Oddur Einarsson

Current church in Möðruvellir (Hörgárdalur), the place where the bishop was born

Oddur Einarsson (born August 31, 1559 , † December 28, 1630 ) was a Protestant bishop of Skálholt in the south of Iceland .

Family and education

His father Einar Sigurðsson í Eydölum was a pastor in Nes in Aðaldalur not far from Lake Mývatn in northern Iceland.

When Oddur Einarsson was born, his father worked as an assistant pastor in Möðruvellir and it was there that Oddur was born. Later his father was pastor on Mývatn and then in Nes. Although his parents were poor and had many children - the father had other children with his second wife after the death of Oddur's mother - Oddur and one of his brothers received a good education at the school in Hólar .

Then Oddur, like most of his colleagues, went to Copenhagen for further training , where he studied for two years at the local university (1585–87). Among other things, he took mathematics and astronomy and in this way he came into contact with Tycho Brahe , whom he also visited in his Uranienborg Castle.

Professional background

Initially, Oddur became headmaster of the school in Hólar. In 1588 he was sent to the Althing parliament by Guðbrandur Þorláksson , the bishop of Hólar who was very favorable to him, to promote his election as Bishop of Skálholt. After Oddur was elected, he went to Denmark, spent the winter there and was ordained a bishop at the young age of 30.

Act

Oddur Einarsson was considered a strict bishop. He opposed popular customs such as the Vikivaki balls and the consumption of horse meat on Sundays and public holidays.

He also campaigned for the persecution and banishment of so-called magicians.

On the other hand, he took care of his relatives, brought the poor parents and siblings to Skálholt and handed over to his father Eydalir in Breiðdalur in East Iceland, which was then one of the richest parishes in the country.

literature

The bishop was considered to be very educated and was probably the first to collect medieval manuscripts in Iceland. However, his collection burned in the fire of 1630, which severely damaged the Skálholt bishopric. Árni Magnússon was able to take over some of the remains of the valuable collection .

Oddur Einarsson wrote a lot himself, especially historical treatises on the bishops of Skálholt and Hólar, including Jón Arason . He urged other authors to do the same, for example, with his support, Jón Egilsson wrote the Biskupaannál (German Bishop Annals ).

Nowadays, Oddur Einarsson is known not least as the (presumably) author of a Latin description of his country ( Qualiscunque descriptio Islandiae ), which was considered lost, but appeared as a manuscript in a Hamburg library at the beginning of the 20th century . Presumably the book was not published at the time, because at the same time Arngrímur Jónsson had also written a description of Iceland and had it printed.

wife

His wife was Helga Jónsdóttir, who came from the wealthy Grund farm in Eyjafjörður . She had a comparatively bad reputation as a very tough woman towards the poor.

successor

After his death in 1630 his son Gísli Oddsson succeeded him as bishop.

See also

• History of Iceland

literature

• Oddur Einarsson, Íslandslýsing - Qualiscunque descriptio Islandiae , (ísl. Þýð. Sveinn Pálsson) (Reykjavík: Bókaútgáfa menningarsjóðs, 1971).
• Páll Eggert Ólason, Íslenzkar æviskrár , IV. Bindi, (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka bókmenntafélag, 1951).
• Sigurður Líndal (ritstj.), Saga Íslands IV (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka bókmenntafélag / Sögufélagið, 2003).

Web links

• Skálholt's website on the bishops (Icelandic)
• Íslandslýsing og Höfundur hennar ; grein í Lesbók Morgunblaðsins 1973

predecessor	Office	successor
Gísli Jónsson	Bishop of Skálholt 1589 - 1630	Gísli Oddsson

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 .