To Tell the Truth

– But not the Whole Truth

Abstract

In the year 1627 Guðbrandur Þorláksson (1542–1627), Bishop of Hólar-diocese in northern Iceland, died at the age of 85 having held the bishop’s staff for 56 years. Throughout his unusually long period in office the bishop exercised an overwhelming influence in several fields of Icelandic society. He left clear marks not only on the administration of the church but also on the general spiritual life of Icelanders. To carry through his diverse projects he managed to gather many able collaborators who in their turn enjoyed the bishop’s support. One of the best known of these was the learned humanist Arngrímur Jónsson (1568–1648), a relative of Guðbrandur Þorláksson, who had already become his protegé in his youth and remained an intimate and loyal participant in many of the bishop’s dealings – both public and private – to the very end. After Guðbrandur Þorláksson’s death Arngrímur Jónsson was asked to compose a eulogy to his old benefactor, a task few, if anyone, was more fit to perform. Arngrímur showed reluctance, probably more than could be ascribed to traditional modesty in situations like this, but finally he accepted and in 1630, the eulogy, ΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΑ sive nominis ac famæimmortalitas reverendi ac famæ immortalitas recerendi ac incomparabilis Viri Dn Gudbrandi Thorlacii appeared in print in Hamburg. As Guðbrandur Þorláksson’s life is well recorded in many different contemporary documents, we are furnished with material which enables us to compare the portrait of Guðbrandur Þorláksson drawn by Arngrímur Jónsson, to that which may be gathered from other sources. A comparison will show the problems Arngrímur had to face, if he was not to offend an international audience’s sense of decency or damage the ideal image of the bishop. The eulogy itself demonstrates how the author solved these problems either by omitting unpleasant matters or by evading in a rather ingenious way delicate facts without violating too seriously his own trustworthiness in the eyes of the Icelanders who knew the whole life story of the bishop. thus, while the Ἀθανασία of Arngrímur Jónsson does not add much to our knowledge of the historical Guðbrandur Þorláksson, a remarkable but not blameless character, it shows how its author wished to portray a great man of the ecclesiastical order to whom he doubtlessly desired to pay due respect for future generations.