Karl Jónsson

Karl Jónsson († 1213 in Þingeyrar , Iceland ) was an Icelandic abbot and author of the Sverris saga , the vita of the Norwegian King Sverre Sigurðarson .

Life

No information is available on Karl's early life. It was not until he was elected abbot of the Þingeyrar monastery in 1169 that he can be historically understood as a person. In 1181 he resigned and left Iceland in 1185 to stay in Norway until 1188. After his return he took office again. In Norway he came into close contact with Sverre, who commissioned him as a writer to write his vita , which Sverre monitored in his mind. Karl Jónsson probably concluded the saga shortly after Sverre's death in 1202. He himself remained abbot until 1207 and died in Þingeyrar in 1213.

literature

• Rudolf Simek , Hermann Pálsson : Lexicon of old Norse literature. The medieval literature of Norway and Iceland (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 490). 2nd, significantly increased and revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-520-49002-5 .
• Jan de Vries : Old Norse literary history. 3rd, unchanged edition in one volume with a foreword by Stefanie Würth. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1999, ISBN 3-11-016330-6 . ( Outline of Germanic Philology , 15/16)

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 .