Marteinn Einarsson

Marteinn Einarsson († October 7, 1576 ) was a Protestant bishop of Skálholt in the south of Iceland .

In 1548 he took over the office of bishop after his predecessor Gissur Einarsson . He was the second Bishop of Skálholt to belong to Evangelical Lutheran Christianity .

Family and education

Marteinn Einarsson came from a family from Staðastaður on the Snæfellsnes peninsula , in which numerous members were pastors.

His father Einar Snorrason z. B. was pastor there from 1500 to 1538, the mother's brother, Ingiríður Jónsdóttir , was Stefan Jónsson , also a bishop of Skálholt and predecessor of Marteinn in office. Marteinn's half-brother was the pastor of Hjarðarholt in Borgarfjörður .

One of his sisters was married in England and so Marteinn received his education there.

Professional background

After nine years abroad, he returned to Iceland and initially worked as a merchant in Grindavík .

In 1533 he took over as pastor from his father in Staðastaður.

In 1548 he was elected Bishop of Skálholt.

Faith War in Iceland

As a result, he got caught in the fire of the smoldering disputes about Iceland's membership of Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran Christianity. This was for Christian III. of Denmark, which had just converted to the Reformation of Martin Luther and held secular supremacy over Iceland, not least a question of power.

While Marteinn Einarsson was in Denmark in 1548 to receive his ordination as Evangelical Lutheran bishop, the Catholic bishop in northern Iceland, Jón Arason , sent the abbot of Þykkvabær Sigvarður Halldórsson to Skálholt. He wanted to quickly take advantage of the opportunity and fill the vacant bishop's seat again for the side of the Catholic faction. However, this could not prevent Marteinn Einarsson from being ordained (Protestant) bishop in Denmark on April 7, 1549 and sent back to Iceland by the Danish king.

There, however, he fell into enemy hands. Björn Jónsson and Ari Jónsson, Jón Arason's sons, held him prisoner for about a year. Most of the time he spent in Möðrufell, Ari Jónsson's farm. Jón Arason himself even composed a mocking poem about the events.

However, the joy of the Catholics was short-lived: in 1550 Jón Arason was captured with his sons and executed in 1551.

Then Marteinn Einarsson was reinstated in his office in Skálholt.

Further work

Martein Einarsson held this until 1557, when he himself resigned from the office of bishop. As a reason for his resignation in 1557, he cited that, in his opinion, the king was going too far in expropriating and disempowering the church.

From 1557 to 1569 he was pastor again in Staðastaður, but finally renounced this office and spent his last years in Álftanes á Mýrum.

He excelled in the editing and writing of collections of psalms and was valid among others. a. also as a good painter.

Einarsson was married and had numerous children.

literature

Fiction

In the novel Öxin og jörðin by Ólafur Gunnarsson , for which he received the national book prize in 2003, the author also deals with the quarrel with Marteinn Einarsson, who plays an important role in the book. Öxin og jörðin was translated into English ( The Ax and the Earth ) and also adapted for the stage. German version:

• Nobody like me (Öxin og jörðin, 2004), Göttingen, Steidl, 2006, ISBN 3-86521-350-2

Non-fiction

• Biskupsstólanna saga. Hólar 2006.

See also

• History of Iceland

Web links

• Skálholt's website on Marteinn Einarsson (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Gissur Einarsson	Bishop of Skálholt 1548 - 1556	Gisli 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 .