Ísleifur Gissurarson (c. 1006 – 5 July 1080), an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

ic clergyman, became the first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

, following the adoption of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

in 1000 AD. His parents were

Gissur Teitsson Gissur Teitsson (Modern Icelandic: ) or Gissur the White was a chieftain or '' goði'' in Iceland at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries. He played a preeminent role in the Christianisation of Iceland. He was the father of Ísleifur Gis ...

and Þórdís Þóroddsdóttir. After studying in

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford. Geography Geographic locatio ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, he was made bishop of Iceland in 1056 by Athelbjart, archbishop of Bremen. He built up a see in his family homestead in Skálholt and founded a school. One of his students was

Jón Ögmundarson Jón is an Old Norse common name still widely used in Iceland and the Faroes. According to Icelandic custom, people named Jón are generally referred to by first and middle names and those without a middle name are referred to with both first nam ...

(1052-1121), who later became the first bishop in Hólar. Ísleifur served as bishop for 24 years, right until his death. His wife was Dalla Þorvaldsdóttir and they had three sons: Þorvaldur, Teitur and Gissur, the latter taking over as bishop after his father's death in 1080.

References

Other Sources

* 1000s births 1080 deaths 11th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Iceland Married Roman Catholic bishops 11th-century Icelandic people {{Iceland-bio-stub