Jón Halldórsson (c. 1275 – 2 February 1339, or Candlemas;

Modern Icelandic Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Due to being a West Scandinavian langua ...

: ) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

clergyman, who became the

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 ...

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 ...

(1322–1339). He served in the diocese of

Skálholt Skálholt (Modern Icelandic: ; non, Skálaholt ) is a historical site in the south of Iceland, at the river Hvítá. History Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. A bishopric was established in Sk� ...

. He grew up in Norway as a friar of the Dominican order and has been assumed to have been of Norwegian birth, though since his mother's name, Freygerðr, is unknown outside Iceland, he may in fact have been (half) Icelandic. He studied both theology in Paris and canon law in Bologna, and his learning is seen as remarkable in contemporary Icelandic sources; '' Laurentius saga'' has him as one of Iceland's two best Latinists at his time, as fluent in Latin as in his mother-tongue. He was elected bishop following Grímr Skútuson and consecrated on 1 August 1322 but did not arrive in Iceland until the following year. He was noted for bringing the Icelandic Church more closely into line with canon law and for his skill as a preacher and storyteller; the introduction to ''

Klári saga ''Klári saga'' is one of the chivalric sagas of medieval Norway. Ostensibly derived from a Latin poem which Jón Halldórsson, Bishop of Skálholt, found in France, it became a prototype of the maiden king medieval Icelandic bridal-quest romances ...

'' claims that it is based on a Latin romance discovered by Jón in France, and there is a strong case that Jón indeed produced the saga, while Jón's fame as a gatherer of stories is clear from ''Laurentius saga''.Biskupa sögur, ed. Guðrún Ása Grímsdóttir et al., 3 vols., Íslensk fornrit 15–17 (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1998–2000), I p. 445. He died in Norway at Candlemass 1339.

References

Aeventyri.''
H. Gering, 1882, Vol. II Foreword (German; English translation available throug
''Smashwords ebook purchase''
(see free sample preview, "translator's notes" for unpublished English translation of H. Gering's life of Jón Halldórsson).

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jon Halldorsson Norwegian Roman Catholic priests 14th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Iceland 1275 births 1339 deaths

See also

References

External links