Ormr Ásláksson was Bishop of Hólar, Iceland's northern diocese, from 1343-56.

Biography

Ormr was a Norwegian, who prior to his election had been a canon of the cathedral of

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

from at least 1319, in which role he oversaw the collection of the papal tithe under the papal ''nuncio'' Pierre Gervais in c. 1333. Ormr succeeded Egill Eyjólfsson (Bishop of Hólar 1332–41) (with

Einarr Hafliðason Einar Hafliðason (medieval Icelandic Einarr Hafliðason, 15 September 1307 – 22 September 1393) was an Icelandic priest and author. Biography Einar became a priest in 1334 with the benefice of Höskuldsstaðir á Skagaströnd and in 1343 the A ...

managing the empty seat in between). Ormr is noted for the tempestuous character of his episcopate, which has sometimes been thought to show Icelanders' opposition to Norwegian bishops. During his episcopate, he made an unusual four journeys to Norway, in 1345-46, 1347, 1349–51, and 1355-56. In 1347, Icelandic farmers protested about his governance to the Norwegian king, Haakon VI Magnusson via the

Alþingi The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (' thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about east of what la ...

. However, most of the evidence for opposition to Ormr comes from one source,

, so may not be representative.Susann Anett Pedersen, ''I kjølvatnet av staðamál: Årsaker til konflikt mellom ’lek og lærd’ på Island ca 1297-1390'' (unpublished master's dissertation, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet i Trondheim, 2012), p. 28
/ref> Ormr promoted the cult of

Guðmundr Arason Guðmundr (Old Norse: , sometimes anglicised as Godmund) was a semi-legendary Norse king in Jotunheim, ruling over a land called ''Glæsisvellir'', which was known as the warrior's paradise.Otto Höfler, ''Kultische Geheimbünde der Germanen'', v ...

, arranging for the second translation of his bones in 1344. It was probably under Ormr's auspices that

Arngrímr Brandsson 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 Helgaso ...

composed the D-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 ...

''. On his death in 1356, Ormr was succeeded by Jón skalli Eiríksson.

References

{{Authority control 14th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Iceland 1356 deaths Year of birth unknown

Biography

See also

References