Gripla - 2019, Blaðsíða 236

GRIPLA236
towards illegitimate children was probably still rather medieval, and more
liberal than the orthodox Lutheran church of the seventeenth century was
ready to accept. The church’s attitude could explain Arngrímur’s personal
view, if he had one, although he must have known that in the eyes of an
ordinary Icelander such an attempt at concealment might seem absurd and
ridiculous. A more plausible explanation is that Athanasia was primarily
written for learned circles in other countries, where attitudes may have
been more strict than in Iceland, and the last thing Arngrímur wanted was
to slight the memory of Guðbrandur or Þorlákur’s dignity. As Athanasia
was written in Latin, he knew that few Icelanders would read it; and those
who did so would most probably understand why he expressed himself as
he did. It must have demanded some careful thought to find a way to treat
this delicate matter. Arngrímur succeeded in this, although at the risk of
his own reputation as an accurate and reliable author.
3) Three times hints are made about enemies who made life difficult
for Guðbrandur. On page 5 Arngrímur speaks of the arrogance and envy
of Guðbrandur Þorláksson’s enemies, few in number but very wicked, su-
percilium et invidentia æmulorum Gudbrandi Thorlacii (quos nisi extremè malos
nullos habuit), on page 14 he passes over bygone evils, referring instead to
the chapter on King Frederik II of Denmark in the third book of his own
work Crymogæa; and on pages 16–17 he speaks about the downright diso-
bedience and slander mixed with curses which Guðbrandur had to endure,
Strennuam contumaciam et diris mixtas calumnias expertus est, without going
into further details but asserting that the bishop’s actions were in accord-
ance with the oath he had sworn to the king at his ordination. Through
these hints the reader easily gets the impression that the envy and enmities
to which Guðbrandur was subjected were the result of his episcopal du-
ties. Most probably this was Arngrímur’s intention, but it is only part of
the truth. Certainly Guðbrandur became involved in heated disputes of an
official nature; but since these were at times intertwined with his personal
interests it is very difficult to distinguish completely between his official
and private actions. To gain a reasonably good overview of these compli-
cated circumstances, we must once more go far back in time.
As Arngrímur had already mentioned in Athanasia, Guðbrandur’s ma-
ternal grandfather was the lawman Jón Sigmundsson, who was for decades
a powerful and dominant figure in Icelandic society. He became involved