Durham E-Theses Icelandic church saga Hood, John C. F. How to cite: Hood, John C. F. (1943) Icelandic church saga, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9664/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk ICELANDIC.CHURCH SAGA. by John CoPa Hood. Thy glory went through four gates, Of fire, and of earthquake9 and of wind, and of cold, II Eedras 3,19. x Thy spirit,independence,let me share, Lord of the lionheart and eagle eye* Thy step I follow with my bosom bare i Uor heed the storm that howls along the sky. Deep in the frozen regions of the north A goddess violated brought thee forth c Immortal liberty* whose look sublime Hath bleached the tyrant's cheek in every varying clime. Tobias Smollett,(1721*71h I If I have not been able to write well- I have at least written truthfully* using as authorities those who are best informed about the subjects Adam (Canon) of Bremehjfirst historian of Icelandic Christianity (c 1100 AD)„ I ICELANDIC CHUKOT SAGA Two years in Iceland has broupftt the British Garrison into close touch with the Church in that isolated country on,the edge of the Arctic Circle- whose hishop and prestursl^ freely afforded us the hospitality of their cathedral and other places of worship0 We learnt,that their ecclesiastical fittings and ceremonies bear a close resemblance,. to those prescribed by the Use of the Church of Inland. Further study showed deeper resemblances in their Church's early Celtic affinities, in its mediaeval independence, its post-Reformation revival, rationalism and mystic strain. The Lutheran Reformation made a break in episcopal succes- sion-but,a8 in Fngland,continuity in Faith and worship was maintainedo No account of the Icelandic Church exists in English* Jon Helgason, Bishop of Iceland 1917-38* has published in Icelandic a valuable though undocumented history of the Christianity of his country (Kristnisaga Islands, 2 vols. "Reykjavik 1925-7)• The only other history is the imposing Latin work of Bishop Finnur Jdnsson in four quarto volumes complete to 1740 (Historia Ecclesiastica Islandiae ^Copen• hagen 1772*8),. continued by Bishop Pdtur P<?tursson (1740- 1840), Original sources, are markedly reliable• An early priest Ari Thorgilsson (1067-^1148) j known as' the Wise, set himself to collect accurate records of his country's origins-which are contained in Islendinga-bdk and Kristni Saga, boih . composed about the year 1130, Landnaraabdkj the Book of tlie Settlement, compiled about the year llPOj, gives a detailed account of the colonization of Iceland (874-930)0 All these records pay special attention to Christian origins and development* lo The plural of this word is prestar, but just as sagas has become the anglicised plural of saga,by reason of our familiarity with those attractive writings, so wis&h 'prestur* - our friendship with many of them has anglicised the plural.The word'pastors1 has an un- Icelandie connotation. ii Ecclesiastical traditions are embodied in the early sagas, accounts of bishops and leading churchmen*written by authors evidently in close touch with the periods they describeo These Lives were collected and published in two stout volumes by Mollers of Copenhagen in 1858 and 1872, a monumental work now out of print and almost impossible to obtains They were presented to me on my leaving the country by the local printers of 'The Mid• night Sun' (a paper T edited for the forces in Iceland), a typical gesture of goodwill« These accounts carry us to about the mldc'le of the xivth century, after which we have, numerous and varied Annals* and a succession of Church and State documents, collected In the thirteen volumes of the valuable J&iplo- matarium Island!cum. After the Reformation, which led to a revival of interest in past history and literature, a remarkably large number of personal records/carefully - drawn up by a literary nation inspired by the noble ambition to make plain to posterity that the same fresh springs of inspiration fed the apparent backwater in which they lived as filled the larger stream which flowed past them unconcernedo Of the many travellers' reports and accounts drawn upon for details referring to the xvilith and xixth century special mention must be made of the Reverend Ebenezer Henderson's delightful Journal (1813-4).Ammost alone of scribacious visitors he, like the present writer appears to have spent more than a month or two in summer in the country and to have made contacts in all