Gripla - 2019, Page 227

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a large honorarium from King Fredrik II of Denmark.11 Following this
description there is a short excursus on older religious works in Icelandic,
which in fact were not published in Iceland itself. Thus it becomes easier
to place in relief the efforts of Guðbrandur Þorláksson, as unquestionably
the man who raised the art of printing in Iceland to the heights of glory,
adding to the honour of his fatherland. In spite of all his toils and exertions
he could not, of course, escape accusations of ungrateful persons that he
was doing all this out of φιλοκερδία or lust for gain. That this was not the
case the bishop showed by bequeathing the press to the Church of Hólar,
a bequest which was confirmed by royal diploma in 1628. Arngrímur ob-
serves that some might have had an office like this sold, telling the heirs to
be content with the profit. Our man was different. Not unlike men of old
who, after many victories in war, placed their weapons in the temple of the
war god Mars as splendid trophies, Guðbrandur, in full conformity with
the significance of his name, God’s sword, consecrated his typographical
weapons, which he had employed with success for more than fifty years in
his fight against Satan, to the holy church for future use to the benefit of
almighty God. And by God’s will it was his grandson Þorlákur Skúlason
who, as Bishop of Hólar, took over this torch to illuminate the church’s
way forward.
Another obvious testimony to the bishop’s munificence, which also
benefited the church, was his generosity towards the poorest clergymen,
destitute farmers and beggars, whom he maintained in countless numbers,
or as the author puts it: “Should I essay to include them all, as well essay to
tell the tale of the Icarian waters,” quoting the Roman poet Ovid.12 More
words could be devoted to our bishop’s kindness towards his relatives,
guests, pupils and those who went abroad to study, although Arngrímur
prefers only to touch superficially on the subject without mentioning any
of them specifically. The next example of Bishop Guðbrandur’s generosity
is the money he spent on the buildings at Hólar, in particular a new resi-
dence built in 1588. After some technical details of the building, we move
on to the life led in the house, characterized among other things by sobri-
11 Arngrímur says that the year of publication was 1579, but the correct year is 1584.
12 Ovid, Ovid with an English Translation. Tristia. Ex Ponto. Edited and translated by Arthur
Leslie Wheeler. Loeb Classical Library 151 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1939), V 2, 27–28: quae si comprendere coner, / Icariæ numerum dicere coner aquae.
TO TELL THE TRUTH – BUT NOT THE WHOLE TRUTH