Jón Ögmundsson

Bishop Jón Ögmundsson holds a crosier and a book in this illustration from a 19th century Icelandic manuscript.

Jón Ögmundsson (* 1052 ; † April 23, 1121 ) was an Icelandic bishop .

In 1106 he founded a bishopric in Hólar in the north of Iceland and served there as a bishop until the end of his life.

family

Jón was the son of Ögmundur Þorkelsson and Þorgerður Egilsdóttir from Breiðabólstaður in Fljótshlíð .

Jón was later married twice himself, but had no children.

education

At the beginning, Jón studied with Ísleifur Gissurarson in Skálholt and later went to Denmark and Norway for further studies.

Sæmundur fróði was his travel companion when he returned home after completing his studies.

Bishop of Hólar

Jón was living on his home courtyard when he was appointed bishop of Hólar - probably with the support of the Bishop of Skálholt, Gissur Ísleifsson . The future bishop first went to Rome, where he met the Pope, who arranged for him to be ordained a bishop. This happened on April 29, 1106.

Jón Ögmundsson became an influential bishop. He also founded a school in Hólar, which u. a. Teachers from abroad employed.

Names of the days of the week

Jón made it his business to eradicate the remains of the Norse pagan religion. This included changing the names of the days of the week. So óðinsdagr , the day of Odin , became miðvikudagr , day of the middle of the week; the days of Týr and Thor have been renamed "third day" and "fifth day".

These days of the week have been used in Iceland to this day. Overall, however, Jón's reform efforts appear to have only been successful on an external level. He did not succeed in driving away the memory of the pagan gods.

Thus, more than a century after his death, the Snorra Edda and the Liederedda emerged , both of which have preserved mythical paganism and mythical poetry.

Local saint

Jón was named a local saint by an episcopal decree in the Althing in 1200. It is therefore also known as Jón helgi (Eng. St. Jón ) in Iceland .

saga

A saga, Jóns saga Hólabiskups or Jóns saga helga , tells of his actions and life in his time in Hólar.

See also

• History of Iceland
• List of the bishops of Hólar

literature

• Gunnar Karlsson (2000). Iceland's 1100 Years: History of a Marginal Society . London: C. Hurst & Co. ISBN 1-85065-420-4 .
• Unnar Árnason: Hver var Jón Ögmundsson?
• Peter Foote (útg.): Biskupasögur 1, Rvík 2003. Hið íslenska fornritafélag.
• Páll Eggert Ólason: Íslenskar æviskrár III, Reykjavík 1950
• Árni Daníel Júlíusson, Jón Ólafur Ísberg o.fl. (ritstj.): Íslenskur söguatlas 1, Iðunn, Rvík 1991
• Biskupsstólanna saga. Hólar 2006.

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 .