Árni Þorláksson

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Árni Þorláksson (* 1237 ; † April 17, 1298 in Bergen ) was Icelandic bishop in Skálholt from 1269 to 1298 .

He came from one of the most powerful families in the country. His parents were Þorlákur Guðmundsson grís and Halldóra Ormsdóttir. Through his grandfather Guðmundur grís, he was entangled with the powerful Svínfellinga clans, the chiefs from Haukadal, Hítadal and the Skarðverja. Sæmundur fróði was one of his ancestors through his mother .

He participated in the revision of Icelandic law after Iceland was annexed to Norway in 1262. He drafted a new Christian law with Archbishop Jon Raude , which was adopted in 1275 at the Althing . During his term of office, the adoption of Jónsbók 1281 falls .

He fought for the observance of the celibacy of the priests and against the patronage law , whereby he based himself on the newly introduced Christian law. He demanded that no lay person could own a church or church property, and thus got into a long and bitter struggle with the powerful Icelandic church owners, above all with the chief Rafn Oddson, who were still in the tradition of the own church system . In this matter he did not even bow to King Erik Magnusson , whom he certainly supported in secular areas. A conflict arose with Lodin Lepp , the king's envoy. Bishop Arne was therefore badly regarded at King Erik's court. But outside of Norway he was so highly regarded that even King Erik Menved of Denmark asked him to persuade King Erik of Norway to stop his military expeditions to Denmark. The dispute over the church property was settled in 1297 by the settlement of Øgvaldsnes (today Avaldsnes ) between King Erik and Bishop Árni.

His life is depicted in Árni saga biskups , a biography written immediately after his death in Skálholt. It describes his life and work up to the year 1291, when it suddenly breaks off. It is believed that it was written by his nephew, Bishop Árni Helgason (bishop from 1304 to 1320). In any case, the author used the episcopal archive and had detailed knowledge of his measures, as can be seen from the many letters cited. It is the most important source of his life.

literature

  • Guðrún Ása Grímsdóttir (Ed.): "Árna saga biskups". In: Biskupa sögur vol. 3. Reykjavík 1998.
  • Vilborg Ísleifsdóttir-Bickel: The introduction of the Reformation in Iceland 1537–1565 . Frankfurt 1996.

Individual evidence

  1. Regesta Norvegica vol. 2 no.79 .
  2. Biskupa sögur Vol. 3 .: Ættir og tengdir III. "Tengsl Árna Þorlákssnar biskups við Oddaverja".
  3. Letter from Bishop Árni and the Sýsselmenn of Iceland to King Magnus lagabætir Regesta Norvegica Vol. 2 No. 129.
  4. More on this in Vilborg Íslaifsdóttir-Bickel, pp. 53–59.
  5. Letter of 1282 or 1283 to King Erik Regesta Norvegica, vol. 2, no. 326 .
  6. ^ Regesta Norvegica vol. 2 no. 329 .
  7. ^ Regesta Norvegica vol. 2 no. 529 .
  8. Diplomatarium Islandicum Vol. 2 No. 167.
  9. Finnur Magnusson and CC Rafn (eds.): Grönlands historiske Mindesmærker . 1838; Guðrún Ása Grímsdóttir in "Árna saga biskups", Formáli (preface) p. XXIV.
predecessor Office successor
Sigvarður Þéttmarsson Bishop of Skálholt
1269–1298
Árni Helgason