Anonymous, Jóns saga

Ásdís Egilsdóttir (University of Iceland)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1300

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Prose Fiction Narrative

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Icelandic prelate Jón Ögmundarson (1052–1121) was appointed the first bishop in the diocese of Hólar, North-Iceland, in 1106. Little is known of the bishop’s life. Born in South-Iceland, he became a pupil of Bishop Ísleifr Gizurarson (d. 1080). Jón did not study abroad, but, according to the vita, he travelled to Rome and on his way back he met Sæmundr Sigfússon the learned (1056–1133) and brought him back to Iceland (Foote, 1984). A cathedral was built during Bishop Jón’s episcopacy. He established a school at Hólar where he taught many students who later became well known clerics and church leaders. Jón took part in laying groundwork for Þingeyraklaustur, the first monastery in Iceland, not officially established until 1133.

Jóns saga

highlights the bishop’s…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

1985 words

Citation: Egilsdóttir, Ásdís. "Jóns saga". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 July 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40729, accessed 26 April 2024.]

Save this article