Jón Halldórsson (c. 1275 – 2 February 1339, or Candlemas;
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 ...
: ) 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 Dominican order and has been assumed to have been of Norwegian birth, though since his mother's name, Freygerðr, is unknown outside Iceland, he may in fact have been (half) Icelandic. He studied both theology in Paris and canon law in Bologna, and his learning is seen as remarkable in contemporary Icelandic sources; ''
Laurentius saga'' has him as one of Iceland's two best Latinists at his time, as fluent in Latin as in his mother-tongue. He was elected bishop following Grímr Skútuson and consecrated on 1 August 1322 but did not arrive in Iceland until the following year. He was noted for bringing the Icelandic Church more closely into line with canon law and for his skill as a preacher and storyteller; the introduction to ''
Klári saga'' claims that it is based on a Latin romance discovered by Jón in France, and there is a strong case that Jón indeed produced the saga, while Jón's fame as a gatherer of stories is clear from ''Laurentius saga''.
[Biskupa sögur, ed. Guðrún Ása Grímsdóttir et al., 3 vols., Íslensk fornrit 15–17 (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1998–2000), I p. 445.] He died in Norway at Candlemass 1339.
See also
*
List of Skálholt bishops
*
Jóns þáttr biskups Halldórssonar
''Jóns þáttr biskups Halldórssonar'' (The Tale of Bishop Jón Halldórsson) is a short Old Norse-Icelandic narrative of the life of Jón Halldórsson, Norwegian bishop of Skálholt from 1322 to 1339. It was likely authored by Bergr Sokkason ...
References
Aeventyri.'' H. Gering, 1882, Vol. II Foreword (German; English translation available throug
''Smashwords ebook purchase''(see free sample preview, "translator's notes" for unpublished English translation of H. Gering's life of Jón Halldórsson).
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jon Halldorsson
Norwegian Roman Catholic priests
14th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Iceland
1275 births
1339 deaths