Árni Beiskur

Árni beiskur or Árni the Bitter (died 22 October 1253; Modern Icelandic: ;

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

: ) was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

er. He was a follower of

Gissur Þorvaldsson Gissur Thorvaldsson (1208 – 12 January 1268; Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ) was a medieval Icelandic chieftain or ''goði'' of the Haukdælir family clan, and great-grandson of Jón Loftsson. Gissur played a major role in the period ...

who undertook the task of killing Snorri Sturluson. ''

Íslendinga saga ''Íslendinga saga'' ''( Saga of Icelanders)'' makes up a large part of '' Sturlunga saga'', a compilation of secular contemporary sagas written in thirteenth-century Iceland. The ''terminus ante quem'' of the compilation is disputed (between the ...

'' reports the event in an almost newspaper style: ''After that they discovered where Snorri was and those entered the cellar: Markús Marðarson, Símon knútur, Árni beiskur, Þorsteinn Guðinason, Þórarinn Ásgrímsson. Símon knútur asked Árni beiskur to kill him. ''Thou shalt not hew, said Snorri.'' ''Hew thou, said Símon.'' ''Thou shalt not hew, said Snorri.'' ''Then Árni dealt him a fatal blow, and after that both he and Þorsteinn added further injuries.'' It would have been an act of irony, if the killer of Iceland's greatest writer of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

had escaped punishment. He didn't. He was captured in another battle and executed ( Flugumýrarbrenna). He didn't ask for mercy, and the last words spoken of him were those of Kolbeinn Dufgusson: ''Nobody remembers Snorri Sturluson, if you are to be spared.'' Árni beiskur is otherwise an obscure character in Icelandic history, but his own last words, as recorded, point to a certain strength of character. In the words of

, after he had run out from Flugumýrarbrenna, being aged, he stumbled and lay defenseless: ''Árni beiskur is here, says he, and I will not ask for clemency. I also see that not far from me lies another whom I wish to follow.'' (The one lying beside him was Hallur Gissurarson, son of Gissur Þorvaldsson). {{DEFAULTSORT:Arni Beiskur 13th-century Icelandic people 1253 deaths Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown