Skálholt
Encyclopedia
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
at the river Hvítá
Hvítá
Hvítá is a river whose source is in the glacier lake Hvítárvatn at Langjökull glacier in the highlands of Iceland at . The river flows for 40 km before dropping down into a narrow gorge at the waterfall Gullfoss....
.
History
Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. From 1056 until 1785, it was one of Iceland's two episcopal seeEpiscopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
s, along with Hólar
Hólar
Hólar is a small community located in the Skagafjörður district and situated in northern Iceland.-Location:Hólar is located in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital at Reykjavík. Hólar has a population of around 100...
, making it a cultural and political center. Iceland's first official school, Skálholtsskóli (now Reykjavík Gymnasium, MR
Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík
Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík is the oldest gymnasium in Reykjavík, Iceland....
), was founded at Skálholt in 1056 to educate clergy. In 1992 the seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in Skálholt was re-instituted under the old name and now serves as the education and information center of The Church of Iceland
Church of Iceland
The National Church of Iceland, or Þjóðkirkjan, formally called the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, is the state church in Iceland. Like the established churches in the other Nordic countries, the National Church of Iceland professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity. Its head is the...
.
Throughout the Middle Ages there was significant activity in Skálholt; alongside the bishop's office, the cathedral, and the school, there was extensive farming, a smithy
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
, and, while Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
lasted, a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. Along with dormitories and quarters for teachers and servants, the town made up a sizable gathering of structures. Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...
, writing circa 1075, described Skálholt (Scaldholz) as the "largest city" in Iceland. First the diocese of Skálholt was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen. When in 1104 the Diocese of Lund
Diocese of Lund
-External links:* from Nordisk Familjebok, in Swedish...
was elevated to an archdiocese, Lund became the metropolitan of Skálholt, and in 1153 Skálholt became a part of the province of Nidaros
Nidaros
Nidaros or Niðarós was during the Middle Ages, the old name of Trondheim, Norway . Until the Reformation, Nidaros remained the centre of the spiritual life of the country...
.
Continuing as the episcopal see after the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
to Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, the end of Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
in Iceland was marked in 1550 when the last Catholic bishop, Jón Arason
Jón Arason
Jón Arason was an Icelandic Roman Catholic bishop and poet, who was executed in his struggle against the imposition of the Protestant Reform in Iceland.-Background:...
of Hólar, was executed in Skálholt along with his two sons.
Although no longer episcopal sees, Skálholt and Hólar are still the cathedra
Cathedra
A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...
of the Church of Iceland's two suffragan bishop
Suffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...
s, and therefore the old cathedrals still serve as such.
Skálholt also receives many visitors each year. Hospitality is a branch of Skálholtsskóli's work and visitors can stay in its dormitories, single rooms, and cottages. Many cultural events such and concerts are held in Skálholt. Foremost of these is the Summer Concerts program in July, in which prominent classical musicians, choirs and other musicians are invited to perform.
Skálholt Cathedral
The current cathedral at Skálholt is relatively large in comparison to most Icelandic churches; its span from door to apse is approximately 30 meters. Some of its predecessors were even longer, reaching up to 50 m in length. The new cathedral was built from 1956 to 1963 as a part of the millennial celebrations of the episcopal see. The other Scandinavian churches celebrated this along with the Icelandic church and many of the new cathedral's items are gifts of theirs; for example, Gerður HelgadóttirGerður Helgadóttir
Gerður Helgadóttir was an Icelandic sculptor and stained glass artist.She studied at the Art and Craft School of Iceland , in Denamrk, at the Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze and at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris...
's extensive stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows are a gift from the Danes
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Skálholt Map
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
, Sigurdur became a teacher at the former monastery of Skálholt, which remained the religious and educational centre in Iceland even after Protestantism was introduced in 1551.
His 1570 original no longer survives. A copy was made in 1690 by Thordur Thorlaksson, also known by his Latinized name, Thorlacius, Bishop of Skálholt. The map is in the collections of the Danish Royal Library
Danish Royal Library
The Royal Library in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and university library of University of Copenhagen. It is the largest library in the Nordic countries....
. Numerous other copies were made by Scandinavian scholars. By matching latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
s with the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, the map shows the northern tip of "Vinland" as being at (51°N), the same latitude as the southern tip of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Bristol, England. This information was transferred to more modern maps. This indicated, among other things, that the promontory of Vinland
Vinland
Vinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norsemen, about the year 1000 CE.There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings reached North America approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus...
was marked by Stefánsson at the position of the northern promontory of Newfoundland, which was one of the factors that encouraged the successful archaeological investigations in 1960 at L'Anse Aux Meadows
L'Anse aux Meadows
L'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse or Viking village in Canada, and in North America outside of Greenland...
(51°N).
See also
- List of Skálholt bishops
- List of settlements in Iceland
- History of IcelandHistory of Iceland-Early history:In geological terms, Iceland is a young island. It started to form about 20 million years ago from a series of volcanic eruptions on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge...
Other sources
- Adam of BremenAdam of BremenAdam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...
(edited by G. Waitz) (1876). Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificumGesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificumGesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum is a historical treatise written between 1075 and 1080 by Adam of Bremen. It covers the period from 788 to the time it was written. The treatise consist of:*Liber I...
. Berlin. Available online - Adam of Bremen (translated by Francis Joseph Tschan and Timothy Reuter) (2002). History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12575-5
External links
- Skálholt.is
- Info on Skálholt from Southern Iceland's tourist bureau
- Skálholt Map - in The Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark