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Bishops' Saga
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 and Hólar. Sagas about Skálholt bishops * ''Hungrvaka'' (short biographies of the first five List of Skálholt bishops, bishops of Skálholt, 1056–1176) * ''Þorláks saga helga'' (three redactions, including the earliest of the ''biskupa sögur'') * ''Páls saga biskups'' (the saga of Þorlákr's successor Páll Jónsson, d. 1211) * ''Árna saga biskups'' (composed c. 1300 about Árni Þorláksson, d. 1298) Two ''Þáttr, þættir'' are also relevant: ''Ísleifs þáttr biskups'' and ''Jóns þáttr biskups Halldórssonar, Jóns þáttr Halldórssonar''. Sagas about Hólar bishops * ''Jóns saga helga'' (about Jón Ögmundsson, 1052–1121, in several differen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saga
Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between Icelandic families. However, sagas' subject matter is diverse, including legendary saga, pre-Christian Scandinavian legends; Heilagramannasögur, saints and Biskupasögur, bishops both from Scandinavia and elsewhere; konungasögur, Scandinavian kings and Samtíðarsögur, contemporary Icelandic politics; and chivalric romances either translated from Continental European languages or composed locally. Sagas originated in the Middle Ages, but continued to be composed in the ensuing centuries. Whereas the dominant language of history-writing in medieval Europe was Latin language, Latin, sagas were composed in the vernacular: Old Norse and its later descendants, primarily Icelandic language, Icelandic. While sagas are written in prose, they s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Skálholt (Modern Icelandic: ; ) is a historical site in the south of Iceland, at the river Hvítá, Árnessýsla, Hvítá. History Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. A bishopric was established ... from 1322 to 1339. It was likely authored by Bergr Sokkason and is written in the 'florid style' characteristic of the North Icelandic Benedictine School. The text is extant in two manuscripts from the 14th and 15th centuries. The ''þáttur'' is unique among other bishops' sagas for two reasons. Firstly, it is the only such text to focus on a Norwegian bishop. Secondly, the narrative structure is based around a series of ''exempla'', and appears to have been influenced by the Dominican style of preaching. For this reason, Sigurdson has argued aga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icelandic Literature
Icelandic literature refers to literature written in Iceland or by Icelandic people. It is best known for the sagas written in medieval times, starting in the 13th century. As Icelandic and Old Norse are almost the same, and because Icelandic works constitute most of Old Norse literature, Old Norse literature is often wrongly considered a subset of Icelandic literature. However, works by Norwegians are present in the standard reader ''Sýnisbók íslenzkra bókmennta til miðrar átjándu aldar'', compiled by Sigurður Nordal on the grounds that the language was the same. Early Icelandic literature The medieval Icelandic literature is usually divided into three parts: *Eddic poetry * Sagas * Skaldic poetry The ''Eddas'' There has been some discussion on the probable etymology of the term "Edda". Most say it stems from the Old Norse term ''edda'', which means great-grandmother, but some see a reference to Oddi, a place where Snorri Sturluson (the writer of the ''Prose Edda'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sagas
Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between Icelandic families. However, sagas' subject matter is diverse, including pre-Christian Scandinavian legends; saints and bishops both from Scandinavia and elsewhere; Scandinavian kings and contemporary Icelandic politics; and chivalric romances either translated from Continental European languages or composed locally. Sagas originated in the Middle Ages, but continued to be composed in the ensuing centuries. Whereas the dominant language of history-writing in medieval Europe was Latin, sagas were composed in the vernacular: Old Norse and its later descendants, primarily Icelandic. While sagas are written in prose, they share some similarities with epic poetry, and often include stanzas or whole poems in alliterative verse embedded in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 comprehensive notes. The Society was founded in 1928 by Jón Ásbjörnsson and launched its text series of medieval Icelandic literature known as ''Íslenzk fornrit'' in 1933. The series was founded as an Icelandic language edition along the lines of the German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ... series ''Altnordische Saga-Bibliothek'' (published 1892–1929). The Society's publications are distributed by the Icelandic Literary Society (''Hið íslenska bókmenntafélag''). The president of the company (2019) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Icelandic Benedictine School
