Geir Vídalín

Geir Vídalín (born October 27, 1761 , † September 20, 1823 in Reykjavík ) was an Evangelical Lutheran bishop of Skálholt in the south of Iceland . He was the last bishop of Skálholt until 1801 and never resided there, but in Reykjavík. From 1801 he was bishop of all of Iceland and as such the first Evangelical Lutheran denomination.

Life

Geir Vídalín was born to the pastor of Laufás and his wife Sigríður Magnúsdóttir. Both parents came from well-known Icelandic upper-class families: the father as the younger son of Páll Vídalín , the mother as the daughter of the Icelandic manufacturer Skúli Magnússon .

Geir took his theology exam like most of his predecessors at Copenhagen College . He did this in 1789 . He also wrote one of the first Icelandic plays as a student.

Geir was first pastor of the cathedral church in Reykjavík. The parish seat was on Lambastaðir on the Seltjarnarnes peninsula . After the death of his predecessor Hannes Finnsson in 1796, he was elected Bishop of Skálholt. It was consecrated on July 30, 1797 by the then Bishop of Hólar Sigurður Stefánsson . Nevertheless, he stayed at the Lambastaðir rectory, over 100 km from Skálholt. This had to do with the fact that, since the severe earthquake in South Iceland in 1784, actually since the days of Skálholt Bishop Finnur Jónsson , there had been plans to move the bishopric to Reykjavík for security reasons.

In the meantime the Bishop of Hólar, Sigurður Stefánsson, died . The new election dragged on and finally it was decided to merge the two dioceses again, so that a bishop of Iceland should rule over both, as was the case in the Middle Ages at the beginning. Geir Vídalín was appointed bishop of Iceland by order of the king in November 1801.

From 1803 his school friend, the playwright Sigurður Pétursson (1759-1827) lived with him.

Geir lived on Lambastaðir until 1807, but eventually moved to Aðalstræti 10 in the center of Reykjavík, which had about 700 inhabitants at that time , where he spent the rest of his life.

In the fall of 1823 a whale was stranded near Reykjavík and, like many residents, the bishop came to see the animal, which was then slaughtered, a festival for the residents, who were then still very poor. On that occasion, however, Geir contracted pneumonia and died of it soon after.

Geir was married to Sigríður Halldórsdóttir († 1846).

character

As a person and bishop, Geir was known for his hospitality and generosity, so that he was nicknamed Geir biskup góði (= dt. The good bishop Geir ). However, this had the consequence that he finally went bankrupt and a committee took over the administration of his household.

See also

• History of Iceland

Web links

• Skálholt's website (Icelandic / English)
• Lesbók Morgunblaðsins , April 8, 1962 (Icelandic)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from February 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed August 19, 2010; Title of the piece: Brandur eða Bjarglaunin 
2. ↑ Þórir Stephensen: Saga Dómkirkjunnar ( Icelandic ) 1996. Archived from the original on October 14, 2006. Retrieved on August 19, 2010.
3. ↑ cf. http://www.mbl.is/mm/gagnasafn/grein.html?grein_id=1110683 , accessed on August 19, 2010.
4. ↑ cf. http://www.mbl.is/mm/gagnasafn/grein.html?grein_id=609528 accessed on August 19, 2010; is considered the oldest house in Reykjavík
5. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from February 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 19, 2010 
6. ↑ See http://timarit.is/files/16375316.txt Morgunblaðið, 1962, see below, accessed on August 19, 2010; Here it is said, among other things, that he was even rationed flour and butter.

predecessor	Office	successor
Hannes Finnsson	Bishop of Skálholt 1797 - 1801	-
-	Bishop of Iceland 1801 - 1823	Steingrímur Jónsson

Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .