Jöns Gerekesson
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::''The last name is a
patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...
, not a
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; this person is properly referred to by the given name'' Jöns. Jöns Gerekesson (; ; – 1433) was a controversial
archbishop of Uppsala The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward under the Lutheran church. Historical ove ...
in Sweden from 1408 to 1421, and the
bishop of Skálholt A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
in Iceland from 1426 to 1433 until he was murdered by being tied to a rock and drowned.


Biography

It is not known when Jöns Gerekesson was born. His uncle, Peder Jensen Lodehat, was Bishop of
Roskilde, Denmark Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
and Chancellor to the
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n queen,
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. Jöns studied at the University of Paris, graduating in 1401, and the University of Prague, where he graduated in 1404. He then worked as a
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in
Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
before he became chancellor to the Scandinavian King
Eric of Pomerania Erik of Pomerania ( 1381/1382 – 24 September 1459) ruled over the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439. He was initially co-ruler with his great-aunt Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret I until her death in 1412. Erik is known as Erik III as King of ...
. On the death of the archbishop Henrik Karlsson (1408), the King appointed Jöns to take his place, despite protests from the cathedral
chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...
. Jöns was of Danish descent and had no connection to
Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...
. He held parties with female company, and lived a life of luxury and abundance. He took a young woman from
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as a mistress who bore him two children. Finally, the chapter complained to
Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...
and, after an investigation, in 1421 the Pope dismissed him from office. In 1426 he entered the duties of bishop of Skálholt, Iceland, and was formally ordained in 1430. Three years after being ordained, he was murdered. According to a later entry in an Icelandic annal, this was done by two Icelandic chieftains, Þorvarðr Loptsson and Teitur Gunnlaugsson. Their motive was partly revenge for acts of violence done to them by the bishop's retainers who had robbed them and subsequently taken them as prisoners to Skálholt where they were forced to perform menial labour which was an intense humiliation for men of their standing. Another act that played a role in the killing was vengeance for the shooting of Ívar Vigfússon hólmur Storm, Gustav. Islandske annaler indtil 1578. Vol. 21. Grøndahl & søns bogtrykkeri, 1888, p. 370. during the burning of Kirkjuból farm. The burning was itself an act of vengeance on Ívar's sister Margrét Vigfúsdóttir (ca1406 – 1486) who had refused to marry the bishop's illegitimate son Mangús. This so enraged Magnús that he set out with his men to try and burn her alive in her farmhouse at Kirkjuból. However Margrét escaped and promised to marry whoever avenged her brother. Although Þorvarðr had acted to avenge violence done to himself by the bishop's retainers, he had also avenged Ívar even if it was by killing Mangús' father the Bishop rather than Magnús himself who had fled the country. Margrét considered the killing a sufficient act of vengeance, honoured her promise and married Þorvarðr. Ívar and Margrét's father was Vigfús Ívarsson Hólm who for many years had been the representative (''hirðstjóri'') of the Danish king in the region. Jöns had thus made bitter enemies of several high ranking Icelanders for no immediately discernible reason other than a desire to use his office to enrich himself as quickly as possible. Using secular or ecclesiastical offices for self enrichment was not in itself an unusual thing to do at the time and certainly not an offence that warranted killing Jöns any more than his transgressions in Sweden had been. Had Jöns not gone out of his way to humiliate and mistreat powerful local chieftains he would probably be remembered simply as a corrupt bishop.


See also

* List of Skálholt bishops


References


Sources

*''Kyrkohistoriskt Personlexikon'', by Carl Henrik Martling
''Nordisk familjebok''
(in Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerekesson, Jons Jons Gerekesson Roman Catholic archbishops of Uppsala Jons Gerekesson Jons Gerekesson Jons Gerekesson People murdered in Iceland Danish murder victims Year of birth unknown