopal see Skálholt. The saga is recorded in three seventeenth century manuscripts and subsequent copies: Stock. ...

'' (the saga of Þorlákr's successor

Páll Jónsson Páll Jónsson (1155 – November 29, 1211; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic clergyman, who became the seventh bishop of Iceland from 1195 to 1211. He served in the diocese of Skálholt. His life is recorded in '' ...

, d. 1211) * '' Árna saga biskups'' (composed c. 1300 about

Árni Þorláksson Árni Þorláksson (1237 – 17 April 1298; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic clergyman, who became the tenth bishop of Iceland (1269–1298). He served in the diocese of Skálholt Skálholt (Modern Icelandic ...

, d. 1298) Two '' þættir'' are also relevant: '' Ísleifs þáttr biskups'' and '' Jóns þáttr Halldórssonar''.

Sagas about Hólar bishops

* ''Jóns saga helga'' (about

Jón Ögmundsson Jón Ögmundsson or Ogmundarson ( la, Ioannes Ögmundi filius; 1052–23 April 1121), also known as John of Holar and Jon Helgi Ogmundarson, was an Icelandic bishop and local Icelandic saint. In 1106, the second Icelandic diocese, Hólar, was cre ...

, 1052–1121, in several different versions) * '' Guðmundar saga biskups'' (about

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 ...

, 1161–1237, in several different versions) * '' Laurentius Saga'' (the latest of the ''biskupa sögur'', about

Lárentíus Kálfsson Lárentíus Kálfsson (medieval Icelandic Laurentius Kálfsson; 10 August 1267 – 16 April 1331) was bishop of the northern Icelandic diocese of Hólar 1324–31. Laurentius studied first with Þórarinn kaggi, his maternal uncle, in Vellir in ...

, 1267–31) Several of the Hólar sagas are associated with the North Icelandic Benedictine School which flourished in the fourteenth century.

Editions

* The principal modern edition of these sagas is ''Biskupa sögur'',

Íslenzk fornrit Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, or The Old Icelandic Text Society is a text publication society. It is the standard publisher of Old Icelandic texts (such as the Sagas of Icelanders, Kings' sagas and bishops' sagas) with thorough introductions and c ...

, 15-17 (Reykjavík: Hið Íslenzka Fornritafélag, 2002–3). * * * A number of these sagas are edited and translated in

Sources

Icelandic literature Old Norse literature Bishops' sagas {{Iceland-saga-stub