The North Icelandic Benedictine School (''Norðlenski Benediktskólinn'') is a fourteenth-century Icelandic literary movement, the lives, activities, and relationships of whose members are attested particularly by '' Laurentius saga biskups''. This movement is characterised by an elaborate rhetorical style new to Icelandic saga-writing at the time (known in English as the 'florid style', Scandinavian as the ''florissante stil'', and Icelandic as the ''skrúðstíll''), with Latinate grammar, Latin and Low German loan-words; and, unusually for Icelandic sagas, which are usually anonymous, a close-knit network of identifiable authors (sometimes self-identified, sometimes named by others). The school is associated particularly with the Northern Icelandic Benedictine monasteries of Þingeyri and Munkaþverá in the diocese of Hólar, and with the students of Jón Halldórsson and Lárentíus Kálfsson. The principal authors and works associated with this literary movement are: * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Svarfaðardalur and later with Jörundr Þorsteinsson, the bishop of Hólar, and became renowned for his learning. He spent much of his career, however, in dispute with various powerful churchmen. He was consecrated as a priest in 1288 and was the schoolmaster at Hólar for the following three years, after which he was a priest at Háls in Fnjóskadalur from 1292 to 1293. Following a dispute with the bishop of Hólar, he went to Norway in 1294 and there served Archbishop Jörundr, studying law with Jón the Fleming, and finding himself making enemies among the canons of the cathedral of Nidaros. Returning to Norway after an unsuccessful trip to Iceland in 1307-8, he was imprisoned by them, and sent back to Iceland in 1309 where he was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guðmundur Arason
Guðmundur Arason (; 1161 – March 16, 1237; ) 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 recorded in several manuscripts, most notably '' Prestssaga Guðmundar góða''. He is often referred to as ''Guðmundur góði'' (, ; Guðmundr or Gudmund the Good). Life Guðmundur was born an illegitimate child in 1161, in Grjótá in Hörgárdalur, Iceland. He was ordained as priest in 1185 at the age of 24. A decade later, he had become one of the most influential clergymen in the Icelandic commonwealth, culminating in his election as bishop of Hólar (the northern one of the two Icelandic bishop seats) in 1203. He served for some time as house priest to Kolbeinn Tumason, an Icelandic chieftain. In his years as a simple priest, he did not exhibit any interest in strengthening the Church as an institution, and did not seek wealth or other worldly goods. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 common to speak of it in the plural, as ''Guðmundar sögur'' (rather than ''Guðmundar saga''). History of the versions The first version, known as the ''Prestssaga Guðmundar byskups'', was composed soon after Guðmundur's death in 1237, possibly at the instigation of abbot Lambkárr Þorgilsson (d. 1249). It recounts the bishop's life as a young man and priest but stops abruptly during a description of Guðmundr's voyage to Norway for consecration in 1202. It may therefore be unfinished. However, it is preserved only through its integration into the later ''Guðmundar sögur'' and ''Sturlunga saga''. A series of four sagas about Bishop Guðmundr, known as ''Guðmundar sögur'' A, B, C, and D, were then written between 1314 and 1344, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jón Ögmundsson
Jón Ögmundsson or Ögmundarson (; 1052–23 April 1121), also known as John of Hólar and St. Jón Ögmundarson or Ögmundsson (), was an Icelandic Catholic bishop. In 1106, the second Icelandic diocese, Hólar, was created in the north of Iceland, and Jón was appointed its first bishop. He served as bishop there until his death. Influence A religious purist, Jón made it his mission to uproot all remnants of paganism. This included changing the names of the days of the week. Thus ''Óðinsdagr'', "day of Odin", became ''miðvikudagr'', "mid-week day" and the days of Týr and Thor became the prosaic "third day" and "fifth day". Jón's names for the days are still in use in Iceland today but despite the success of this cosmetic reform it appears that Jón did not manage to uproot the memory of the heathen gods. More than a century after his death the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ísleifs þáttr Biskups
''Ísleifs þáttr biskups'' (The Tale of Bishop Ísleifr) is a short Old Norse-Icelandic narrative which recounts two episodes from the life of Ísleifr Gizurason, the first bishop of Iceland. The first episode recounts Ísleifr's meeting with St Ólafr in Norway. Ísleifr is introduced to Ólafr by Brandr Vermundarson, who gives Ísleifr a cloak previously gifted to him by the king. The second part of the narrative gives an account of Ísleifr's marriage to Dalla Þorvaldsdóttir. The þáttr is preserved in ''Flateyjarbók'', where it is interpolated in '' Óláfs saga helga'', in AM 753 fol. no. 5, a now-fragmentary 15th-century vellum manuscript, and AM 554h α 4to., a 17th-century paper copy of AM 753 fol. no. 5. Bibliography Manuscripts * GkS 1005 fol. (Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey, Breiðafjörður, Flatey") is an important medieval Iceland, Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