parts of the hospitable islande This Account of the Church in Iceland has been given the title of Saga not so much because of the appro• priateness of the attractive word (adsit omen), as for the non-abstract method It implies of letting the story itself delineate the characters of its heroes and the principles and problems involved• This Icelandic Church Sega investigates the traces of early Christianity in the island among pre-Settlement culdees and early settlers,and describes the militant missionary efforts which led to the official adoption of Christianity in AD 1000, It recounts the development and consolidation of ill the .Church under the first seven Bishops of Skatlholt (1056-1211) and their contemporaries lit the northern diocese of Hdiar . including the story of Iceland's two episcopal saints* St.Jon and St.Thorlafc. A survey is attempted of ecclesiastical influence on education and letters and of difficulties, which arose over the introduction of Canon Law especially in the matter of Church ownership0 The independence of Icelandic churchmanship in the Middle Ages is illustrated in its different aspects. A description follows of the decadence of the Church and nation in the xivth and xvth centuries after, the union with Norway in 1262 and a visitation of plague and physical disasters; with an.estimate of the forces in moral« socials economic and intellectual spheres making for a reformation. After, the Lutheran Reformation was imposed by force on apathetic laity, bishops proved the leading men of the age which followed in learning and letters. In a period of unusually severe volcanic devastations- followed by disease and famine, the mystical side of Lutheran!era found expression in the poems of Hallgrimur Pdtursson (ob AD 1674) and the sermons of Bishop Jdn Vidalin (6b. AD 1720). though in the next century latitudinarianisin prevailed* In the 26th century Church and State carried into effect a growing dissociation from Denmark Culminat• ing in the Proclaimatioh of Independence on June 17th I941. This war has intensified the. country's isolation. The Icelandic Church is cut off from Its sister churches on the Continent. It claims over 983 of the inhabitants9 but even ed« it is a small community of 130.000 souls . under a bishop and109 presturs. administered through twenty-one rural deaneries- scattered over an unaccomodat- ing country five-f oinrfchs the size of Ireland,, When the British suddenly appeared in June 1940 to garrison their country,Icelandic clergy, regardless, of iv. misunderstanding and possible future consequences * offered to us as brethren in the Faith the hospitality of their cathedral and parish churches; and ...thus hundreds of our men,'exiles on active seWice,preserved a link with thsir religion and their home« For'this practical co-operation we are under an obligation to the Church in Icelanda The British Forces have afforded material protection to the. country? the British Council has helped its university by sending out a professor and offering bursarieso It would be well if the Church in England in its sphere could lend a hand» But before we can offer any real fellowship, it is advisable to learn something of the spirit and achievements of the Icelandic Church* It is with this end in view that I offer this account, written beneath the midnight sun and in the long sub- ,-: arctic nights* V THE CHURCH IN ICELAND. CONTENTS, Prefaced List of Abbreviations in the N&tes. Chapter I« TRACES OP FARLY CHRISTIANITY IN ICELSND. (1) Pre^Settlement Culdees, AD. 795. \ (ii) Christian Settlers, AD 896 \ (ill) First. Miss! oiiary.Efforts,981-4 12 ITOTE.onVHinnan Sacrifice In Tcelahfl. 16 Chapter' II* - ICELAND ADOPTS CHRISTIANITY. 19 (I) Oiaf «• King of Norway takes action,AD996 (II) St,John Baptist's Day, ADIOOO 2-> (ill).Strengthening the Stakes - (a) Church Building., 29 (b) the Ministry and People. 3* 1 ,.•••* Chapter III • CONSOLIDATION OF, THE IGKLANDlC CHURCH. 39 (I)" ? TheFirst Native Bishop&Isleif,1056*80 (ii) The Notable Rule of Bishop Gizur5l082i Uli) Storm,Strife and.Scholarship; (1118. NOTE,on, the Selja Saints « . , 55 Chapter IVft CLIMAX OF THE ICELANDIC CIIURCH (xiith cent,.) (!) Two chleftaih^bishons - (a) ;Magnus, 1134*48; 57 62 (b) Klaengt 1152-76. (ii) Two episcopal Saints - " (a) St.Jdh of Holer, H06r21i %[ (b) St.Thorlak, 1178*93. 74 V/ Chapter V. SPIRIT, MIND AMD BODY. (i) The "Religious" Life. 81 (ii) Icelandic Literature - Contribution of the Church.