Medieval Oddi in Iceland as a Place of Power and Learning : Clerics, Chieftains, and Textual Culture / edited by Helgi Þorláksson.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Helgi Þorláksson, editor.

Series:

The Northern World ; 101.

Late Antiquity and Medieval Studies E-Books Online, Collection 2026.

The Northern World ; 101

Late Antiquity and Medieval Studies E-Books Online, Collection 2026

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History.

Literature and Cultural Studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (384 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Clerics, Chieftains, and Textual Culture

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : BRILL, 2026.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Medieval Oddi in Iceland is well known for its famous inhabitants: the priest and chief Sæmundr (d. 1133), later an outstanding magician in Icelandic folk-tales; his grandson the magnificent chieftain Jón Loptsson (d. 1197), of royal descent through his Norwegian mother; and his fosterson, Snorri Sturluson (d. 1241), author of the much acclaimed Prose Edda and Heimskringla . Bishop Þorlákr (d. 1193) also studied at Oddi and, like Sæmundr, later studied abroad. These are illustrious men in the history of Iceland. 12th- and 13th-century Oddi and the Oddi family are an important subject for those who want to study the origins of the outstanding textual culture of medieval Iceland. Contributors are Miguel Andrade, Auður Magnúsdóttir, Ármann Jakobsson, Árni Freyr Magnússon, Chris Callow, Egill Erlendsson, Guðrún Harðardóttir, Gunnar Harðarson, Halldís Ármannsdóttir, Helgi Þorláksson, Kristborg Þórsdóttir, Richard North, Oddur Pálsson, Sigurlaugur Ingólfsson, Sverrir Jakobsson, Tómas Aron Þórarinsson, and Viðar Pálsson.

Contents:

Contents

Preface

Forms of Names and Their Spelling

List of Maps, Figures and Tables

Notes on Contributors

Introduction: a High-Status Farm at Oddi: an Ecclesiastical Centre of Power and Textual Culture

Helgi Þorláksson

Part 1 Church-Estates (Staðir) and Chieftains (Goðar, Kirkjugoðar)

1 Definitions and Usage of Staðr , Goði , and Kirkjugoði Chris Callow, Helgi Þorláksson and Viðar Pálsson

2 Kirkjugoðar and Staðir : the Control of Private Churches and Benefices in Iceland

Chris Callow

Part 2 Oddi: Environment and Farming: the Operation of an Estate Farm

3 Plants and People in the Medieval Environment of Oddi

Egill Erlendsson, Tómas Aron Þórarinsson and Kristborg Þórsdóttir

4 Artificial Caves as Key to the Economy of Early Oddi

Kristborg Þórsdóttir

5 Economic Foundations of Oddi, 11–14

Árni Freyr Magnússon and Sigurlaugur Ingólfsson

Part 3 Textual Culture and Foreign Impact

6 Lœrðr allra manna bezt : Sæmundr fróði as an Authority and Foundation for Medieval Icelandic Learned Culture

Miguel Andrade

7 Sæmundr and the English Kings: Sæmundr fróði Sigfússon and the English Kings in AM 1 e β II fol.

Richard North

8 Páll Jónsson and His Two Spouses: the Scion of Oddi and His Sacred Biography

Ármann Jakobsson

Part 4 Literate Education and Power through Learning and Texts

9 Learning and the Establishment of an Ecclesiastical Staðr at Oddi

Viðar Pálsson

1 The ‘Southern School of History’ and Church Reform in the Early 13th Century

Sverrir Jakobsson

11 Chieftain-Clerics at Oddi and Their Learning

Part 5 Two Oddi-Men Mirrored in Written Sources

12 The Different Roles of Jón Loptsson

Oddur Pálsson

13 Sæmundr Jónsson: a Prince without a Kingdom

Auður Magnúsdóttir

Part 6 Oddi: Benefice, Church-Buildings, and Learned Priests

14 The Learned Grímr Hólmsteinsson, Priest at Oddi

Halldís Ármannsdóttir

15 Clerical Culture at Oddi in the 14th Century

Gunnar Harðarson

16 Glimpses of the Medieval Church at Oddi

Guðrún Harðardóttir

17 Epilogue: Textual Culture in Context

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Þorláksson, Helgi Medieval Oddi in Iceland As a Place of Power and Learning

ISBN:

9789004760295

OCLC:

1600518818

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004760295 DOI