Guðbrandur Þorláksson ( – 20 July 1627) was bishop of Hólar from 8 April 1571 until his death. He was the longest-serving bishop in Iceland and is known for printing the ''

Guðbrandsbiblía The Guðbrand's Bible ( ; full title: ''Biblia þad er Øll heilog ritning, vtlögd a norrænu. Med formalum doct. Martini Lutheri. Prentad a Holum/Af Jone Jons Syne'') was the first Bible translations into Icelandic, translation of the full Bible ...

'', first complete Icelandic translation of the Bible.

Early life

Guðbrandur was the son of Þorláks Hallgrímssonar, a priest based at in

Miðfjörður Miðfjörður () is a small fjord as well as a conjoined valley in the northwest of Iceland.Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga of sérkenni. Reykjavík 1989, pp.329-330 The fjord has a length of 14 km and a width of up to 3,5 km. The ...

, and Helga Jónsdóttir, the daughter of the lawyer . Guðbrandur studied at Hólar College from 1553 to 1559 and then went to the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

where he studied theology and logic. Guðbrandur was one of the first Icelanders to study in Denmark instead of in Germany. After returning to Iceland in 1564, he served as rector of the Skálholt School for three years before becoming a priest at historic Breiðabólstaður in Vesturhóp.

Bishop

In 1571, the Danish King Frederick II named Guðbrandur Bishop of Hólar on the recommendation of Poul Madsen, bishop of Zealand, who had been his teacher in Copenhagen. Guðbrandur served as bishop of Hólar for 56 years; no Icelander has held the position longer. As bishop, Guðbrandur focused on cementing the Reformation in Iceland in part by working to publish holy works in Icelandic. He brought the printing press originally brought to Iceland by the Catholic priest

Jón Arason Jón Arason (1484 – November 7, 1550) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic bishop and poet, who was executed in his struggle against the Reformation in Iceland. Background Jón Arason was born in Gryta, educated at Munkaþverá, the Benedictine ...

Hólar Hólar (; also Hólar í Hjaltadal ) is a small community in the Skagafjörður district of northern Iceland. Location Hólar is in the valley Hjaltadalur, some from the national capital of Reykjavík. It has a population of around 100. It is t ...

, printing nearly 100 books during his time as bishop. He wrote and translated many works himself, including hymns and The Bible. Thanks to his printing work, as well as his focus on ensuring accuracy in translation, Guðbrandur is credited with helping strengthen the Icelandic language. Printing of the

, or "Guðbrandur's Bible," was completed in 1584. Portions included previous translations, including

Oddur Gottskálksson Oddur Gottskálksson (1495/1496 – 1556) was the translator of the first book printed in Icelandic, the New Testament. Oddur was born in Hólar where his father, Gottskálk grimmi Nikulásson was bishop. After his father died in 1520, Oddur ...

's translation of the New Testament, along with new translations by Guðbrandur based on Latin, Germany, and Danish translations. Although he worked with trained printers, Guðbrandur engraved some of the book's adornments himself. Five hundred copies were printed, which were sold for the price of two or three cows. The Guðbrandsbiblía was the basis for most Icelandic biblical translations until 1826. Other works published by Guðbrandur include a translation of

Niels Hemmingsen Niels Hemmingsen (May/June 1513 – 23 May 1600), Latinized Nicolaus Hemmingius, was a Danish Lutheran theologian. He was pastor of the Church of the Holy Ghost, Copenhagen and professor at the University of Copenhagen. The street Niels Hemmin ...

's '' Liffsens Vey'' ("Way of Life") in 1575, the first Icelandic hymnal in 1589, an Icelandic

Gradual The gradual ( or ) is a certain chant or hymn in liturgical Christian worship. It is practiced in the Catholic Mass, Lutheran Divine Service, Anglican service and other traditions. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because i ...

in 1594, and the ''Vísnabók'', a collection of spiritual songs, in 1612. He also published several writings by Arngrímur Jónsson. Guðbrandur was a well-rounded scholar with an interest in natural history, astronomy, and surveying, among other fields. This led to his drafting of a new map of Iceland, which was published in

Abraham Ortelius Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer from Antwerp in the Spanish Netherlands. He is recognized as the creator of the list of atlases, first modern ...

's ''Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'' in 1590, as well as fixing the location of the island in the North Atlantic with greater accuracy than previous maps. He also worked to ensure descriptions of Iceland were presented accurately to the world.

Gallery of notable works

Image:Gudbrandsbiblia.jpg, Guðbrandur published the first complete Icelandic translation of

The Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...

in 1584. File:Guðbrandur's bible.jpg, Guðbrandsbiblía in

National Museum of Iceland The National Museum of Iceland ( Icelandic: ''Þjóðminjasafn Íslands'' ) was established on 24 February 1863, with Jón Árnason the first curator of the Icelandic collection, previously kept in Danish museums. Collections The second curat ...

, in Reykjavík, Iceland. Image:Island 1590 Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Ortelius.jpg, One of his most important works: Map of Iceland

Personal life

Soon after becoming bishop, Guðbrandur had a child with Guðrún Gísladóttir. Their daughter, Steinunn Guðbrandsdóttir, married the farmer Skúli Einarsson, and one of Skúli and Steinunn's sons, Þorlákur Skúlason, succeeded Guðbrandur as bishop of Hólar. On 7 September 1572, Guðbrandur married Halldóra Árnadóttir (1547–1585), the daughter of Árni Gíslason, magistrate of Hlíðarendi, and Guðrún Sæmundsdóttir. Their children included Páll Guðbrandsson (1573–1621), Halldóra Guðbrandsdóttir (1574–1658), and Kristín Guðbrandsdóttir (1574–1652).

50 króna banknote

In 1981, the

Central Bank of Iceland The Central Bank of Iceland (, ) is the central bank or reserve bank of Iceland. It is owned by the Icelandic government, and is administered by a governor and a seven-member supervisory board, elected by the country's parliament following ea ...

introduced a new series of

banknotes A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commer ...

with Guðbrandur on the front of the note and a fragment of the Guðbrandsbiblía and an image of early printers at work on the reverse. In 1987, the paper banknote was replaced with an

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gudbrandur Thorlaksson Thorlaksson, Gudbrandur Thorlaksson, Gudbrandur Lutheran bishops of Iceland 16th-century Icelandic people 17th-century Icelandic Lutheran bishops Thorlaksson, Gudbrandur Thorlaksson, Gudbrandur Translators of the Bible into Icelandic Icelandic cartographers