Jón Vídalín

A cross marks the point of Biskupsbrekka on the Uxahryggjaleið highland slope , where Jón Vídalín died.

Jón Þorkelsson Vídalín (born March 21, 1666 , † August 30, 1720 ) was a Protestant bishop of Skálholt in the south of Iceland .

He was considered an outstanding preacher and one of the best poets in Latin in his country.

Family and education

Jón Vídalín came from a family from Garðar (Álftanes) on the Álftanes peninsula .

His father Þorkell Arngrímsson was a pastor there. One of his sisters was married to the pastor of Þingvellir .

Jón Vídalín went to school with a relative, Páll Björnsson in Selárdalur in the Westfjords . Then, like many Icelandic priests of the time, he went to Copenhagen to study theology at the university there. One of his fellow students was Árni Magnússon , who would later found the famous collection of medieval manuscripts .

Professional background

After completing his degree in theology, Jón Vídalín first went to the Royal Navy in the hope of making a quick career there. But when this did not succeed, his mother bought him off.

He returned home to Iceland in 1691, reportedly relatively destitute. In 1692 he became a teacher in the Skálholt school and in 1693 he took over the office of pastor there. After an interlude as a priest in Garðar, he was elected Bishop of Skálholt in 1697 and consecrated in 1698.

Scholar

Jón Vídalín gained a good reputation as a theologian and scholar.

His book Vídalínspostille , a house booklet with sermons for every holiday of the year, enjoyed great popularity well into the 20th century . The influence of this book on belief, but also culture and literature in the country in the following two centuries should not be underestimated.

Together with the psalmist Hallgrímur Pétursson , he is considered the best-known representative of Pietism in Iceland.

Character traits and work

There are contradicting reports about Jón Vídalín. On the one hand he was considered very generous towards the poor and needy, but on the other hand he was also reckless in the financial sector.

He was open to innovations in the agricultural sector and made experiments with growing vegetables (different types of cabbage). He also recommended that the Icelanders breed reindeer. The country was already very poor back then, and there were repeated famines, although the toughest test, the Laki eruptions, was not to come until the 1780s, long after his death.

His tendency towards alcoholism is mentioned as the downside of his character. There are also numerous anecdotes about it. In addition, he seems to have been choleric and, for example, was repeatedly in a dispute with the legal scholar Oddur Sigurðsson .

wife

His wife was Sigríður the Younger (1677-1730), a daughter of Jón Vigfússon , the bishop of Hólar . She was considered to be extraordinarily well educated for the time and even taught Latin herself.

death

His death on the inland piste Kaldidalur / Uxahryggur in the late summer of 1720 is famous. According to a well-known quote, he anticipated it and expressed his fear of the Kaldidalur even before the trip. He was on his way back from a relative's funeral when he suddenly fell ill and died.

A cross serves as a memorial to the place of his death on the slope, which was then called Biskupsbrekka (English slope of the bishop ).

Jóns Vídalín's work

• Vídalínspostilla - Húspostilla eður einfaldar predikanir yfir öll hátíða- og sunnudagaguðspjöll árið um kring

Web links

• Website of Skálholt (English)
• Smávegis around Jón biskup Vídalin ; grein í Lesbók Morgunblaðsins 1940 (Icelandic)
• Jón Vídalín og postulla hans ; grein í Lesbók Morgunblaðsins 1929 (Icelandic)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ cf. Traditional prayer of Jón Vídalín, Íslandshandbókin. 1. bindi 1989 and z. B. [1] accessed: August 5, 2010: Herra guð í himnasal - haltu mér við trúna; - Kvíði ég fyrir Kaldadal - kvelda tekur núna. - own translation: Dear God in heaven - stick to me. - I'm afraid of the Kaldidalur - when it gets evening there. -

predecessor	Office	successor
Þórður Þorláksson	Bishop of Skálholt 1698 - 1720	Jón Árnason

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 .